AS&E Students
Arts and Sciences, Engineering, SMFA at Tufts
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AS&E Students
Arts and Sciences, Engineering, SMFA at Tufts
StAAR Center

Semester Letters

Semester Letters for Academic Accommodations

Students who are approved for academic accommodations must communicate their accommodations to their professors by providing a semester-based Letter of Academic Accommodation, also called a Semester Letter.

To obtain your Semester Letter, please follow the process below:

  1. Request Your Letter: Log into Accommodate with your Tufts UTLN. Click the “Accommodation” drop down menu in the left-side toolbar, then select “Request your Semester Letter". Select “Add New”, the current semester, then and “Submit For All Accommodations”. Anything connected to non-academic areas will not be included on your letters for your professors.
  2. Download Your Letter: StAAR will process the letter for you within 2-3 business days. You will receive an email notification when your letter is ready to be downloaded. To download your letter, log back into Accommodate and go to the “View your Letters” section on the left.
  3. Deliver Your Letter: Finally, deliver your downloaded letter to your professors via email or in person. We recommend doing this within the first couple weeks of class for a given semester. If you have exam accommodations, you should deliver your letters at least 1 week in advance of any exams for which you’d like to use your accommodations.

You will need to request a new letter at the beginning of each semester. This is true even if your accommodations are the same from semester to semester. 

The process should take no more than 5 minutes on your part. There is no need to submit additional documentation or schedule a meeting to receive your new letter, unless your accommodations were temporary, your disability has changed, or you are requesting something new. 

Semester Letter FAQs

  • You can submit your Semester Letter request starting the week before the semester begins, up until the last day of classes. That said, you will not be able to use your accommodations in your classes until you’ve delivered your letters to you professors. For this reason, StAAR recommends requesting your letter early in the semester. 

  • You will need to request a new Semester Letter for each semester during your time at Tufts. 

    If you are taking any Tufts courses during the summer, you must request a new Semester Letter for the summer as well. Summer Sessions 1 and 2 are considered part of the same summer semester – you do not need to request separate letters for Sessions 1 and 2.

  • The Accommodate Portal receives your course data from SIS; however, it is not updated as often as SIS. It may take time for changes in your course schedule to be reflected in Accommodate. 

    That said, the courses listed in Accommodate will not change the content your Semester Letter or your ability to use it. You must deliver your letter to the correct professors. Please go ahead and submit your Semester Letter request, even if the courses on Accommodate do not match your exact schedule. 

  • The StAAR Center generates new Semester Letters within a few business days, after receiving your request. That said, it may take longer during busy times (such as the beginning of the semester). Please be patient, as we will get to your request as soon as possible. 

  • The StAAR Center does not deliver Semester Letters on behalf of students. It is the student’s responsibility to inform their professors about their academic accommodations. How you do this is up to you, and in some cases, the preference of the professor.

    You may email the PDF of their letter to their professors, or meet with them privately to hand them a printed version. Either way, you may offer to find time to discuss with your professor how accommodations will work in their class. 

    If you would like support or guidance on how to share your accommodations with your professors, please don’t hesitate to contact us. 

  • Semester Letters can only be generated for students with approved academic accommodations. If you would like to request new academic accommodations, please view our Get Started with Accommodations page. 

  • Only students with approved academic accommodations can request a semester letter. The purpose of this request is to receive a letter for the current semester detailing your approved academic accommodations. 

    Any student can request new or additional accommodations. The purpose of this request is to receive new accommodations that you have not had at Tufts before. If you would like to request new or additional accommodations, please view our Get Started with Accommodations page.