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Academic accommodations for students with disabilities and/or chronic health conditions

Students, prospective students and continuing education participants with disabilities or chronic health conditions may be legally entitled to academic accommodations in order to ensure they have equal opportunities in their studies.

What are academic accommodations?

Academic accommodations allow for differentiated treatment to ensure that students with disabilities and chronic health conditions have the same access to education as everyone else. Academic accommodations may be granted in connection with the following conditions:

The above list is not exhaustive. The academic accommodation measures are defined jointly by the students, the academic accommodations advisory service and the Schools. Academic accommodations must not result in different learning objectives or confer advantages. The measures must also be proportionate to the respective diagnosis and be feasible for the Schools to implement.

Should you have any questions or if anything is unclear with regards to academic accommodations, please contact us at barrierefrei@zhaw.ch. You can also find further information on academic accommodations in the Regulations on Academic Accommodations.

How can I apply for academic accommodations?

1. Submit an online application

Complete the online application form at the bottom of this page and submit it on time to the academic accommodations advisory service. The online application is non-binding and does not yet entitle you to an academic accommodation or corresponding measures. These are only defined after your application has been reviewed by the academic accommodations advisory service.

Your online application must contain a clear request including the relevant reasons. Evidence of your disability or chronic health condition (issued by a professional or specialist office) must also be submitted. This must explain how your disability or chronic health condition disadvantages you in pursuing your studies. We also kindly ask that you send us a copy of any academic accommodations you have received in the past.

A consultation is recommended, but is optional. If you have already been granted academic accommodations (from past semesters / other degree programmes / other universities), you can also select the option “without consultation” during the registration process. You and the academic accommodations advisory service do, however, have the option to initiate a consultation at any time, if required.

2. Review by and consultation with the academic

Your online application and supporting documents will then be reviewed. Should you wish for a consultation, you will receive an invitation for a meeting. The academic accommodation measures will be determined together with you and your School and documented in writing.

3. Submission to the School

After reviewing your application and the submitted supporting documents, and following a possible consultation and your reconfirmation of the measures, the academic accommodations advisory service will submit your application with a recommendation to the responsible School.

4. Decision and information

The School – generally the programme director – decides on the measures and informs you in writing. If the measures are modified or rejected, you will receive preliminary information and have three options:

  1. You can ask for the academic accommodations advisory service to mediate in an attempt to find an amicable solution with the School. The academic accommodations advisory service can then submit a revised application.. Should the revised application also fail to gain approval, you will receive a ruling from the School including instructions on how to appeal.
  2. You can inform the School that you are in agreement with the announced modification or rejection in accordance with the preliminary information provided to you. Those measures will then be implemented without further notice.
  3. You can inform the School that you wish to proceed with the application you had submitted. In this case, the School will then provide a ruling with instructions on how to appeal.

The Regulations on Academic Accommodations govern the applicable rights and obligations as well as the associated procedures and responsibilities. The academic accommodations advisory service recommends that you read the regulations before submitting your online application. You can find the regulations here.

Deadlines

Please note that it takes time to review your online application, advise you and coordinate with your School. We therefore ask that you complete the online application as early as possible and within the deadline to ensure that enough time remains to review, advise and prepare the application for your School.

Online application form

Please complete the online application form below so that your request for academic accommodations can be reviewed.

Personal details

Matriculation

You have not yet been matriculated at the ZHAW and would like to submit an application for academic accommodations for the admissions procedure:*
You are already matriculated at the ZHAW and would like to submit an application for academic accommodations during your study programme:*
You are completing your studies:
I would like advice from the academic accommodations advisory service to assist me in connection with the possible measures when applying for academic accommodations:*

Please describe your health situation and the disadvantages caused by your disability with respect to study-related activities and assessments. If you have no previous study experience, you can make reference to your experiences at school and in everyday life:

Please describe in as much detail as possible which measures you consider to be necessary in order to compensate for the disadvantages caused by your disability? We are interested in your assessment of the situation and your experience. During the consultation, we will specify the measures together and check them as regards their feasibility.

The application applies:*
The application concerns the following (if you already know: please tick the applicable options. Multiple answers are possible):*
Measure concerns the following: (if you already know: please tick the applicable options.):*

Certificate of disability

In order for academic accommodations to be approved, you must provide a certificate of your disability. The regulations specify which certificates are accepted and what they should include. If possible, please send your certificate at the same time as your registration directly to: barrierefrei@zhaw.ch

If you do not yet have a certificate, please endeavour to submit one as soon as possible.

Have you been granted academic accommodations in the past? If so, please send the relevant details to: barrierefrei@zhaw.ch

Data protection and confidentiality

I acknowledge that the ZHAW generally corresponds via the ZHAW e-mail address (if available).

Data protection

We process your personal data in accordance with the provisions of the law on Information and Data Protection of the Canton of Zurich (LS ZH 170.4; hereinafter referred to as the “IDG”) and, as appropriate, the European General Data Protection Regulation (Regulation 2016/679; hereinafter referred to as the “GDPR”) to the extent that each of the respective regulations are applicable.

The ZHAW is responsible for data processing. Your data is processed exclusively for the purpose described above

and remains with the ZHAW. It is stored on our servers in Switzerland with all due care and attention, and it is protected from being accessed by any third parties. The data you provide is treated as strictly confidential.

Please note that you have different rights depending on the applicable legal framework:

If the IDG is applicable, you have the right to access your own personal data, the right to have incorrect personal data corrected or destroyed, the right to stop the unlawful processing of your data, the right to the rectification of consequences arising from the unlawful processing of your data, the right to determine the unlawful processing of your data and the right to have your data blocked.

If the GDPR is applicable, you have the right of access (in accordance with GDPR Article 15), the right to rectification (in accordance with GDPR Article 16), the right to erasure (in accordance with GDPR Article 17), the right to restriction of processing (in accordance with GDPR Article 18), the right to object (in accordance with GDPR Article 21) and the right to data portability (in accordance with GDPR Article 20). Please contact us if you wish to exercise your rights. The contact information can be found below. In addition, there is a right to lodge a complaint with a competent data protection supervisory authority (in accordance with GDPR Article 77).

For further information on data protection, please contact:

ZHAW Zurich University of Applied Sciences
Gertrudstrasse 15
8401 Winterthur
Telephone: +41 (0)58 934 71 71
E-mail: datenschutz@zhaw.ch