Accommodations
Georgetown strives to be an inclusive community and to provide equal educational and employment opportunities for all. Individuals with disabilities may request reasonable accommodations that enable them to benefit from and participate fully in our academic, workplace and other environments, programs and activities. Georgetown provides accommodations to community members, including students, faculty and staff/AAPs, through published procedures.
Accommodations for Students
Students seeking academic accommodations or residential students seeking housing accommodations should reach out to the relevant office listed below. Faculty or staff who get questions from students about academic or housing accommodations should contact these offices.
Academic Resource Center (Main Campus, Medical Center and SCS)
The Academic Resource Center (ARC) helps to facilitate academic accommodations for Main Campus, Medical Center and School of Continuing Studies students. Residential students are also able to request housing accommodations through the ARC. Students who are requesting accommodations should follow the process detailed on the ARC website.
Office of Accessibility Services (Law Center)
The Office of Accessibility Services works (OAS) in partnership with Law Center faculty, staff, and students to promote environments that are accessible, sustainable, and inclusive. OAS implements reasonable accommodations to remove barriers for students with disabilities in curricular and co-curricular environments. Law Center students seeking accommodations, including academic and housing accommodations, should follow the procedures outlined on the OAS website.
Office of Academic Services (Qatar)
Georgetown University in Qatar is committed to providing academic support for all students. Students should request accommodations through the Office of Academic Services (OASQ) by following the procedures on the OASQ website.
Accommodations for Employees and Applicants
Georgetown University’s Office of Institutional, Diversity, Equity, and Affirmative Action (“IDEAA”) is responsible for coordinating the university’s response to various accommodation requests in accordance with federal and District of Columbia (“DC”) laws, as well as university policies. IDEAA facilitates accommodations to applicants for employment and current employees, including staff, AAPs, faculty, and student-employees.
To ensure that all requests for accommodation, including disability-based requests, are given full consideration by the university, supervisors, managers, and department chairs may neither grant nor deny an accommodation without consultation with IDEAA.
To request a workplace accommodation, employees should fill out the disability accommodation request form on IDEAA’s website. Applicants who would like to request an accommodation during the hiring process should fill out the accommodation request form for applicants. Information about IDEAA’s accommodation process is available on the IDEAA website.
Individuals who have questions about IDEAA’s accommodation process or who need assistance during the process are invited to email IDEAA at ideaa@georgetown.edu or call (202) 687-4798.
Accommodations for Visitors
Georgetown University is committed to ensuring that our programs, activities, and services are accessible to individuals with disabilities.
Community members who organize events on campus should plan events with accessibility in mind, designate a contact person to address the accessibility of the event, and provide notice to participants of the process for requesting reasonable accommodations. Additional information about planning accessible events is available on the Accessibility web page.
Visitors and third parties who have questions about accessibility are encouraged to contact IDEAA at ideaa@georgetown.edu.
Essential Tips
For Students or Employees Who Need Accommodations
- Anticipate Your Accommodation Needs: If you would like to request an accommodation, get a head start by reaching out to the appropriate office (ARC, Law Disability Services, GU-Q Academic Services, IDEAA) early to begin the conversation about your needs. This will help support your success in your classes, work or other Georgetown activity.
- Familiarize Yourself With Procedures: Learn how to request an accommodation, what information you will need and what is required by visiting the website of the appropriate disability services office. Ask questions if you don’t understand something.
- Stay Engaged in the Process: Advocate for your own needs and respond to communications from people who are involved in handling your accommodation request, providing needed medical or other documentation and implementing appropriate accommodations. If there’s a problem or misunderstanding, let the appropriate office know. Talk to the disability services office if you are not receiving an approved accommodation and reach out to explore alternatives if an accommodation isn’t working.
For Faculty and Supervisors
- Foster a Fully Inclusive Environment: By recognizing and celebrating individual differences and diversity in all its manifestations, we contribute to inclusive classroom and work environments. This helps ensure that members of our disability communities, as well as everyone else, feels welcome and included.
- Don’t Go it Alone: If you are a faculty member and a student asks for an accommodation, or if you are a supervisor of an employee who makes such a request, refer the individual to the appropriate office. The experts in that office will work with you and the individual to determine what accommodations may be appropriate. Be supportive and helpful, but don’t try to determine a person’s needs yourself. You may neither provide unapproved accommodations nor deny accommodations yourself.
- Maintain Confidentiality and Do Not Stigmatize: Avoid singling out or disclosing a student’s or employee’s disability or accommodation. Implement accommodations effectively, and treat the person as you do all other students or employees.