Welcome Back, Students!

This law, which goes into effect January 1st, 2025, provides disability resource offices like ours with clearer guidelines regarding the process of requesting accommodations and the role of documentation. In an effort to meet the requirements of the law, Accessibility Resources worked hard over the summer to be compliant even before it actually goes into effect. The main changes related to this are:

• The University will be more explicit and more widely disseminate the process for students with disabilities who need accommodations.
• Documentation is not required before beginning the accommodation process. In order to start, a student just needs to contact Accessibility Resources to schedule an intake meeting and we'll guide you from there.
  • Documentation may still be needed during the process, however; the intake staff will explain the need and assist in getting it once you have the intake meeting.
• More types of documentation can be used to establish reasonable accommodations, including IEPs or 504 plans in effect when a student graduates high school, military service disability information, or accommodation plans from other colleges/universities attended.

Students who previously chose not to seek accommodations or were worried about not having documentation are encouraged to contact us.

• A better mobile interface.
• Language changes.
• More customization options.
• Many other changes impacted how we use it in our office and for instructors as they provide information for meeting your accommodation needs.

Most of the ways students have used MavAccess stayed the same - they just may look different and you may have to look around a bit to find where something moved to. For assistance email Alex at alex.lucier.2@mnsu.edu or call/text 507-389-5242.

Visit this page: Getting Started.

Please note: You may be asked to provide documentation of your disability to help determine eligibility for accommodations. If you don’t have documentation, and if it is needed, we will help you at the initial meeting. More information is available at the above link.

If you have difficulties in completing the steps outlined on that page, contact us:

Email: ar@mnsu.edu
Phone: 507-389-2825
Visit: Memorial Library 132 (right next to the tunnel in the lower level of the Library that connects to the CSU).

1. Log into MavAccess here: mnsu.edu/mavaccess using your StarID login.
2. Your Dashboard should come up that shows your accommodation requests and your Access Coordinator's name. You can click Request Accommodations either with the big plus symbol or under "Your To Do List".
3. Check the boxes for the courses you want to submit requests in. There are a couple ways to do this:
   • If you want to request the same accommodations for all classes, check all of them as well as the last box before hitting Continue. This way it will only give you one list to select on the next screen.
   • If you want to customize your requests for different classes, don't check the last box. This way it will give you check boxes for individual classes to select on the next screen.
   • Once you've chosen, click Continue on to next step.
4. Check the boxes for the accommodations you are requesting for your class(es), and click Submit Request at the bottom.

Once we receive and process your request, an accommodation notice will be sent to you and your instructor(s).

1. Log into MavAccess here: mnsu.edu/mavaccess using your StarID login.
2. Your Dashboard should come up that shows your accommodation requests and your Access Coordinator's name. Click "Alternative Testing" under the accommodations box on the left side.
3. Select which course you need to take the test for.
4. Fill in the details for the request (exam type, date, time, and accommodations you are using for this test) and click Add Exam Request at the bottom of the page.
   • Note: for Standard Length of Exam, enter the number of minutes the test is for the class WITHOUT including any extended time.
5. You will receive confirmation when your test request is successfully added and approved.

The person in Accessibility Resources who coordinates Alternative Testing is Alex J. Lucier. You can contact them via email (alex.lucier.2@mnsu.edu), call/text (507-389-5242), or by stopping in at Memorial Library 132.

Please note: before we can proctor a test, your instructor needs to submit an Alternative Testing Agreement (ATA) that we send them; this agreement tells us how the test is proctored in-class without accommodations. Even if the ATA has not been submitted, you may still schedule, and we will connect with the instructor to get that ATA completed.

Check out this captioned video on how to request textbooks for Fall 2024.

In short:

1. First, input your courses into the MSU Bookstore site to see what books you need and what is available at the Bookstore.
2. Try to purchase the version that meets your needs first. If there are digital versions available, they can be listed on this page. If not, copy and paste the ISBN into a reputable e-book seller, like VitalSource or RedShelf.
3. If there isn't a version available that meets your needs, purchase the one that is available and submit a request for the book on MavAccess.
4. Log into MavAccess here: mnsu.edu/mavaccess using your StarID login.
5. Your Dashboard should come up that shows your accommodation requests and your Access Coordinator's name. Click Alternative Formats on the left side.
6. Here should list all of the books required for your classes, whether you have requested them or not. You can cancel any that you don't need. For those you do need, you will need to submit the receipt or other proof of ownership. More information on proof of ownership information can be found on this page: Proof of Purchase.
7. Once we receive the request and receipt/proof of ownership, we will find and send the version in the format you need (PDF/EPUB for e-books, physical books for digital-to-print, etc.).

The person in Accessibility Resources who coordinates Alternate Format Text accommodations is Alex J. Lucier. You can contact them via email (alex.lucier.2@mnsu.edu), call/text (507-389-5242), or by stopping in at Memorial Library 132.

Please note: sometimes we need to contact publishers directly to get an accessible copy of a book. It may take at least two weeks to get them back. In the meantime, check the Library to see if they have a copy you can temporarily use - they have many course textbooks already in a digital format here: MavScholar.