The Seventh Circuit held that the record showed that the University had provided reasonable accommodations by giving Novak additional time to complete his tests and by giving him multiple opportunities to retake exams. Furthermore, the termination did not take place until Novak had failed particular test four times.
The Seventh Circuit noted that the University owed no special deference to academic decisions under discrimination statutes. However, it held that academic judgments are often based on subjective judgments about academic abilities, which are protected by the First Amendment. Here, Novak failed to show that his evaluators were not involved in bona fide professional assessment of his academic potential.