Accessibility Support

Students must start by completing the Request for Accessibility Support form and meet with the Associate Dean of Students, to discuss the request. The process requires certification by a doctor at the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) University Health Centre (UHC) to ensure an equitable experience across our student body. Once the application is approved, your accommodations will be in effect not only for classes within the Yale-NUS campus, but also for classes held at the National University of Singapore. Please note that accommodations cannot be applied retroactively.

A non-exhaustive list of learning accommodations include:

• Extended time on assignments/examinations
• Reduced distraction environment for examinations
• Note-taking assistance
• Permission to use assistive technology

If you already have a diagnosis before arriving at Yale-NUS, you should submit documentation through the Request for Accessibility Support form.  You should also bring all relevant information with you to your mandatory University Health Centre (UHC) doctor’s appointment during Orientation. Ensure that you have an updated and valid medical assessment of your condition. UHC will only consider assessments completed within two years prior to the time of matriculation. If your diagnostic material is older than two years, it is recommended that you complete an updated assessment.

Yes. If you prefer you can seek out assessment by another doctor. When you do so, we recommend you be very explicit that you want to be assessed for learning accommodations and ask the doctor to provide you with a letter with as much detail as possible regarding your diagnosis, condition(s), and the specific learning accommodations that they recommend. Once you have those materials the Student Affairs Office can submit a request to UHC for learning accommodations on your behalf and track the progress of that request. Alternatively, you can take that material to UHC directly yourself. Please be aware that while UHC will often accept external doctor recommendations without requiring additional visits, UHC may sometimes require students to come to see their own doctors for additional assessment.

According to the University Health Centre (UHC), for full-time undergraduate students, there is no charge for short or long consultation, or for standard medication. For specialist consultation of a psychiatric nature within UHC, there is a deposit of $10, but follow-up consultations are free of charge. This is a one-time $10 refundable deposit that is collected prior to your scheduled appointment. The deposit is refunded when you have been discharged from a follow-up appointment.  However, some specialised assessments, including psychological tests, requires you be referred to a doctor outside of UHC and these tests can be expensive.

The exact cost will depend on the nature of the test/assessment and can cost $300 or more and will typically not be covered by student insurance. Additionally, waiting times can be lengthy, even several months long. For this reason, we encourage students to go to UHC for initial assessment and advice as early as possible so they can start the process of having their needs properly assessed and any accommodations identified. More information on billing is available on the UHC webpage.

Diagnostic testing for learning disabilities can sometimes cost hundred or even thousands of dollars. If you have demonstrated financial need and have determined that you require neurological-psychological testing for learning disabilities, please email Student Services at studenthelp@yale-nus.edu.sg.

Yes, you can request for your learning accommodations to be supported regardless of the classroom setting (in-person and remote learning).

Certain conditions change over time, and so will your needs for learning accommodations. Renewing your accommodations with the University Health Centre (UHC) will ensure your learning accommodations are up to date, to best meet your current needs.

Some accommodations will be issued for the duration of a student’s enrollment at Yale-NUS/NUS. These accommodations are typically issued for conditions that are not likely to change with time, medication, or therapy (such a significant physical or cognitive disability). However, other accommodations are recommended for conditions that may abate with time (such as a treatable physical condition or shorter-term psychological condition). If you receive an accommodation in this second category, you will be told how long that recommended accommodation is in effect, usually one or two semesters. If the condition has not improved, you will need to return to UHC for recertification.

If you believe that the nature of your learning need is such that an accommodation should be granted to all subjects across all years of study, you should explicitly make that known in your conversations with UHC doctors. If you have concerns about the accommodations and how long they are to be granted, you can raise those concerns with the doctors at the UHC.

No, all Yale-NUS students must complete the common curriculum in order to gain a Yale-NUS degree. It is a defining feature of the Yale-NUS experience. However, we will work with students to implement recommended accommodations within the context of the common curriculum and to help students learn and perform to the best of their abilities.

If a student finds that a professor is not honouring their accommodations, they can contact accessibility@yale-nus.edu.sg for assistance. They can also reach out to their Assistant Dean or the Dean of Faculty. No kind of discrimination in the classroom is tolerated in the College. If the student is comfortable, they may also want to discuss their accommodation with the professor directly; there may be a simple miscommunication which can be resolved.

If you receive learning accommodations at your home university, you need to have your home university provide you with a letter stating the specific accommodations you receive. This letter should come from your home institution’s disability/learning accommodations office (or equivalent) and be on the official university letterhead, signed, and dated. Submit the letter along with other assessment documents through the Request for Accessibility Support form so that we can consolidate the documents as part of your learning accommodation case to Yale-NUS Registry.

In most cases, exchange students will then have these accommodations certified and communicated to their professors for the time they are at Yale-NUS. In some cases, further assessment of your diagnostic materials by the University Health Centre (UHC) will be required. For that reason, we strongly urge all exchange students to bring any relevant diagnostic material and medical records with them to Singapore.

Yale-NUS is committed to creating a universally accessible campus.  However, we recognise that there may be students who have specific accommodation needs.  There are designated accessibility suites available in each RC for students with mobility limitations.  Additionally, there are ramps and tactile flooring throughout much of the campus.  In an effort to be more transparent about our campus’ accessibility, we have created maps showing Accessibility Routes and Accessible Facilities on the Yale-NUS campus. Students may also request a campus accessibility tour by completing the Request for Accessibility Support form.

Students may request use of the NUS accessible van service for complimentary transportation to and from classes on the Yale-NUS and NUS UTown campus.  While work on increasing accessibility on campus is underway, students with concerns should reach out directly to accessibility@yale-nus.edu.sg to discuss.

New or returning students may make a request for housing accommodations at any time. However, our ability to provide the accommodations that you request may be limited if the request is made after rooms have been assigned for the academic year.  Students who need housing accommodations should complete the Request for Accessibility Support form as soon as possible to ensure that we can coordinate with the individual RCs on the possibility of an accommodation.

These accommodations work the same way as more long-term disabilities and conditions. You must visit the University Health Centre (UHC) and discuss appropriate options with a doctor there, who will make a recommended accommodation and the duration of that accommodation. For this reason, you should go to UHC as soon as possible following your accident or injury.  Students should still complete the Request for Accessibility Support form and meet with the Associate Dean of Students, to discuss the request after visiting the UHC. Students may also request the use of the NUS accessible van service for complimentary transportation to and from classes on the Yale-NUS and NUS UTown campus.  Students who have a temporary need for a wheelchair may borrow one from their RCs or by emailing accessibility@yale-nus.edu.sg.

The nearest bus stops and bus services to Yale-NUS College are:

17099 Yale-NUS College: 33, 96, 151, 183,196

• Located on Clementi Road, adjacent to Cendana College.
• Currently, this is the most accessible bus stop to campus. After alighting, follow the zebra crossing to enter Yale-NUS via College Ave West.
• Please note that the zebra crossing traverses a slight cross slope, which will make navigation more challenging in the event of rain.

19059 University Town: 33, 196

• Located on Dover Road, adjacent to Residential College 4 (RC4).
• This is the most accessible bus stop to RC4 and other residential colleges located on College Ave East, for which there are barrier-free access routes.
• As the University Town bus stop is separated from Yale-NUS by a flight of stairs, we recommend alighting at the Yale-NUS College bus stop.

NUS provides shuttle bus transit free of charge between UTown and Kent Ridge Campuses. All internal shuttle buses are wheelchair accessible and can be boarded from the CREATE building in the Town Plaza.

By car:
Take Exit 9 on the Ayer Rajah Expressway (AYE) and turn onto Clementi Road. Enter University Town (UTown) from Dover Road. At the UTown entrance, take a right onto College Ave West and alight at one of the respective campus drop-off points:

• Cendana College: 28 College Ave West, 138533
• Yale-NUS College (Oculus): 16 College Ave West, 138527
• Elm College: 12 College Ave West, 138610

Accessible parking is available at the Stephen Riady Centre (SRC) basement car park, located at 2 College Ave West, 138607. Users will need in-vehicle unit (IU) identification to access the car park, which operates on Electronic Road Pricing (ERP) technology. Please note that red lots are reserved for staff season holders. Visitors should park at the white lots. Refer to Parking Information for Visitors for more details on parking at the SRC.

To reach Yale-NUS College from the SRC basement car park, take the lift to Level 2 and turn right, towards the UTown Education Resource Centre (ERC). Enter Yale-NUS through the Saga College drop off point at 10 College Ave West, 138609.