Georgia Board of Regents

Regents Centers for Learning Disorders

General Information

(1)  Q.  What is the mission of the centers?

A.  The Regents Centers for Learning Disorders were established and funded in 1993 by the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia.

The three centers (located at Georgia Southern University, Georgia State University, and the University of Georgia) were established to provide comprehensive evaluations for students with possible learning disorders who are attending schools within the University System of Georgia. Their mission also includes consultation, research, and training focused on the needs of college students with learning disorders.

(2)  Q.  Who is eligible for evaluation at a center?

A.  To be referred to a center for evaluation, a student must be currently enrolled in one of the public colleges or universities in Georgia, or admitted for enrollment. Under some circumstances, a student may also be referred to a center as part of a special review during the admissions process.

(3)  Q.  How are students referred?

A.  Students are referred to a center by the disability services office at the institution to which they’ve been admitted. The disability service provider will give the student a referral packet to be completed by the student. The student should return the completed packet to the disability service provider, who will forward it to the appropriate center. After receiving the packet, the center will contact the student to schedule an appointment.

(4)  Q.  Where are the centers located?

A.  Each college or university in the University System of Georgia is assigned to one of three centers. ABAC is under the Regents’ Center for Learning Disorders at Georgia Southern University. The link is http://services.georgiasouthern.edu/rcld/  

(5)  Q.  What is contained in a referral packet?

A.  Students can obtain a referral packet from a disability service provider at their institution. The packet contains both information about the center and several questionnaires that should be filled out by the student. Questionnaires ask about current academic strengths and weaknesses, historical information (e.g., early development, school, medical and work histories), and about past and current behaviors that can affect learning (e.g., trouble paying attention, anxiety, depression). Students may need to consult parents to answer some of the questions about early childhood. The packet also contains questionnaires to be filled out by a person who knows the student well, to provide an independent view of the student's functioning. The student may obtain assistance in completing the packet from the disability service provider.

Students will also be asked to include transcripts from their current institution and/or previous institutions, a recent hearing and visual acuity screening, samples of their written work, and any previous psychological or medical evaluations related to their learning difficulties.

(6)  Q.  Will the information provided to a center be kept confidential?

A.  All information gathered and sent to a center will be kept strictly confidential. Information about the student will not be released to any person or institution without the student's written permission.

The student, if 18 years or older, must also give permission in writing about the information to be evaluated and for any information about the evaluation process or results to be shared with parents.

Evaluations at a Center

(7)  Q.  How much does an evaluation cost, and what forms of payment are accepted?

A.  The fee for the evaluation is $500.00. Methods of payment include:

Cash, check, money order, credit card

Financial aid—The cost of the evaluation may be included in a student's financial aid package. The center will accept a letter from the institution's financial aid office guaranteeing payment in the following semester, if it is too late to include the funds in the current semester's package.
Insurance—The center does not file for insurance payments, but will provide students with the necessary documentation so that they may file with their insurance carrier after they have made full payment. Full insurance details are provided in the packet in a letter to the student.
Third party payments (e.g., Department of Labor Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, Veterans Affairs, private foundations)—The client must supply the center with an official letter (on letterhead), or a voucher from the third party, giving promise of payment and detailed payment information.
Payment arrangements—Alternate payment arrangements may be made in extenuating circumstances, and must be authorized by the Regents for Learning Disorders Center Director.

(8)  Q.  How long does it take to get an appointment?

A.  An appointment is scheduled at one of the Centers after the student's packet is received. The packet must be complete. If important information is missing, the Center will contact the student, prior to scheduling the appointment, seeking additional information. Time until the next available appointment varies across Centers and at different times of the year. If the designated Center cannot provide an appointment within one semester, the student may have the option of being referred to one of the other Centers to receive an earlier appointment.

(9)  Q.  How long will the evaluation take?

A.  The typical evaluation takes approximately eight hours, usually scheduled over two days. Some students may require additional time to complete the testing to fit their work speed and need for breaks, or to gather additional test data to better understand their learning difficulties.

(10) Q.  What does the evaluation involve?

A.  The evaluation includes a clinical interview, and a battery of educational, psychological and cognitive tests to assess a student's intellectual ability, academic achievement in core areas, (i.e., reading, math, and written language), strengths and weaknesses in processing information, and emotional state.

(11) Q.  How will the student find out the results of an evaluation?

A.  After the standardized testing is complete, each student is scheduled for an individual feedback session at the Center. The session typically lasts from one to two hours. In this session, the test results will be reviewed, recommendations for academic accommodations and other support services will be made, and any questions answered.

The student may bring anyone to the session. All feedback sessions may be audio taped so that the student can take home a recording of the discussion to listen to again or share with others.

Following the feedback, the student will receive a written report that describes all the tests that were administered and the scores obtained. This report will also document the presence of any disability that warrants academic accommodation and list appropriate accommodations and other recommendations. This report will not be shared with anyone else without the student's written permission. (See Question 6 for information regarding confidentiality.)

(12) Q.  Is it necessary to be evaluated at a center to receive accommodations?

A.  Evaluation at a Center is not required. An evaluation performed by any qualified professional can serve as documentation of a disability. This documentation must be presented to the disability services office at the student's college or university, and be reviewed to insure that it contains the information required by the Board of Regents. It is important to be sure that the professional who will perform the evaluation is aware of the Board of Regents policy, so that all the necessary information can be included in the written documentation.

If the student is requesting a Regents level accommodation, a Regents Center for Learning Disorders must review the student's documentation and approve the accommodation. If a RCLD center needs to review the documentation, the disability service provider will obtain the student's written permission to send a copy of the documentation to the center. The RCLD center will notify the disability service provider in writing of the results of this review, and will provide detailed information about the reasons for any disapprovals. Most disapprovals occur because the report does not contain all of the information required by the Board of Regents for documentation of a disability.

Last updated Friday, February 13, 2009 10:17 AM