Resources for Students with Disabilities
AccessibleNU
AccessibleNU (ANU) supports and empowers students with disabilities by collaborating with the Northwestern community to ensure equal access and full participation in the student experience. Students who have disabilities, have utilized a 504 Plan or Individualized Education Plan in K–12, or have been approved for accommodations in other educational contexts are encouraged to learn more about ANU and the University’s accommodation process. Examples of disabling conditions might include attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, depression, learning disabilities, Crohn’s disease, and chronic migraines, among others.
The process for academic accommodation determination has three steps:
- Complete AccessibleNU's online application.
- If you have documentation regarding your condition, please upload or email it to accessiblenu@northwestern.edu. If you do not have documentation and/or would like to discuss the accommodation determination process, please call or email AccessibleNU to set up an informational appointment.
- Within approximately a week of receipt of your application and documentation, an AccessibleNU staff member will contact you to set up an accommodation meeting or to request additional information.
Receiving accommodations is an interactive process. At your accommodation meeting, you and your ANU advisor will discuss possible services and accommodations.
Please contact AccessibleNU during the summer as accommodations are non-retroactive and may require additional coordination.
Please note that ANU keeps your information confidential in compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act; any information shared with our office is not included in your academic records.
Housing Accommodation Requests
Students who will need housing accommodations should fill out the accommodation request form and submit relevant supporting documents. The housing accommodation application for disability reasons can be found on the AccessibleNU website or in the Housing portal; the form for all other requests can be found in the Housing portal.
Rising second-year, third-year, and fourth-year students must submit accommodation requests for the new academic year by April 1. Incoming first-year and transfer students must submit accommodation requests by June 1. Requests submitted after these deadlines will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Housing accommodations will be made based upon available spaces. It is not possible to guarantee a housing accommodation for requests submitted after the deadline.
Summer Placement Exam Accommodations
If you need accommodations for an online placement exam, plan to initiate the ANU application process four weeks in advance of your placement test. Please note that foreign language placement exams are not timed.