Who We Support
Students facing new or changed accessibility needs in light of COVID-19, including but not limited to those who are at higher risk according to CDC Guidelines, are encouraged to connect with our office and apply for accommodations. Students requesting temporary remote access to their courses due to COVID-19 quarantine, isolation, or travel restriction do not need to register with the Disability Services Office.
The Disability Services Office supports all RIT students who identify as having a permanent or temporary disability. This includes, but is not limited to:
- Lifelong or acquired disabilities
- Hidden disabilities (e.g. learning disabilities or mental health disabilities)
- Deaf/hard-of-hearing students (in partnership with NTID Access Services, which coordinates interpreting, captioning, and note-taking)
- Chronic illness
- Veterans with service-related disabilities
- Pregnancy-related disability
- Students of size
- Students with temporary disabilities (e.g. students with injuries or recovering from surgery)
- Students facing new access needs in light of the COVID-19 pandemic
- Children attending Margaret’s House child care center on the RIT campus (please email dso@rit.edu directly to inquire about supports for this population)
- Learners taking RITx massive open online courses (MOOCs) taught by RIT faculty (please email dsox@rit.edu directly to inquire about supports for this population)
Learn more about the services and accommodations available to better support your experience at RIT
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Frequently Asked Questions
RIT is also home to the Department of Access Services (DAS) at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID). DAS provides interpreting, note-taking, and real-time captioning services to the RIT community. Deaf and hard-of-hearing students who work with DAS for captioning, note-taking, and/or interpreting may also contact the Disability Services Office for support with any additional accessibility needs. For more information about supports for D/deaf and hard-of-hearing students with additional disabilities, visit the DeafPlus website.
Students are encouraged to work directly with their faculty if they miss class as a result of an illness. While the RIT Student Health Center does not provide medical excuses for class absences, faculty are encouraged to be flexible with students who are ill. Most of the time, routine illnesses do not warrant formal accommodations from the Disability Services Office. Students with any questions about this should contact our office directly.
Anyone faced with an emergency situation should contact RIT Public Safety at 585-475-3333 or text 585-205-8333. You may also contact the RIT Student Health Center. If the Student Health Center is closed, their after-hours nurse advice service can be reached by calling 585-475-2255 and selecting the “nurse advice” option. Additional emergency resources can be found on the Report an Incident webpage.
The Disability Services Office works with students who sustain injuries or otherwise find themselves needing temporary accessibility support. Students in these situations should request accommodations by filling out our standard registration form. Students may communicate that a request is urgent by contacting our office directly.