Getting Started with CARS

Our Process

The Center for Accessibility Resources & Services (CARS) is scheduling appointments Mondays through Fridays. Communications/meetings can be flexible based on a student’s needs and consist of the following options: Zoom, Phone, In-Person or Email.

Students need to:

1. Fill out an Application for Services (PDF) form. Please download the form to complete. You may email the completed form to CARS, centerforaccess@necc.mass.edu or bring the completed form to Rm SC111 in the Behrakis Student Center on the Haverhill Campus or to Room L106 or L128 in the Dimitry Building on the Lawrence campus.
   
2. Attend a Request for Services Meeting (RSM). This meeting is scheduled after receiving your completed application for services form. The Center for Accessibility Resources & Services will contact you or you may contact CARS to schedule a Request for Services Meeting. Schedule this meeting in advance of the start of the semester, if possible. Time is needed to review documentation as well as to determine assessment accommodations, if requested. 
3. Provide copies, not originals, of disability documentation. Please note that IEPs and 504 Plans, on their own, are not sufficient documentation for college accommodations, as they are based on laws that do not directly apply in the post-secondary setting. While college students are still protected under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, they fall under a different subpart of the law than K–12 students. That said, IEPs and 504 Plans can still provide helpful background and may be included as part of a comprehensive documentation package. Provided documentation should include a stated diagnosis of your disability such as:
   • • • Attention Deficit/Hyperactive Disorder
       • Autism Spectrum Disorder
       • Brain Injury
       • Chronic Illness
       • Intellectual Disability
       • Learning Disability
       • Low Vision/Blind/Legally Blind
       • Physical Disability
       • Psychiatric or Neurobiological Disorder
       • Seizure Disorder

   After the RSM has been completed and documentation has been submitted, they are reviewed by a professional team at the Center for Accessibility Resources & Services and a specific accommodation plan will be recommended. Following review of this documentation, you will receive a letter via email, informing you of your eligibility status for accommodations and/or services.

4. After registering for classes, contact CARS to schedule a Semester Accommodation Meeting (SAM). This meeting is needed each semester you wish to use your accommodations.

Accommodations are not retroactive. Accommodations will only apply from the date of the Semester Accommodations Meeting, going forward. Accommodations approved will not apply to course work or tests that were required to be completed prior to this.

Differences Between High School and College for Students with Disabilities