MUIH is committed to ensuring equal access for qualified individuals with disabilities and fully complies with all relevant federal and state laws. At MUIH, no qualified individual with a disability is excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination in access to services, benefits, and extracurricular activities at the University solely by reason of his or her disability.

A “qualified individual with a disability” is a person with a disability who has been certified by a professional qualified to evaluate the disability in question; meets the essential eligibility requirements for participation in or receipt of a program or activity; and is capable with accommodations as necessary to ensure that such requirements do not discriminate or have the effect of discriminating, on the basis of their disability, against a qualified prospective or matriculated student.

It is the responsibility of the student who has a disability and needs assistance in gaining equal access to services, benefits, and activities at the University to contact the Office of Disability Services and Accessibility with a completed and signed Confidential Accommodation Request Form along with documentation of the need for an accommodation. The Confidential Accommodation Request form is available on My MUIH (under Forms and Policies/For Students; under Disability Services). As appropriate to the disability, documentation should follow these guidelines:

  • This documentation must be issued by an appropriate professional such as a psychologist, psychiatrist, or physician. The credentials of the diagnosing professional should include information describing the certification, licensure, and/or professional training of the person conducting the evaluation.
  • The documentation should include a diagnostic statement identifying the existence and impact of the disability, date of the current diagnostic evaluation, and date of the original diagnosis. The diagnostic systems used by the U.S. Department of Education, the State Department of Rehabilitative Services, or other State agencies and/or the current editions of either the Diagnostic Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association (DSM) or the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems of the University Resources and Service 11 World Health Organization (ICD) are the recommended diagnostic taxonomies. The documentation should also explain how a disability limits an individual’s ability to benefit from a particular delivery system, instructional method, or evaluation criteria, or to perform certain duties or functions. It should address the accommodation that is necessary and how the accommodation might mitigate the effect of the disability.
  • The documentation should include a description of the impact of treatments and/or medications, assistive devices, accommodations and/or assistive services in current use and their estimated effectiveness in ameliorating the impact of the disability. Significant side effects that may affect physical, perceptual, behavioral, or cognitive performance should also be noted.
  • The documentation should provide a description of the diagnostic criteria and/or diagnostic test used. The description should include the specific results of diagnostic procedures, diagnostic tests utilized, and when administered. When available, both summary and specific test scores should be reported as standard scores and the norming population identified. When standard scores are not available, then the mean, standard deviation, and standard error of measurement are requested as appropriate to the construction of the test. Diagnostic methods used should be congruent with the disability and current professional practices within the field. Informal or non-standardized evaluations should be described in enough detail that a professional colleague could understand their role and significance in the diagnostic process.
  • New documentation may be required if (i) an individual’s diagnosis changes, (ii) the individual requests an accommodation that is new or different from the accommodation(s) included in the documentation, (iii) the documentation submitted is not pertinent to and/or does not support the accommodation request, or (iv) the documentation is outdated (three years or more). If a Student Retention, Success, and Disability Services and Accessibility Coordinator determines that additional information regarding an individual’s disability is needed, the individual will be contacted in a timely manner.
  • The Student Retention, Success and Disability Services Coordinator will verify the disability and collaborate with the student in identifying accommodations and ways to implement these accommodations. Accommodations may include, but are not limited to, auxiliary aids and other services.
  • Students will be notified of approved accommodations in writing within two weeks.
  • Requests for accommodations will be considered on an individual, case-bycase basis. Any person who believes she or he has been subjected to discrimination on the basis of disability may file a grievance under this procedure. It is against the law for MUIH to retaliate against anyone who files a grievance or cooperates in the investigation of a grievance.

Procedure 

Grievances must be submitted to the Associate Vice President of Student and Alumni Affairs within 15 calendar days of the date the person filing the grievance becomes aware of the alleged discriminatory action. A complaint must be in writing, containing the name and address of the person filing it. The complaint must state the problem or action alleged to be discriminatory and the remedy or relief sought. The Associate Vice President of Student and Alumni Affairs (or her/his designee) shall conduct an investigation of the complaint. This investigation may be informal, but it must be thorough, affording all interested persons an opportunity to submit evidence relevant to the complaint. The Associate Vice President of Student and Alumni Affairs will maintain the files and records of MUIH relating to such grievances.

The Associate Vice President of Student and Alumni Affairs or his/her designee will issue a written decision on the grievance no later than 30 days after its filing. The person filing the grievance may appeal the decision of the Associate Vice President of Student and Alumni Affairs or his/her designee by writing to the Provost or his/her designee. The Provost shall issue a written decision in response to the appeal no later than 30 days after its filing. The availability and use of this grievance procedure does not prevent a person from filing a complaint of discrimination based on disability with the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights. MUIH will make appropriate arrangements to ensure that persons with disabilities are provided other accommodations, if needed, to participate in this grievance process. Such arrangements may include, but are not limited to, providing interpreters for the deaf, providing notetaking, or assuring a barrierfree location for the proceedings. The Associate Vice President of Student and Alumni Affairs will be responsible for such arrangements. Persons with questions regarding this policy should contact the University’s Associate Vice President of Student and Alumni Affairs:

Maryland University of Integrative Health
7750 Montpelier Road Laurel, MD 20723
410-888-9048