Admissions and Registration

Our students who seek disability accommodations will often have questions about how their disability status/accommodations function within the admission and registration process. Below you will find some answers to our most frequent concerns and some suggestions for resolution should any problems arise.

Admissions

Disability Support Services (DSS) is not involved in the admission process at the University of Washington Tacoma. However, if a student is in need of assistance with the admission process, for instance filling out forms, DSS can provide an aide. To request assistance, please contact the DSS Office

Please visit the UWT Office of Enrollment Services website to find further information about admissions and registration on our campus.

Solving Admissions Questions and Concerns

If you have questions or concerns regarding the admission process or questions related to admission to the University of Washington Tacoma, please direct them to Enrollment Services.

Foreign Language Requirements

Substitution

The University of Washington (Seattle ; Tacoma; Bothell ) and the Colleges of Arts and Sciences accept American Sign Language (ASL) in lieu of a foreign language both for admission and for the foreign language graduation requirement.

Often, students who have tried and failed in a foreign language course such as Spanish, German, Latin, etc., find that they succeed when taking American Sign Language (ASL) courses. Because ASL meets the University's foreign language requirement, students are encouraged to try taking ASL before giving up completely on learning a second language. If this has already been tried without success, or for other reasons cannot be accomplished, the student may then petition for a foreign language substitution with the assistance of the Disability Support Services Manager.

Waiving the Foreign Language Requirement

The foreign language requirement is never simply waived; fulfillment by substitute courses is required. A small number of students admitted with credit deficiencies in foreign language are given special permission by the UWT Admissions, Academic Standards and Graduation Committee to substitute foreign culture courses for foreign language courses because of deafness, speech impairment, or an indentified learning disability. Decisions are made by the Committee on the basis of documentation supplied by the student to DSS together with a recommendation from the Disability Support Services Manager.

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Registration

Priority Registration

DSS provides priority registration to qualified students with diagnostically documented disabilities. Not all students with diagnostically documented disabilities qualify for priority registration as a reasonable academic accommodation. Priority registration is typically offered to students with diagnostically documented disabilities who meet one or more of the following criteria:

• The student has a physical or mobility impairment that requires the need to schedule classes in accessible locations, and, when possible, in close proximity to one another.
• The student requires accommodations that are time intensive for DSS to implement—such as reading a textbook onto tape or securing Sign Language interpreters.
• The student has extraordinary class scheduling needs due to the diagnostically documented disability such as health restrictions or the need to administer medications at specific times, etc.

Students must be in good financial standing with the University in order to utilize priority registration. This means that there can be no "hold" (such as Financial Aid or Student Advising) on the student's account. If there is a "hold," registration will be withheld until the student resolves the problem.

Students who are eligible for priority registration are responsible for registering during the priority registration time period. Priority registration does not guarantee a student the desired class schedule. Any course prerequisites must still be met and the student must obtain departmental entry codes.

Problems with Registration

If you are having problems registering for—or dropping—your classes, please contact the Director, Registration and Financial Aid/Registrar.

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