Application Process and Eligibility

Long-Term Disability Accommodation Application Process

Students with disabilities that require accommodations must apply for accommodations through the McBurney Disability Resource Center. 

After completing McBurney's 3-step application process, contact the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, who will implement all approved accommodations at the Law School. With a few disclosure exceptions described below, do not contact your instructors about your accommodations.

Contact the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs with any questions about this process. 

Eligibility and Documentation for Long-Term Disability Accommodations

Review the eligibility and documentation requirements on McBurney's website.

A diagnosis (and supporting documentation) is required. Review McBurney's list of campus resources for undiagnosed students if you are seeking a diagnosis.

If you have questions about your eligibility for accommodations, contact the McBurney Disability Resource Center.

Timeline for Applying for Long-Term Disability Accommodations

In general, to ensure access, the earlier you apply for accommodations, the better. However, you may apply for accommodations at any time. Review McBurney's recommended application timelines.

If you are seeking exam accommodations, please note that the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs must receive your approved accommodations by the posted deadline (usually about one month before the final exam period begins each term) to guarantee accommodations for final exams. 

Examples of Long-Term Disability Accommodations 

Accommodations are approved based on the barrier a student is experiencing, and those accommodations are made on an individualized basis through conversations with your Access Consultant at McBurney. Review McBurney's non-exhaustive list of examples of accommodations for which students may be approved.

Required Actions Each Semester

After you’ve applied for accommodations and you’ve been approved, be sure to complete the following steps each semester. 

Please note that this is an ideal accommodation timeline. Accommodations may still be available even if you start the process later.

Before Each Semester

All Accommodations

• Regardless of the accommodations for which you've been approved, it's best practice to submit your accommodation requests via McBurney Connect for every course that you'd like to use your accommodations before the semester begins.

• Send your Student Accommodation Letters to the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs via McBurney Connect.

• If it’s your first time receiving accommodations in law school or your accommodations have changed, schedule an appointment with Assistant Dean for Student Affairs via Starfish.

Alternative Format Accommodations

• McBurney asks that students submit alternative format requests for their textbooks via McBurney Connect at least 6 weeks prior to the start of the semester. If any instructors have not posted their textbook information by that time, please contact the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, who will consult with your instructors.

• 1Ls: notify McBurney as soon as you know your assigned schedule, as you cannot make the request in McBurney Connect until you are enrolled in your classes. The Assistant Dean for Student Affairs will share your schedule information with McBurney if known before you. 

• Email altformats@studentlife.wisc.edu with any questions or concerns. 

Furniture Accommodations

• To ensure your furniture is in place on the first day of class, request your Student Accommodation Letters in McBurney Connect and select the applicable accommodations about one month before the semester begins.

• When emailed to you, timely complete the Furniture Request Form.

• Email mcbfurniture@studentlife.wisc.edu with any questions or concerns.

Note-Taking Accommodations

• To ensure you have a full semester of note-taking, submit this request via McBurney Connect as early as possible before the start of the semester.

• Email notes@studentlife.wisc.edu with any questions or concerns. 

During the First or Second Week of Class 

Exam Accommodations

• The Assistant Dean for Student Affairs must receive Student Accommodation Letters and notice from you about any mid-semester assessments (midterm exams, graded quizzes, etc.) for which you plan to use your accommodations at least two weeks before the assessment and preferably at the beginning of the semester.

  • The Assistant Dean for Student Affairs will email you accommodation information for your mid-semester assessments a few days before the assessment. 

Limited Flexibility and/or Classroom Accommodations

• You must disclose limited flexibility and/or classroom accommodations (or decline to disclose them) to your instructors using the Law School's accommodation disclosure portal after receiving an email from accommodations@law.wisc.edu prompting you to do so. You must disclose limited flexibility and/or classroom accommodations to your instructors in order to use them!

  • You will continue receiving email reminders from accommodations@law.wisc.edu until you disclose or decline to disclose your limited flexibility and/or classroom accommodations.  

  • The Law School's accommodation disclosure portal will be blank until you've been prompted to disclose these types of accommodations via email from accommodations@law.wisc.edu.

  • The Law School's accommodation disclosure portal is a different portal than McBurney Connect; the Law School's accommodation disclosure portal is used to make necessary limited flexibility and/or classroom accommodation disclosures to your instructors, rather than the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs. 

  • When you log into the Law School's accommodation disclosure portal, you will ONLY see the accommodations that you must disclose to your instructors in order to use them. If you have other accommodations, such as testing accommodations, they will not be listed in this portal, because the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs administers those accommodations and your instructors do not need to know about them.

  • If any of the classes in which you are enrolled are not listed in the Law School's accommodation disclosure portal, then you haven't made accommodation requests for those courses yet. To correct this, log into McBurney Connect and send your accommodation letters for any missing courses to the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, and the portal will update within a business day or two after the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs receives them, so you can make the necessary disclosures to your instructors. 

  • If a class you’ve dropped is listed in the Law School's accommodation disclosure portal, it means McBurney Connect hasn’t detected that you’ve dropped the class yet – decline the accommodation disclosure selections for that course, and eventually it will be removed.

  • Only students with limited flexibility and/or classroom accommodations need to use the Law School's accommodation disclosure portal, because those accommodations need to be disclosed to instructors in order to use them. All other accommodations are administered by the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs and do not need to be disclosed to instructors.

• If you have limited flexibility accommodations, be sure to review the flexibility plan for each course in McBurney Connect. If you have questions about a particular course's flexibility plan, contact the instructor. 

Approximately One Month Before Final Exams

Exam Accommodations

• The Assistant Dean for Student Affairs must receive your Student Accommodation Letters by the deadline set at the beginning of the semester, which is usually about one month before the final exam period begins.

  • If you've shared your Student Accommodation Letters with the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at the beginning of the semester, no further action is required. However, it's recommended to log in to McBurney Connect at this time to ensure you've requested accommodations for all courses in which you plan to use your exam accommodations. 

  • Unlike mid-semester assessments, you need not notify the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs about your final exams, as that information will be shared with the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs directly from your instructors; only the Student Accommodation Letters must be shared with Assistant Dean for Student Affairs timely to ensure sufficient time for final exam accommodation preparation.

Approximately Two Weeks Before Final Exams

Exam Accommodations

• Review final exam accommodations when you receive the notification from Assistant Dean for Student Affairs and confirm they are correct. Your final exam accommodations will be uploaded to your My Student Info when they are ready. 

Disclosing Accommodations to Instructors

The Assistant Dean for Student Affairs implements accommodations for all students enrolled in Law courses. Your instructors do not need to be informed of your accommodations, except in the following situations with your permission should you wish to use your accommodations: 

• If you have a limited flexibility and/or classroom accommodation, follow the disclosure protocol outlined above for these types of accommodations. 

• If you take a non-Law course, your Student Accommodation Letter will be disclosed directly to that instructor via McBurney Connect when you make your accommodation requests.

• If you take a "meets-with" course, the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs will ask you for permission to disclose your Student Accommodation Letter for that particular course with the instructor. 

  • A "meets-with" course is a course that is hosted by another department, and a Law section is created in which Law students enroll. This Law section "meets with" the section hosted by the other department at the same time and place. Because the other department is the primary, that instructor will administer your accommodations. Examples of regularly offered "meets-with" courses include, Accounting for Lawyers, Land Use Controls, International Tax, and some land law/real estate courses. 

Timeline for Students with Disabilities Planning to Take a Bar Exam

First Year and Summer After

• Determine where you are planning to apply for bar admission.

  • Review bar admission requirements for the jurisdiction(s) where you are considering admission. Click on your jurisdiction, and pay particular attention to the "Visit Website" section under the "Bar Admission Agency" section for the ultimate bar authority in that jurisdiction.

  • Review accommodation requirements for the jurisdiction(s) in which you are likely to seek admission.

  • Gather documentation/get updated assessments.

    • Bar exam authorities often have a higher threshold for accommodations than McBurney, so updated documentation/assessments may be necessary. 

• Email the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs and request to be added to the bar accommodation listserv. Important information for bar applicants with disabilities will be shared via this listserv. 

  • The Director of Bar Success also has access to the listserv, so you are disclosing your status as an accommodated student by joining this listserv to the Director of Bar Success.

Second/Third Year, Prior to Taking the MPRE

A passing score on the Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam (MPRE) is required for admission to most U.S. jurisdictions (excluding Wisconsin). The MPRE is offered in March, August and November and should be taken either concurrently or just after you take your Professional Responsibility class.

If you are planning to apply for accommodations for the bar exam, it is imperative that you apply for accommodations for the MPRE. Note that the deadline to apply for accommodations on the MPRE is generally six weeks before the registration deadline, and make sure your supporting documentation meets the appropriate medical documentation guidelines.

If you are denied accommodations on the MPRE, please see the National Conference of Bar Examiners' (NCBE) information on how to appeal or make a request for reconsideration.  If you would like to talk through your options, please contact the Director of Bar Success and/or the Assistant Dean for Student Affairs.

Third Year

Apply for accommodations for the bar exam. Each state has a different process, so research your desired jurisdiction’s requirements early.

Regardless of jurisdiction, you will need to submit a form listing the accommodations you had in law school. Depending on what’s asked, you will either send the form to Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, or more likely, your Access Consultant at McBurney: 

• Assistant Dean for Student Affairs: if the form only requests information about the accommodations for which you were approved and the dates you had accommodations.

• Access Consultant at McBurney: if the form asks about the nature of the underlying disability, the documentation you provided, the approval process, or anything beyond what’s listed above for Assistant Dean for Student Affairs.