SAS Resources for Enrolled Students
Student Accessibility Services (SAS) operates through the ClockWork management system which is designed to automate the processes for sending professor notification letters to faculty, faculty review of accommodations, test booking, residence life and housing accommodations, peer notetaker registration, and record maintenance. The new management system has greatly increased efficiency, allowing staff to focus more on student success, equal opportunity, and faculty/administrator consultation.
Enrolled RWU students, who are already established with SAS, are responsible for sending out their professor notification letters, each semester. Students sign into Clockwork through their (Microsoft) RWU sign-in credentials (___@students.rwu.edu).
If you have any questions about our services, or about how to use the Clockwork system, please call us at 401-254-3841, or email us at sas@rwu.edu. We are happy to make an appointment to speak with you.
Did you know? Approximately 20% of the Roger Williams University student population is registered with Student Accessibility Services (SAS) and has identified themselves to us as a student with a disability.
The Student Accessibility Services program (SAS)
The Student Accessibility Services program (SAS) is a specialized unit of the Center for Student Academic Success (CSAS)
We work with eligible students who:
- have current disabilities or current significant medical conditions and,
- may be experiencing certain environmental barriers in their courses, residence halls, or other RWU programs and services, and/or
Equal Opportunity and Equal Access
SAS works with all units of Roger Williams University to help ensure that the academic and the physical environments are accessible to students. In other words, we work with faculty, residential life, facilities services, and other units to recommend accommodations or supports that will help ensure that our eligible students have equal access to programs and services, as compared to their peers.
- We meet with our students to help problem solving,
- we support your ability to self advocate, and
- we work to help you navigate a complex college environment,
- we encourage you to explore the diversity and inclusion conversations at RWU, and
- We care about your success, and we will work with you to help you achieve it!
Qualify yourself to use the services and supports of SAS
Students provide the SAS office with documentation of a current disability or a current significant medical condition that may interact with certain environmental barriers, thus affecting your student experience. The staff in SAS evaluate your documentation and work with you to update it, or provide additional information so that we may qualify you for services.
Confidentiality of Records
A student's disability or medical status is completely confidential. The information you provide stays within our office records and is not shared publicly in grade rosters, diplomas, with professors, or on the operating Student Record System. No one other than SAS professional staff, will have access to your private medical or disability information. We will not share your information with faculty or administrators, and only SAS staff members have direct access to the SAS records. When you request accommodations, the faculty or administrators who will provide you with accommodations ONLY know that you are eligible for the recommended accommodations. They will not have access to the reasons for the accommodations. When we track SAS student graduation and retention statistics, the administrators who help us do that, again, do not have access to your private information.
All student records are subject to FERPA, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. SAS abides by this federal standard.
Communicate with your Professors and Community Directors about your accommodation needs.
We are happy to meet with you to coach you on how to approach your professors and other administrators on campus. It is important to let professors know that you will be requesting accommodations through SAS, and we can help you develop conversation points. Also most professors have a welcome message on their syllabus that invites you to speak with them about your accommodations or other needs. Almost all professors want their students to be successful and want their students to be able to learn through their strengths. We are all on the same team, so please come talk to us.
Also, when you need academic or residential accommodations there is a specific process for SAS to send requests to housing, and letters to your professors, that outline the specific accommodations that you will need.
Privacy and talking with professors or administrators in your courses and living environments.
Professors or administrators (outside the SAS office) should never ask you specific questions about your disability or medical condition. That is confidential.
But professors and administrators may ask you specifics about what you need to be successful in class or in the residence halls, etc. You may choose to share information if you are comfortable but you are not required to share private information.
SAS students are responsible to meet the standards of their courses (with or without accommodations) and professors may want to approach you to discuss your performance in their class; they can discuss your accommodations and whether you have what you need. But, your private information is private.
SAS students are also accountable the behavior codes as established at the University, including academic honesty, and appropriate student conduct. However, your disability or medical condition is a private, separate matter.
Accommodation Purpose.
Accommodations are not intended to guarantee success; rather they are intended to reduce barriers and support equal access. This means, for example, that students are assessed on their performance, and not on the impact of the particular environmental barriers they may experience.
Center for Career and Professional Development Resources
The CCPD supports students and alumni as they navigate their career and professional development – we offer one-on-one advising, resume and cover letter reviews, workshops, networking opportunities, career fairs and more. Through our services, we are committed to serving and supporting students and alumni of all identities – in collaboration with our RWU community partners, we have designed the Identity/Affinity Communities to support, celebrate, and recognize students’ unique diversity and have curated spaces with helpful tools, resources and staff. You may identify with multiple communities, so we encourage you to explore the groups to find information that might be useful to you. The resources featured in these communities are not exhaustive, so feel free to contact us with any additional questions, resources, or information you think might be useful.
Make an appointment with a career advisor.
Please follow the drop down directions (blue bars) on the Landing Page of the RWU SAS website.
If you do not yet have all your documentation, you can still fill out the Intake form. Later, you can scan and email a PDF copy of your documentation to sas@rwu.edu.
Please contact us by phone or in person with any questions or concerns you may have.
Go to the RWU-SAS Portal, each semester, to send out your professor notification letters, to discuss with each professor.
Student Accessibility Services will assist or provide accommodations to eligible students who have significant temporary conditions or injuries that cause the student to experience barriers in the classroom or residential environments.
Students with temporary conditions follow the same procedures to establish eligibility for accommodations as do students with permanent conditions. An SAS staff member will then contact you to discuss your eligibility.
If you have any questions regarding your temporary condition and how Student Accessibility Services can assist, please call 401-254-3841 or email sas@rwu.edu.
If you have a documented disability or a significant medical condition, the Department of Residence Life and Housing works closely with the Student Accessibility Services (SAS) office to approve requests for reasonable housing accommodations and, in rare situations, certain dietary restrictions.
First: Residence Life and Housing. Please familiarize yourself with the information available to you on the website Department of Residence Life and Housing (DRLH). There you will find information about residence halls, learning communities and other valuable information.
For newly admitted first-year and transfer students, you have many tasks on your “to do” list that can be found here: New Student Task List. This will include directing you to the Roger Central portal to access and complete an application for housing, and roommate matching requests (if applicable).
There is also an option on the application to note if there are any medical or accommodation needs. If the answer is “Yes”… see the "second" process below.
Second: Student Accessibility Services. Please also contact the Student Accessibility Services (SAS) office to request reasonable and accessible accommodations for your housing.
- All students requesting reasonable housing accommodations must first complete the SAS Intake Process.
- All students requesting residence life and housing accommodations must complete pages 1-2 and their treating clinician must complete pages 3-4 (please see the housing accommodation blue drop down bar on landing page of RWU SAS website).
For Housing, please be sure to get into practice of meeting task deadlines, and make sure you put in your application for on-campus housing as instructed to do so. The Housing Self-Service process provides help text along the way while completing the process, and specific questions can also be directed to RWUhousing@rwu.edu
After you have applied for housing and you have worked with SAS about the accommodations you need, SAS will notify the Housing office about your approved accommodations, and your housing will be assigned accordingly.
All accommodations must be requested with reasonable ADVANCE NOTICE. You should have your accommodation requests into the SAS Office at least one month BEFORE Housing Assignments are made.
Housing deadline dates are listed by semester on the Residence Life and Housing website and here below:
- Returning Students (Readmit/Return from Abroad in Spring) - February 28th*
First Year Students - June 30th*
*Please note that these dates may be adjusted by the Department of Residence Life and Housing- please refer to the most recent emails, website, and or social media postings about such
For Dietary Restrictions Accommodations:
The Dining Experience at Roger Williams University, operated by Cafe Bon Appetit, responds to a large range of dietary preferences and needs, including vegetarian, vegan, cultural/religious diets, as well as food sensitivities, allergies and medical needs. In almost all situations (medical, cultural, or life style) Cafe Bon Appetit can meet your needs. They are ready to serve you and this page gives a review of how to work with Cafe Bon Appetit related to managing allergens and special dietary needs.
In some situations or with some medical conditions additional supports or adjustments may be necessary, and this is where Student Accessibility Services (SAS) can help. If you have a disability or significant medical condition and Cafe Bon Appetit cannot meet your needs please first start with Dining Services and then an accommodation may be recommended, at which point SAS will be included.
You may also contact us directly by phone at 401-254-3841 or by e-mail at sas@rwu.edu
Policies: Roger Williams University requires students to live on campus for their first two years of matriculation. Similarly, first year students are not allowed to have their cars on campus. These are academic, evidenced-based policies that encourage students to form social groups, increase student engagement on campus, and increase interactions with faculty, all of which lead to greater academic success. Students who live in close proximity to the RWU-Bristol campus may be exempt from this requirements.
Parking: Students with disabilities or significant medical conditions, may, on a case-by-case basis, through Student Accessibility Services (SAS), become eligible for certain parking accommodations.
Please initiate your request for parking to the Office of Student Life.
Two-Year Residency Requirement: As is described in the Residential Life accommodation section, students for reasons of disability or significant medical conditions, may, on a case-by-case basis be eligible for accommodations or exceptions to the residency requirement.
Please initiate your request for residency accommodations to Student Accessibility Services (SAS).
- If you are new to SAS, e.g. not yet established with us, please complete the Intake Process for Students New to SAS (see previous expandable section on this General Procedures page).
- If you are already established with SAS please make this new request as you would request any other accommodation by going to the Student Registration section of the RWU-SAS Student Portal You may also need to schedule a meeting from an SAS Advisor who will then evaluate your request.
Transportation: RWU- Bristol provides a shuttle service around campus, as staffing allows. The Public Safety Office, unless there is a conflicting emergency, also provides a courtesy transport service for students. If you are a Bristol-campus student with a physical/mobility disability or severe medical condition and you believe you will need additional support getting to and from classes, SAS will evaluate your situation, your documentation, and work with you to support your campus navigation. Depending on your documentation, these supports may include, but not be limited to, housing assignments, course scheduling, course relocation, and/or communication with the relevant campus services. Please contact the SAS office at 401-254-3841or sas@rwu.edu to request an appointment (in person, by telephone, or virtually) with a SAS Advisor.
Definition: A service dog (or in rare circumstances, a service miniature horse) is an adult, highly trained, working animal that is individually trained to perform specific disability-related tasks for the benefit of the student with a disability. This dog (or miniature horse) is not a pet and generally will be wearing a vest or harness indicating that it is working.
Notifying Student Accessibility Services (SAS): Although students with service dogs are not required to contact Student Accessibility Services to identify the presence of the service dog, we do encourage you to complete an intake and identify yourself to Student Accessibility Services. We have a system whereby we can provide advance notification to your faculty that you will be accompanied by your service dog. In this way the communication will be smoother for you and your animal. Also you may be asked by the university to provide a Rhode Island animal license, and/or current veterinary evidence of health and vaccinations. SAS will hold this information in our confidential record system so that you are not inconvenienced by repeated requests. This is particularly important if you will be living on campus. Please email sas@rwu.edu to schedule an appointment to discuss how we may support you and your service dog.
Where the Service Dog is Allowed: The dog will accompany you, the student, to class and to other activities where students are allowed to go.
In rare situations the dog may be excluded where there is risk of harm or disruption, or from certain sterile environments such as laboratories or medical environments. Please contact SAS for more information.
Student Responsibility and Animal Behavior: At all times, the student is fully responsible for the animal's behavior. The dog must be controlled by tether at all times. (If a tether is not possible because of disability, the animal will be controlled by voice or other method). At no time is the dog to be allowed to roam free in public unless it is actively performing a task.
The student will be accountable to the Dean of Students if the service dog becomes aggressive to other RWU community members. Additionally, the dog must not be disruptive to academic, residential, or co-curricular activities. The Dean of Students and SAS will work with the student in maintaining control of their animal; but in circumstances where the service dog cannot be controlled, it may have to be removed/trespassed from campus. NOTE: If a service dog is removed from campus for the reasons indicated, SAS will work with the student to provide reasonable academic accommodations and/or residential life accommodations in lieu of the service dog.
OTHER TYPES OF ANIMALS:
Note about Puppies: Roger Williams University does not recognize puppies or puppies-in-training as legitimate Service Dogs. The federal law, Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008, and the US Department of Justice also do not recognize puppies as service dogs. However, in Rhode Island, there are legislative indicators that when a dog is legitimately being trained as a service dog, it is to be treated with the same exemptions given to fully trained service dogs.
Students, who are training their own dogs to become their service dogs, MUST be in contact with SAS:
- to provide evidence that the puppy is engaged in a legitimate training program, teaching the dog to perform specific tasks related to the student's particular disability.
- to provide identifying and health information (picture of the dog, breed information, veterinary records including current vaccinations, emergency contact for alternate handler, etc...)
The dog must be at least six months old.
The dog must be fully and completely house trained.
The dog must at all times, in public, be on-leash, be treated as a working animal and, again, may not be disruptive, or aggressive.
Note about Therapy Dogs: Therapy dogs undergo training with their handlers to provide emotional support to people in a variety of group settings (ex. schools, hospitals, nursing homes) or in the therapy session. Therapy dogs and their handlers are generally under the supervision of a mental health system or mental health provider while they are on duty.
Therapy dogs are not service dogs as defined by ADAAA 2008 and are not allowed to accompany their owners to class or other locations on campus except when on duty under the supervision of a mental health provider.
If an eligible RWU student owns a therapy dog, and that student qualifies for the ESA residential accommodation, the student may use the therapy dog as their emotional support animal, (as defined in the section ESA-Emotional Support Animal). However, the therapy dog is considered a residential accommodation only and must remain in the student's residence at all times, as per the ESA guidelines.