About the Office

Mission:

At UW-River Falls, the mission of Ability Services is to arrange equal access and opportunity for students in the way of academic accommodations, and to provide students an inclusive and accessible campus community and culture.

We empower students by helping them build their self-awareness and self-advocacy skills to effectively communicate their needs, strengths, learning style and barriers.

We arrange reasonable academic accommodations to best ensure that students can maximize the use of their inherent ability by providing them the supports required for their educational learning and academic opportunities.

We provide initiatives to help establish a culture of understanding and awareness in relation to the disability populations served on the UWRF campus. We advocate for accessibility in the learning environment and educating the larger campus community on disability issues.  

The Ability Services Office values collaboration as being an essential function of honoring equal access and opportunity to students with disabilities. We work to establish positive working relationships between faculty and the students we serve. Outside of collaborating with faculty, we are devoted to promoting disability diversity on our campus and providing education, outreach, and awareness regarding the needs of our students. We achieve this by collaborating closely with the following campus partners: Student Health and Counseling, TRIO/SSS, Residence Life, Admissions, Parking, Facilities, Textbook Services, Registrars, Speech and Hearing Clinic, Dinning Services, Division of Technology Services, Student Conduct and Community Standards, Disability Advisory Committee, Medical Emergency Withdrawal Committee, Autism Transition Program Committee, Commencement Committee, Week of Welcome Committee, and the Campus Climate Sexual Assault Assessment Committee.

We are committed to promoting professional development and continuing education opportunities for faculty and staff to learn best practices in effectively servicing the needs of students with disabilities in the classroom, campus departments, residence halls, and the larger campus community. Providing outreach and establishing a greater understanding of disability culture on our campus is a vital aspect our of office’s vision and mission.

The Ability Services office is dedicated to connecting with local school districts to aid in educating students, parents, and high school staff on the expectations and requirements for receiving academic accommodations in Higher Education. Education sessions and informational panels are platforms used to promote outreach about services and supports while also appropriately preparing prospective students for the transition from high school to college. Developing community partnerships, and understanding community resources is vital to establishing a sustainable long-term culture and vision that encompasses all of the factors prospective students with disabilities take into consideration when making their decision about what university to select. The Ability Services Office strives to provide supports during each student’s educational journey by collaborating with community providers to offer comprehensive supports that can best service the complex needs of each individual student.