Service & Emotional Support Animals

“Emotional Support” animals are:

• animals that work, provide assistance, or perform tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability, or
• animals that provide emotional support which alleviates one or more identified symptoms or effects of a person’s disability.

“Service” animals are dogs (or in limited circumstance, miniature horses) that are trained to perform an actionable, disability related task. Some, but not all, service animals that assist persons with disabilities are professionally trained. Other service animals are trained by the owners. The question is whether or not the animal performs the assistance or provides the benefit needed as a reasonable accommodation for the person with a disability.

Service animals do not require formal approval to be on campus and are generally allowed in any space in which the student is allowed. The university does however request voluntary notice of the animal’s presence so that it can ensure the student’s access is not impeded.

Emotional support animals may be considered for access to university housing; however, they require formal approval and are generally not permitted in other areas of the university (e.g. libraries, academic buildings, classrooms. labs, student center, etc.).

Emotional Support Animal Policy

Under the Fair Housing Act (FHA), a person may keep an emotional support animal in his/her residence hall or campus apartment as a reasonable accommodation if:

• The individual has a disability;
• The animal is necessary to afford the individual with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy campus housing; and 
• There is an identifiable relationship between the disability and the assistance the animal provides.

Emotional support animals are primarily allowed in the residence hall(s) or campus apartments for which the individual with a disability is assigned by the Office of Housing and Residence Life.

The initial request and disability verification forms documenting the condition and need must be submitted to Student Accessibility Resources by June 1st for the fall semester, and October 1st for the spring semester.

Students must complete the intake interview and submit any requested additional information by July 1st for fall semester and November 1st for spring semester.

If the above deadlines are not met, a final determination and acknowledgement of when the animal is allowed on campus is not guaranteed before the start the of semester. In such cases, the student may have to wait until the subsequent semester before the animal is allowed on campus.

SAR and Housing and Residence Life may place reasonable conditions or restrictions on approved animals, depending on the nature and characteristics of the animal. This will be determined on a case-by-case basis using an interactive process involving the student and staff of the aforementioned offices.

An individual with a disability may be asked to remove an assistance animal from campus housing if the animal:

• is out of control and individual does not take effective action to control it.
• poses a direct threat to the health and safety of others (that cannot be reduced or eliminated by another reasonable accommodation),
• causes substantial physical damage to the property of others (including University housing), or
• poses an undue financial and administrative burden to the University.

In order to receive approval of the animal from SAR and acknowledgement from Housing and Residence Life to bring the animal on campus, you must submit all of the following forms:

• Guidelines and Agreement for Assistance Animals in University Housing
• Animal Registration in University Housing
• Roommate/Suitemate Acknowledgement

The university has policies and procedures which govern what animals are allowed on campus and within residence halls and buildings.

For more information about this topic and for the steps and links for request process to be followed, please visit the Student Accessibility Resources webpage.