To Register with ODA

To receive disability accommodations at Southern Miss, students must register with the Office for Disability Accommodations (ODA), then discuss their accommodation requests with the ODA Director, Assistant Director, or Disability Specialist. Students' responsibility in the registration process involves:

1. Completing two forms, an ODA Application and a Consent Form, then returning them to ODA. Both can be downloaded by clicking on the following link:

Application for ODA Services and Consent Form

2. Submitting documentation of the disability that must be provided by a qualified health care provider.

Guidelines for the documentation of various categories of disabilities are also linked below. The guidelines explain the exact information needed and should be shared with the students' health care professional. Students are expected to insure that their disability documentation information is submitted to ODA. All fees associated with obtaining documentation are the responsibility of the student. The following are a list of guidelines for various disability categories:

Attention Deficity Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Blindness and/or Visual Impairment

Deafness and/or Hearing Impairment

Head/Traumatic Brain Injury

Learning Disabilities (LD)

Physical Disabilities and/or Systemic Illness

Psychological/Psychiatric Disabilities

Rehabilitated Drug Addiction/Alcoholism

All disability documentation that is submitted to ODA is kept confidential and will be used in determining eligibility for coverage under ADA and making decision on accommodation request.

Requesting Accommodations

Once a student's documentation and application have been approved by ODA, the student is registered with ODA; however, the student must then meet with ODA to discuss their accommodation requests. For more information on ODA's procedures, please refer to the online ODA Manual. It should be noted that registering with ODA is completely separate process from applying for admission into the university.

Shared Responsibilities: ODA, Faculty, Staff and Students

Achieving reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities involves shared responsibility between ODA, students, faculty and staff. It is the responsibility of the University to educate personnel and faculty regarding the rights of students with disabilities and the policies of ODA. Southern Miss faculty and staff must provide reasonable accommodations that assist students in accessing university resources and in fulfilling degree requirements as established by the university. When students request accommodations without a letter from ODA, faculty and staff must refer the students to ODA. Then ODA will verify the documentation of the disability and plan for reasonable and appropriate accommodations that meet the mandates of federal legislation.

Follow-up and Evaluation of Services

Once accommodations are implemented, ODA contacts students to monitor and evaluate services. At the end of each semester, students are asked to evaluate ODA services by completing a satisfaction with services questionnaire (see the ODA Evaluation of Services form in Appendix B of the ODA Manual). Students are expected to keep ODA updated on their current contact information. If the need arises for ODA to quickly relay messages, accurate phone numbers, mailing and/or email addresses are essential.

Faculty and staff should inform ODA as soon as possible about any problems with approved accommodations.