OARS Partner Programs and Services

At Hampshire

Center for Academic Support and Advising (CASA)

OARS works closely with CASA deans to support students through their academic programs. Both offices are located in Lemelson and share a front desk for easy scheduling with staff of either department. CASA hosts workshops throughout the year on planning your divisional requirements and finding committee members, and can answer questions about your courses, tutorial section, divisional requirements, and general academic advising matters throughout the year.

Health and Counseling

OARS works closely with health and counseling staff in a number of capacities to support students throughout the academic year through referral between offices. When a student requests, health and counseling staff will consult with OARS about the implementation of academic strategies and accommodations, based on their experience working with a student, but are not always in the position to provide formal supporting documentation. In such cases referrals to off-campus professionals are available.

Students can learn about how to fill prescriptions and can seek referral for evaluations through the Health Center as well as how their medical and mental health counseling needs can be met through work with Heath and Counseling Services.

Health and counseling staff also support the Housing Accommodation Review Committee.

Information Technology

It is critical that anyone and everyone who wants to access the information technology used here at Hampshire is able to do so equally, regardless of any disability they may have. Ensuring that our technology is universally accessible to everyone is the right thing to do, and also the law. In order to make this happen, we have an IT Accessibility Policy that outlines the steps we are taking to ensure that all users have that access.

The Wellness Center

Balance and wellness is important for everyone, but can be especially important for college students who are trying to grow cognitively, physically, spiritually, academically, socially, and working to hone their identities. The Wellness Center is a key partner in supporting students holistically. Check our the Wellness Wheel resource to learn more about where to connect for support in specific areas of wellness. 

Residence Life

Approximately 40% of students working with OARS qualify for housing-based accommodations through the housing accommodation process. OARS works with residence life staff to meet housing-based accommodation needs.

OARS also works with residence life staff to resolve disability-related issues that may arise* or as part of residence life programs. If you would like your residential community to engage in a program related to accessibility and disability, ask your residence life coordinator or resident advisor (RA) to contact OARS to set one up.

*Students are strongly encouraged to work with their modmates to complete a modmate agreement, provided by their RA, at the start of the semester or year. Many concerns about conflicting schedules, use of shared space, and other interpersonal matters can and should be addressed at this time. Many issues are resolved with proactive conversation between modmates. The modmate agreement document should serve as a reminder of the agreement and should be revisited and changed as roommates get to know one another. RAs are available to support this dialogue.

Dining Services

Many students at Hampshire work directly with our chefs and a registered dietitian to accommodate dietary restrictions and preferences. Supporting most dietary needs does not require formal accommodation. Our dietitian is a member of the Housing Accommodation Review Committee and works with OARS and students to ensure accommodation needs are met within the dining hall or can explore whether a meal plan modification or housing placement is also appropriate. To request formal dining-related accommodation, please visit our housing accommodation page.

Parking Services and Campus Safety and Security

Accessible parking is located throughout campus. Students in need of accessible parking should refer to the campus map for exact locations and to the parking policies in the handbook to learn about using their placard. Students in need of temporary accessible parking due to a short-term disability can request accessible parking accommodations through OARS and campus safety and security will provide a temporary accessible parking placard.

Five College Accessibility Services Offices

Many students at Hampshire who utilize accommodations can also access them throughout the Five Colleges. Please let us know that you are taking a Five College course when you pick up your accommodation letters to learn more about transferring your accommodations. Below are the links to the four other offices in the consortium.

• Amherst College
• Mount Holyoke College
• Smith College
• University of Massachusetts

For students taking courses at Hampshire from other consortium schools, please review our Five College Accommodation Page

LOCAL AREA Resources

Coming soon!