Some students with disabilities experience difficulty with learning a modern language such as Spanish or French. Students are encouraged to consider whether a different language choice, such as Latin or American Sign Language (ASL)* would better meet their learning needs in fulfilling the UMW foreign language competency requirement.
After considering curricular options, if a student with a disability feels his/her participation in a course would still be limited, even with the use of appropriate accommodations, the student may wish to initiate a request for a substitution of the language requirement.
For substitutions of the foreign language requirement, typically only students who have a learning disability in language processing are successful in their petitions. Additional testing to further document the presence of a language based learning disability may be required for a successful petition. Students with other disabilities such as Attention Deficit Disorder or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder are usually not granted foreign language course substitutions but are encouraged to take advantage of curricular options and approved classroom accommodations.
*Approved coursework in ASL will be accepted for the UMW General Education requirement beginning in fall 2011. Courses in ASL, however, are not offered at UMW.
Course substitution request deadlines
Students requiring a substitution of coursework as a reasonable accommodation must request this accommodation according to the following deadlines:
- By the end of the fourth semester for students entering the University as a freshman.
- By the end of the second semester for students entering the University as a transfer student.