Prospective Students

The transition from high school to college or higher education poses significant challenges for virtually every new undergraduate. But for students requiring disability accommodations, it can be especially confusing, since laws that govern the rights and responsibilities of both students and academic institutions differ substantially between K–12 and post-secondary education.

Student Disability Services (SDS) is here to help you understand these differences and guide you through the transition process to ensure your educational access needs are met at DU.

Timeline for Request Review - Incoming Students

  • SDS will begin reviewing requests in May or June for incoming students enrolling for the first time at the university in the Autumn quarter. Incoming students are welcome to submit requests and documentation before then, but should not expect to get a response until the summer. 
  • SDS receives a very large influx of requests at the beginning of the academic year and recommends submitting requests and documentation for incoming students as far in advance of the upcoming academic year as possible to ensure reviews for requests can be fully processed before the academic year begins. 
  • Once a request has gone through a preliminary review, an accommodation specialist will reach out to the students DU email address with next steps, so be sure to check your DU email inbox regularly after submitting your request.
  • SDS will only review requests and determine appropriate accommodations for students who have submitted a tuition deposit and documentation.

Please visit the Steps to Request Accommodations page for details on how to submit requests and guidelines for documentation.

Helpful Documents for the College Transition

Differences in Disability Services from High School to College

Understanding your civil rights and responsibilities, as well as the differences in the accommodations process between K–12 and postsecondary education, is essential for a successful transition to DU. The following document highlights some of the main differences between these two settings:

Transition to Post-Secondary Education (U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights)

The previous document was adapted from the following transition guide, provided by the US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR).

Preparing for Postsecondary Education

The US Department of Education (DOE) also provides the following guide to further assist in your transition from high school to college.