March 2026 SSD Student Newsletter
About Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD)
Access Specialist by College
- College of Architecture, Arts, and Design: Sarah Hardin
- College of Agriculture and Life Sciences: Haylee Simpkins
- College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences: Amanda Johnson and Matt Shelor
- College of Natural Resources and Environment: Amanda Johnson
- College of Engineering: Sarah Hardin and Matt Shelor
- College of Science: Jared Bowe
- Pamplin College of Business: Sarah Hardin and Jared Bowe
- Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine: Haylee Simpkins
- Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine: Hayle Simpkins
Announcement
Virginia Tech is preparing to replace HokieSPA with a new cloud-based platform called My Virginia Tech (my.vt.edu). The conversion from HokieSPA to My Virginia Tech is scheduled to begin prior to the Memorial Day weekend on Thursday, May 21, at 5 p.m. and continue until Tuesday, May 26, at 8 a.m. Information will continue to be shared as the implementation approaches.
As HokieSPA transitions to My Virginia Tech, the following systems used by SSD will be temporarily unavailable to students:
- Accessible Information Management (AIM)
- RegisterBlast
How This Impacts Students:
- No student appointments will be scheduled during this period.
- Access to AIM accounts will be unavailable.
- New applications cannot be submitted through AIM.
- Scheduling exams through RegisterBlast will be unavailable.
- Students are encouraged to request summer course accessibility letters starting this week, March 16.
For questions about the transition of HokieSpa to my.vt.edu, please visit the Division of Information Technology FAQ webpage. Contact SSD by email: ssd@vt.edu or phone: 540-231-3788 for specific questions about AIM and RegisterBlast.
Student Accommodation Requests for Commencement
- Disability accommodations requests for student participants must be made to SSD at ssd@vt.edu at least 10 business days in advance of the ceremony date.
Campus Resources
- Student Success Center Academic Coaching: Did you know the Student Success Center offers Professional and Peer Academic Coaching? Do you struggle with executive function issues? Professional Coaches and Peer Academic Coaches (PACs) are trained to help students develop their academic skills and performance through individual coaching appointments and group presentations for the Seminar Series on Academic Success. Schedule today on Navigate and select "Additional Support Services."
Outreach and Engagement
- Drop In Office Hours: Offered Wednesdays 9 a.m.-12 p.m. in the SSD office 310 Lavery Hall 3rd floor. Zoom available.
- The Graham Stedman Neal Diabetes Scholarship
The Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) Newsletter is distributed monthly to current students and employed faculty. This newsletter serves as a communication tool for our office to share important resources and updates. Please note that the newsletter does not include an unsubscribe option, as we consider it an essential means of communication. If you have any questions regarding the newsletter, feel free to contact us at ssd@vt.edu.