How to Register for Accommodations

To register for academic accommodations through the Office of Accessibility Resources and Services (OARS) complete the following: 

• Submit the online OARS Application.
• Submit a letter of diagnosis with accommodation/s recommendation from a licensed provider.  For academic accommodations, an IEP or 504 Plan is considered sufficient documentation. For other accommodations such as housing, parking and dietary additional documentation is required.  Please see the OARS Documentation Guidelines for additional details.

  Documentation should:

  • • State diagnosis
    • Current and and relevant to the diagnosis
    • Provides recommendation for the accommodation/s related to diagnosis

    • On professional letterhead: Provider name, speciality, address of practice, date of contact, date of letter and physician signature and credentials.

  Documentation can be uploaded to the application, emailed to oars@bethel.edu, faxed to 651.638.6307 or brought to the OARS office (RC200).  NOTE: All documentation provided to OARS is secure and will only be shared on a need-to-know basis in order to effectively facilitate accommodations. In addition, a student may choose to self disclose a diagnosis/disability with staff/faculty as they choose.

Upon the completed application and sufficient documentation, students will be scheduled to meet with an Accessibility Specialist. During this meeting, the student and the Accessibility Specialist will discuss the diagnosis, its impact on learning, reasonable accommodations that fit the students needs and discuss the student’s roles and responsibilities in the accommodations process. Our staff strives to meet with students within 5-7 business days of receiving the completed registration documents. 

OARS also provides the following accommodations which may require additional documentation specific to the request. :

• Dietary
• Housing
• Parking
• Service Animal/Emotional Support Animal

** The Last Day to Register & Send Faculty Notification Letter/s for Academic Accommodations:  In order for accommodations to apply during finals week, students must have fully completed the OARS registration and intake process and send Faculty Notification Letter(s) at least 5 business days prior to the final day of class. Students are required to send their letters each semester.