Begin registration by starting an online application within AccessMSU. The final step in the application process is to submit documentation. If you have questions or concerns about your documentation, please contact us.
Students and employees must provide medical/psychological documentation establishing the presence of a disability and explaining the nature and degree to which the disability affects major life activities. Documentation, along with student/employee report, is necessary for RCPD staff to accurately determine accommodations.
Reasonable accommodations and services are based upon the impacts of the individual's disabilities on academic or job performance at a given time. Therefore, RCPD requires recent documentation relevant to the individual’s learning/living/working environment. Information regarding disability is confidential and used on an as-needed basis by Access Specialists directly involved in the accommodation process.
Documentation can be submitted by the treatment provider or the student/employee seeking services in the following ways:
There are numerous online entities that offer diagnoses in exchange for a fee. These predatory companies often operate completely on a self-report surveys and the “patient” does not have direct contact with a licensed clinician/evaluator. We’re seeing this most often with ADHD diagnoses. We cannot accept this kind of documentation and will support students to retrieve additional documents to complete their registration. We want to make sure our students are protected; if you have questions about an online diagnosis service, please feel free to reach out to our office!
To aid the documentation process, RCPD offers fillable forms below to facilitate needed clarity and detail from treating professionals. The submission of these fillable forms or existing documentation with equivalent information will speed up the registration process.
I am a student/employee at Michigan State and I’m seeking academic/employment accommodations through the Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities (RCPD). For me to receive accommodations, RCPD requires documentation that includes my specific diagnosis, information about how my diagnosis was reached, and importantly, details about the current functional impacts of my diagnosis. Can you please fill the relevant documentation form or provide a report with equivalent information? You can return the completed documents to me, fax to RCPD at 517-432-3191, or email to RCPD.Docs@msu.edu.
When a provider refuses to complete paperwork, there might be a good reason (it is outside the scope of their specialty or you are a very new patient), but you can ask these questions to inquire about further resources, to document the current refusal, and to attempt to establish a history if they are uncomfortable:
It depends! Some IEPs/504s contain enough information for registration and some don't. RCPD seeks documentation that states the specific disability diagnosis and descriptions of functional impacts for the student. For example: if you have an IEP related to a learning disability, the IEP must state the area of learning and explain the specific impacts you experience.
Your assigned RCPD specialist can review your documentation to ensure it has the needed information, and help you gather additional documents if needed. Most often, we will ask your treatment provider to fill the relevant RCPD documentation form (linked below).
We know that acquiring valid documentation can be a challenge, but RCPD is unable to accept documentation that is AI-generated, enhanced, or altered. Please review MSU’s Generative AI Guidelines. If you need resources for disability evaluation/documentation, please contact our front desk at RCPD@msu.edu or your assigned specialist if you have already started registration.