General Questions

To be eligible for testing at the UGA RCLD, a student must be:

• Currently enrolled in one of the University System of Georgia institutions served by the UGA RCLD (click here to view the list);
• Admitted for enrollment in one of the University System of Georgia institutions served by the UGA RCLD;
• Undergoing special admissions review at one of the University System of Georgia institutions served by the UGA RCLD.

• Contact the disabilities services professional (DSP) who is the designated liaison between the UGA RCLD and your school (click here to access the disability services website of your institution).

   

• First check with the special education coordinator and/or vocational rehabilitation coordinator (if you have one) at your school to determine if financial assistance is available. If so, they will help you arrange and pay for the evaluation.
• Contact the UGA RCLD at 706.542.4589 or rcld@uga.edu to obtain a referral packet.
• Complete the referral packet and return it to the UGA RCLD, along with payment.
• The RCLD will then contact you to schedule the first appointment.

The evaluation involves two appointments:

• Appointment I: Clinical interview, testing of academic achievement in core areas (i.e., reading, math, and written language), and self-report questionnaires. This appointment lasts 4-5 hours.
• Appointment II: A battery of cognitive and other psychological tests to assess a student's intellectual abilities, cognitive and linguistic strengths and weaknesses, and other psychological factors that might impact learning. This appointment lasts 4-5 hours.

After the evaluation is complete:

• The UGA RCLD reviews the results and provides a telephone feedback, typically in about one week.
• A comprehensive report is written.
• The student is offered an individual feedback session with a staff member. The session typically lasts from one to two hours. In this session, a staff member will provide the written report, review test results, make recommendations for academic accommodations and other support services if warranted, and answer any questions. The student may bring anyone to the session. This report will not be shared with anyone else without the student's written permission.
• Some students prefer to have the report mailed to them and participate in a telephone feedback because of travel considerations.

We work on evaluation teams. Each team is supervised by a licensed psychologist. Other members of the team may include full-time RCLD staff, doctoral students working in the center as they learn to do evaluations, and psychologists with doctoral degrees who are not yet licensed but receiving specialized training in assessment. Students typically work with 3-5 members of an evaluation team, all of whom have had extensive training in evaluation-related procedures.

Teams are scheduled to work with students on specified days of the week and during specified times of the day. For example, we may have a team that does Appointment I on Tuesday morning and Appointment II on Wednesday morning.

We try to assign students to a team that best fits their schedule. But please understand the fit may not be ideal; we try to serve as many people as we can with limited staff and space. Because of liability concerns, we do not test on evenings and weekends.

The good part of working with a team of professionals is that you will get input from people who have different backgrounds and areas of expertise. The down side of working with a team is that our schedule is less flexible than it would be if you worked with only one person (we have to make schedules far in advance to ensure everyone sets aside enough time to work with students).

The typical evaluation takes approximately 10 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.

Maybe. Vocational Rehabilitation has their own guidelines for determining who they serve. Please talk to your Vocational Rehabilitation counselor about the possibility. If you do not have a Vocational Rehabilitation counselor, visit the Vocational Rehabilitation website to find your local office and make an appointment with a counselor to review your existing situation and documentation.

The University System of Georgia Board of Regents has established a set of criteria for acceptance of outside evaluations. If you have previous testing, you may submit your most current evaluation to the disabilities services provider at the USG institution you are attending to see if it meets these criteria. If it does, no further evaluation is necessary. If not, the disabilities services provider will explain what additional testing is necessary in order for your documentation to meet USG guidelines.

No. Evaluation at the UGA RCLD 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 ensure that it contains the information required by the USG Board of Regents. It is important to be sure that the professional who will perform the evaluation is aware of the USG Board of Regents policy so that all the necessary information can be included in the written documentation.

The diagnosis of a disability from either the UGA RCLD or another evaluator does not guarantee admission to any institution. Admission decisions are made by the admissions offices of each college and university.

Not necessarily. Each of these testing agencies has their own criteria for documenting disabilities. It is highly recommended that you look at the requirements for the test that you plan to take. Here are links to websites regarding disability services for students seeking accommodations:

• ACT
• SAT
• GRE
• PRAXIS
• LSAT
• GMAT 
• MCAT