Student Support Services

Learn more about the support offered by the Disability Services Office at Occidental College.

Academic Success Coach

Our Academic Success Coach assists students in developing skills and strategies to enhance their academic performance. They provide personalized guidance on time management, organization, study techniques, goal setting, and self-regulation. By collaborating with students, our coach helps identify and overcome obstacles to academic success, fostering a supportive environment that promotes personal and educational growth.

Learning Disability Specialist

Our Learning Disability Specialist evaluates and supports students with (diagnosed or suspected) learning disabilities. They also provide counseling and resources to help students develop effective learning strategies. By collaborating with students, our Learning Disability Specialist helps identify and overcome obstacles to academic success, fostering a supportive environment that promotes personal and educational growth.

Psychological Testing Services

Occidental College collaborates with The Chicago School - Anaheim Campus: to offer psychological testing services through a practicum training program. In this program, second-year Doctor of Psychology (Psy.D.) students, under the supervision of licensed clinical psychologists, provide assessments to Oxy students. These services are part of the Disability Services’ psycho-educational testing program, which aims to assess and diagnose students’ learning and psychological needs.

How to apply

Students interested in these services should complete the application to be added to the psychological testing waitlist. Once their name nears the top of the list, they will be contacted. Testing is typically conducted in the semester following their application to the waitlist. Oxy's Psych Testing Application

Note: Please be aware that the program does not offer assessments for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Tips on Navigating College

Schedule a meeting with your professor.

Send an email or go to office hours.
Meet early in the semester – do not wait until you need help.

Tell your professor you are a student with a disability, discuss your specific disability if you are comfortable, and describe your academic accommodations. Consider discussing the following:

Any questions or concerns about the course
How your disability may impact you during and after class
Recommendations for how they can effectively support you
How you can communicate with them
A plan for the semester

Continue communicating with your professor throughout the semester

Ask questions and be open to questions from your professor

Take breaks when you need them

Don’t overwork yourself by continuing to study at crazy, unmanageable hours. Structure your work so that you have breaks in between to catch your breath and focus on something else so that you don’t experience burnout. Be kind to yourself as you find the balance that works best for you.

Reach out to the people around you for support

College can be a very isolating time as you leave family and friends from childhood behind. However, those people are still there to talk to, just as much as there are new faces on-campus to befriend. Reach out to mentors, counselors, and professors for extra help as well.

Take advantage of the resources at your disposal

As is explained in this web page, there are countless resources both on and off-campus to help you on your journey through college. Whether the issues are academic, emotional, or a bit of both, there are many places you can go to find the specific support that you need.

Take care of your physical health

The mind and body work together to support your well-being. Set a sleep schedule, take walks around campus, drink water, ensure you’re eating filling meals, practice proper hygiene, and take technology breaks to keep your body healthy enough to support your mind.

Flora (mobile only)

This app is perfect for ensuring you study for stretches of time without getting distracted. Once you begin a timer on the app, you start growing a little virtual tree as time goes on; however, if you exit the app, the tree dies. The company also grows actual trees across the world, so it generally provides extra motivation to stay on one task without getting distracted by your phone.

Calm (mobile only)

In the case that you are having difficulty relieving stress or falling asleep, Calm provides many different audios to guide meditations and breathing exercises, as well as calming stories to listen to before bed.

Routinery (mobile only)

Routinery makes creating a routine simple by setting mini timers to follow as you move through a daily regimen. For example, you can begin a morning routine that will start a 1 minute timer to make your bed, then a 1 minute timer to drink water, then 2 minutes to brush your teeth, and so on. It encourages you to stay on track throughout your daily processes.

Structured makes it easy to record your tasks, whether they are repeated or individual for the day. You can make a schedule with all the reminders you need, and sync it across your devices to stay on top of everything.

Todoist encourages organization, making listing out tasks much easier and more comprehensive. List tasks by day, add subtasks, and more with the app to feel more in control of the work you have.

If you would like to join the DSU, the best way to do so is to contact them by email at dsu@oxy.edu, or through Instagram at the handle @oxydsu. For clarification, the Disabled Students Union is a student-run club separate from Disability Services, which is an official office of Occidental.

Contact Disability Services

Academic Commons, Ground Floor

Phone: 323-341-4010

accessibility@oxy.edu