Accessibility Resources
M State is committed to ensuring equal access to our facilities, services and academic programs for students with disabilities. The Accessibility Resources Office works with M State employees and students to remove disability-related barriers to education. We provide information and resources to support an environment that is accessible and inclusive for all individuals.
Students seeking disability-related accommodations must self-disclose the nature of their disability to the Accessibility Resources Office. We serve currently enrolled students (including PSEO and concurrent) who experience barriers in school settings due to the impact of a diagnosis such as:
- Mental health conditions (anxiety disorders, depression, bipolar disorders, schizophrenia)
- Learning disabilities (dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, reading, math)
- ADD/ADHD
- Autism spectrum disorder
- Blind, vision loss or impairment
- Deaf, deafness, hearing loss
- Physical disabilities
- Brain injuries (TBI, concussion)
- Severe allergies (food, environmental)
- Chronic health conditions (diabetes, cancers, autoimmune disorders)
- Other conditions that lead to disability
- Temporary disabilities (broken bones, illness requiring ongoing treatment and/or hospitalization)
Get started
Students who have a disability or believe they may have a disability must register with the Accessibility Resources Office to initiate accommodations and other supports.
Complete the Accessibility Resources Request for Services Application.
Please complete the request for services application before submitting documentation. Without an application, we cannot adequately process your request.
Please arrange for a qualified professional to complete the Request for Documentation, then submit it to M State accessibility resources. A release of information may be required by the agency.
Attach other disability-related documentation to the accessibility resources application or provide an electronic copy of your documentation to the accessibility resources coordinator.
Other examples of helpful documentation:
- Copy of an IEP/504 plan and most recent high school evaluation report
- Psychological or neuropsychological evaluation
- Letter from a qualified professional
- Medical chart or history
When Accessibility Resources receives the documentation and recommendations required, the student and staff then work together to identify appropriate accommodations.
Emotional support animals
To request that an emotional support animal live with you in campus housing at Fergus Falls, please have your provider complete the Service Provider Form for Students Requesting Emotional Support Animals.
If you are living on the Minnesota State University Moorhead campus and attending classes at M State's Moorhead campus, please follow the MSUM housing policies and procedures. Please note: Students may be asked to provide additional updated and/or relevant documentation during their time at M State.
After you submit the required documentation and recommendations to M State, accessibility resources employees will review your application and documentation, and you will be contacted via your M State email address regarding next steps.
If you're taking or planning to take Workforce Development Solutions classes, please provide an active email address for correspondence regarding your accommodations.
Complete an intake application with accessibility resources staff to discuss reasonable and appropriate accommodations aimed at providing equal access to your courses, course materials or M State facilities. If you are eligible, accessibility resources will provide the reasonable accommodations. Communication with faculty is the responsibility of accessibility resources staff and the student.
Please note: The appropriate forms must be completed and submitted each semester to continue receiving services.
- Accommodations support abilities.
- All students must comply with classroom assignments, projects, and tests as presented by the instructor and/or syllabus.
- Accommodations provide appropriate supports, not substitutions, for the successful completion of assignments and tests and DO NOT take the place of regular classroom attendance.
- Services cease at the end of each semester and must be requested at the beginning of each semester.
M State does not provide personal care attendant (PCA) services and is not responsible or liable for any consequences resulting from a student's association with a PCA.
Responsibilities of student assisted by a personal care attendant
Because a PCA is not a classroom assistant, PCAs are not allowed to assist with any academic tasks in the classroom or other academic settings. The need for a PCA in the classroom for non-academic tasks (such as monitoring a medical condition) will be determined by Accessibility Services on an individual basis.
M State expectations of a personal care attendant
- Follow all applicable college policies, rules, regulations, and procedures
- Assist the student before and after class but wait outside the classroom (unless deemed appropriate by the Accessibility Services Office)
- Allow the student to take responsibility for his/her own progress or behavior
- Refrain from contact with or asking questions of faculty, staff, or others on behalf of the student
- Refrain from intervening in conversations between the student and faculty, staff or other students
- Refrain from discussing any confidential information about the student with faculty, staff, or students
- Follow the college's PCA guidelines
Should the PCA fail to follow M State policies and procedures, M State reserves the right to make a determination that the PCA will no longer be permitted on campus. It is the student's responsibility to secure the services of another PCA in the event a PCA becomes unable to perform services for a student.
Appeals
Students seeking to appeal M State's disability accommodations decision may file a Discrimination Reporting 1B.1 form or Student Complaint or Grievance at Report a Concern.
Emotional support animals
To request that an emotional support animal live with you in campus housing at Fergus Falls, please have your provider complete the Service Provider Form for Students Requesting Emotional Support Animals.
If you are living on the Minnesota State University Moorhead campus and attending classes at M State's Moorhead campus, please follow the MSUM housing policies and procedures. Please note: Students may be asked to provide additional updated and/or relevant documentation during their time at M State.
Contact us
Moorhead Campus D111
1900 28th Ave S
Moorhead, MN 56560
arteam@minnesota.edu
Phone: 218.299.6882
Fax: 218.299.6584
M State strives to fully comply with the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, 42 U.S.C. section 12101, which prohibits discrimination in employment and public educational services on the basis of any individual's disability; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794d) to ensure the campuses, website and on-line course offerings meet the requirements therein.
M State complies fully with the provisions for the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, 42 U.S.C. section 12101, which prohibits discrimination in employment and public educational services on the basis of an individual's disability. An individual with a disability is one who has or is regarded as having a physical or mental impairment, which substantially limits one or more of that individual's major life activities.
M State follows Minnesota State Board Policy 1B.4 Access and Accommodation for Individuals with Disabilities.
