College of Alameda > Student Services > SAS – Student Accessibility Services (formerly DSPS) > How to Apply for SAS Services at College of Alameda

How to Apply for SAS Services at College of Alameda

Information for New, Continuing and Returning Students:

Accommodations are CAMPUS SPECIFIC.  You must apply for services and request accommodations at each college campus where you require accommodations.  For Peralta Colleges, contact information can be found at these links: SAS at Peralta Colleges view PDF or SAS at Peralta colleges view WORD

If you are new to SAS at the College of Alameda, you begin by completing and submitting the application documents listed below, and once those are submitted you will meet with a SAS Counselor.

Prior to Your First Appointment

  1. Apply to the College of Alameda if you are not already a student at COA or another Peralta College (Laney, Berkeley City, Merritt).  Have your Student ID # available when filling out forms and scheduling appointments.
  2. Review your SAS Student Rights and Responsibilities SAS Student Rights and Responsibilities and the SAS Student Handbook
  3. Complete the SAS Application using the Peralta AIM system.  Selecting College of Alameda and any other campuses you are enrolled at.  You will be required to log into your Campus Solutions account.
  4. Submit documentation of your disability.  Note:  Your documentation may be an IEP/Triennial Evaluation, 504 plan documents, medical reports, Department of Rehabilitation Plan, Neuropsychological Exam, Learning Disabilities Assessment, or other documentation of your disability, or you may have your medical provider complete this Disability Verification by Medical Provider  If you think you have a disability but do not currently have documentation, please discuss that with the counselor.

You will have the opportunity to upload your documents into directly AIM (the application system) when you are applying; you may also log back into AIM to upload, or you may choose to email or fax your documents to SAS.

On the Day of Your Appointment:

  • For Online/Zoom appointments please submit your documentation one business day prior to your appointment.  Log on using the link provided in your appointment confirmation email at the scheduled time.
  • For in-person/On-Campus appointments (when they resume) please arrive 15 minutes before your appointment to ensure that all paperwork is complete.
  • If you must cancel, please email or call as soon as possible. If you do cancel, be aware that it may take a while before another appointment is available.

Continuing students who have already submitted disability documentation to College of Alameda’s SAS should meet with a SAS counselor each semester to review progress, enroll in classes, evaluate effectiveness of accommodations, and arrange for accommodations for the following semester.

Accommodations do not automatically roll over each semester. You will need to request accommodations in advance of each semester through your SAS counselor.

You may enroll on-line, but we recommend that you meet with a SAS counselor to choose appropriate classes. In addition, if you are enrolling in SAS’s Educational Assistance Classes, you will need to register through SAS.

Continuing students should schedule an appointment with their assigned counselor (the counselor you have worked with) using the SAS Online Appointment Scheduling System.

You must complete a new SAS Application to reactivate your services.

If you have been away for more than 5 years, your file may have been discarded and you may need to resubmit documentation of disability. (See NEW STUDENTS above).

Please contact us at SAS.Alameda@peralta.edu to determine if your file with documentation is still available.

Summary of Procedures to Request Academic Accommodations

(SAS staff are available to assist with the process.)

  1. Student makes contact with SAS and asks for accommodations.

  2. Student provides SAS with documentation of disability or is referred to the Learning Disability Specialist for testing. The documentation must be from an agency or licensed or certified professional who is qualified to evaluate the student’s disability and the effect it has on the learning process.

  3. If the student is eligible for services, the SAS counselor, through an interactive consultation with the student, identifies educational limitations, determines academic accommodations, and completes the Academic Accommodation Plan.

  4. With the student’s consent, SAS sends the instructor the Academic Accommodations Notification. If testing accommodations are authorized, the student will bring the Exam Proctoring Request form to the instructor to be signed.

  5. SAS assists instructor in providing accommodations.

  6. Students must request accommodations in advance of each semester, and at each college campus they attend and require accommodations. Accommodations do not automatically roll over each semester.

Please note:  Before you discuss accommodations with faculty, you should have already submitted documentation to SAS. Instructional faculty are not expected to evaluate disability documentation. By law they are not required, nor advised, to provide accommodations unless the student has submitted the necessary documentation to the college. If you have not given documentation to SAS, the instructor should refer you back to SAS to talk with a counselor.

* Very occasionally a student chooses to submit documentation through the 504/ADA Coordinator; at the College of Alameda that person is the Vice President of Student Services. However, SAS will still need to evaluate disability documentation and discuss the request for accommodations with the student.