The characteristics and degree of disability as well as what kind of environmental adjustments are needed may differ according to the student. Reasonable accommodation should not be formulaically determined solely based on what kind of disability the student has, but rather by looking at their supporting documents and thoroughly grasping their characteristics and the circumstances of each student to carefully consider the necessity/rationality of individual consideration.
Therefore, the University requires a measure of time to make a decision on what kind of reasonable accommodation to provide. As the procedure may take one to two months to be completed and authorized, please contact the Coordinator for Students with Special Needs early if you require reasonable accommodation at Sophia University .

1. Consultation reception

Those who require reasonable accommodation in their university life due to their disability can use the contact information below.
・Applications for the initial consultation should be made via email.
・Please state your “student ID No. ”, “name”, “name of disability (diagnosis)”, and “topic of consultation”.

2. A Hearing by the Health and Wellbeing Center (Coordinator for Students with Special Needs)

The staff of the Health and Wellbeing Center (Coordinator for Students with Special Needs) will interview the student with a disability, asking about the details of the disability as well as the type of support needed for campus life and hospital visits.

3. Accepting applications for “reasonable accommodation”

The following documents are requested for application:

①Application form for reasonable accommodation
Subject: Everyone

This application sent to the university should be filled out by the students themselves.
The designated format will be handed out after the “2. A Hearing by the Health and Wellbeing Center (Coordinator for Students with Special Needs)”.

②Medical certificate issued by a medical institution <original copy> ＊Within 3 months of the issue date
Subject: Everyone

This will be used as a supporting document by the university when considering reasonable accommodation.

【Format】
The university-designated format or other formats designated by medical institutions
＊In the case of formats designated by medical institutions, the following “necessary items” must be included.
＊The university-designated format will be handed out after the “2. A Hearing by the Health and Wellbeing Center (Coordinator for Students with Special Needs)”

【Necessary Items】
1）Diagnosis＜main/complicated diagnosis＞
2）First medical visit, symptoms/process
3）Current condition
4）Considerations and points of attention related to “3) current condition” (specific reasons must also be listed)

※ We may ask you to renew your application if there is necessary information missing.

③Report of examination results <copy> ＊The latest report from within 24 months of the examination date.
Subject: Students with developmental disabilities (required)

※Reports on examination results…objective documents that determine the need for considerations regarding the developmental disability

④Disability certificate “Shogaisha Techo” <copy>
Subject: Students who have the certificate (optional)

※Certificates that have not expired if the certificate has an expiry date or recertification date.

※We may ask for additional documents if necessary.

4. Consideration of reasonable accommodation

Based on the supporting documents and interviews conducted by the Coordinator for Students with Special Needs, whether the requests applied can be provided according to reason and the University rules will be discussed with the faculty and staff of the relevant department. Interviews will also be held if necessary.

5. Determination of reasonable accomodation

After thoroughly reviewing the contents of the interview, a decision of whether an accommodation will be provided or not will be made.

6. Review for each semester

The student’s circumstances during a semester will be reviewed after the Final Examination period  of each semester. We will also confirm whether there are any changes in disability conditions and reasonable accommodations to be requested for the next semester.

※We also accept consultations to review the considerations during a semester.

7. Continuation of reasonable accommodations

Students who wish to continue with reasonable accommodations must go through the application process each semester. Please note that reasonable accommodations will not automatically continue in the next semester without confirmation from the student.

※Students who would like to request any new reasonable accommodation  must submit a medical certificate as the basis for the necessity of the new consideration.

※Students who applied for consideration due to disabilities (mental disorders, etc.) with changing symptoms must submit the latest medical certificate (within 3 months of the issue date) during the renewal process even if there were no changes in requested considerations.

The role of us (A message from the Coordinator for the Students with Special Needs)

We are the primary consultation window in the University that receives inquiries from students who require support or consideration in their studies due to their disabilities. We will have constructive discussions with each student to ask for more details and take on the role of coordinator that makes possible adjustments for reasonable accommodations.

In cases requiring support/consideration in a student’s life, such as classes, students will take the initiative in consulting with the school. The students’ wishes will be respected and valued during the process of considering reasonable accommodations.
We provide the needed advice and support in order to help students take a step forward in consulting or applying for support.