Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) is here to assist you with any barriers you may encounter while you are at Winston-Salem State University. Services for Students with Disabilities works to ensure all WSSU faculty, staff and enrolled students have an equal opportunity to participate in all aspects of collegiate life.
Registration with Services for Students with Disabilities is a separate process from applying for admission to Winston Salem State University. Interested students should contact SSD by phone at 336-750-8658 or 336-750-8800 or email at DDS@wssu.edu. We advise that you do not submit disability documentation to the Admissions Office. Services and accommodations cannot be provided until the student has registered and provided the appropriate documentation to SSD.
Once a student is deemed to meet ALL criteria and becomes a part of the Services for Students with Disabilities, it is the student's responsibility to contact the office as required on the initial accommodation letter.
Office Location: Thompson, Suite 300
Office Numbers: 336-750-8658 or 336-750-8800
Office Hours: Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Email: DDS@wssu.edu
Students are highly encouraged to sign up with SSD prior to the start of the semester to ensure that supports are in place for the start of classes.
Please note: Reasonable academic accommodations cannot be retroactively fitted.
- To begin your registration process, please visit Rams Accommodate. At the end of that form, there is a place to upload a copy of your documentation of disability or diagnosis from an appropriately qualified provider.
- Supporting documentation can be uploaded through our online system, hand-delivered to our office (Thompson Center Suite 300), or sent via email to dds@wssu.edu.
- Once the registration form and documentation are received, a SSD staff member will review them. Students must allow at least two weeks (10 business days) for SSD to review all new requests for accommodations. Students receiving provisional accommodations may have a longer waiting period until documentation has been furnished.
- Once your file has been reviewed, you will receive an email to meet with a staff member to do the Welcome Meeting.
At the meeting, you will discuss:
- Accommodations and services
- Campus and local resources
- SSD policies and procedures
- Student rights and responsibilities
Students are welcome to meet with SSD staff members for questions or concerns year-round. We are here to assist you and will provide resources or information to help you achieve your academic goals.
A Semester Accommodation Request must be completed for each semester a student is enrolled and seeking accommodations. The Semester Accommodation Request can be completed and submitted to SSD through Rams Accommodate. This must be done before a professor or instructor can provide reasonable accommodations. Accommodation requests are not retroactive, and it is highly encouraged that you request your accommodations within the first two weeks of the semester.
The Semester Request form can be found under the Accommodation tab on Rams Accommodate:
- To begin the Semester Accommodation Request, hover your mouse over the Accommodation tab and select "Returning Student Request."
- After clicking the "Request Accommodation," you should be directed to a page that lists all of your previous accommodation requests. Click on "Request Accommodation" in the middle of the page.
- Select the semester you are requesting the accommodations for; if you do not see an upcoming semester, please wait until you have received a notification from SSD that the semester is open for registration in Accommodate.
- Once you select the semester, your classes for that semester will appear; select either "Request for All" or "Review Semester Request." Please note: "Request for All" means that you are requesting all your approved accommodations for all of the courses listed, whereas "Review Semester Request" means that you will request specific approved accommodations for specific courses.
- Click "Submit."
- Only your approved accommodations will appear in Rams Accommodate for you to request. In order to receive additional accommodations, you must meet with a staff member and may be asked to present additional documentation.
Students are entitled to request additional accommodations or academic adjustments during the semester or at any time during their tenure at Winston Salem State University. Students are also entitled to request modifications to the nature of the accommodations. Students must work with SSD to determine the appropriate changes to accommodations, academic adjustments or auxiliary aids and services. The office should be contacted at the earliest indication of emerging accommodation needs. Students must allow at least two weeks (10 business days) for the coordination and provision of new accommodations or modifications to existing accommodations.
Some disabilities are temporary and may only require accommodations for a limited time. Each case is considered individually. The following documentation is required for accommodations based on a temporary disability: a letter on letterhead from a qualified professional stating the diagnosis, the functional limitations necessitating reasonable accommodations and the estimated length of services that will be needed. After one semester of temporary accommodations, subsequent semester requests should be requested through Rams Accommodate for review by the SSD staff.
It must be noted that Winston-Salem State University and Services for Students with Disabilities reserve the right to deny requests for services or accommodations while the receipt of appropriate disability documentation is pending.
Faculty notification letters with a student’s reasonable academic accommodations are emailed to professors within 48 business hours (two business days) after submission and approval of the student’s Request for Reasonable Accommodations via Rams Accommodate (if submission and approval occur before the start of classes, the letters will be emailed the first week of class). The letter will automatically be generated after the student has re-registered for accommodations. Students receive a copy of this letter to their email as a confirmation that the letters have been sent. Students should speak with each professor regarding their reasonable accommodations once the letters have been emailed.
Students can receive an array of academic accommodations to aid in their classroom success. Below you will find a list of commonly prescribed academic accommodations at WSSU:
- Adjustable desk or chair
- Assistive listening devices
- Braille materials
- Breaks as needed
- Captioning of course videos
- Desktop video magnifiers
- Permission to record class
- Preferential seating
- Utilization of reader, scribe or sign language interpreter
- Sit or stand as needed
- Breaks as needed
- Note-taking support
- Utilization of a live scribe pen, laptop, tablet or other adaptive equipment
- Real-time captioning (CART)
- Reasonable extension on due dates
- Make-up work for absences due to medical condition
- Access to recordings
Students can request testing accommodation. Commonly prescribed testing and at WSSU include:
- Separate or reduced distraction testing spaces
- 1.5x extended time on quizzes, tests or exams
- 2.0x extended time on quizzes, tests or exams
- Alternative format test: braille, printed copy, enlarged test or written version
- Breaks as needed
Students are welcomed and encouraged to live in university housing. WSSU seeks to provide accessible housing to meet the needs of all members of our Ramily. Commonly prescribed housing accommodations at WSSU include:
- Wheelchair accessible rooms
- Modified furniture
- Single room
- Private bathroom
- Emotional support animal (ESA) (students should not bring an ESA to campus without prior approval and registration with SSD)
