ESA housing accommodations are used by individuals who would be unable or have substantial difficulty attending the university without this housing accommodation.
Please be aware that documentation procured by participating in a conversation with an internet-based provider with whom the student does not otherwise have a clinical relationship may not be sufficient documentation. According to guidance issued by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (2020), “such documentation from the internet is not, by itself, sufficient to reliably establish that an individual has a non-observable disability or disability-related need for an assistance animal.”
A student who resides or will reside in on-campus residence halls and University operated apartments and wishes to keep an emotional support animal in their assigned University residence must complete the following process of requesting an emotional support animal.
A student's completed ESA application includes the following:
You will be notified by email of the approval or disapproval decision.
If approved, Housing and Residential Life staff will contact you to schedule a required meeting to discuss rights and responsibilities of ESA owner and animal. This meeting must occur within the first week of approval otherwise you, the ESA owner, will be considered in violation of the housing policy.
ESAs must be renewed annually. If the animal is returned to campus without proper renewal, the animal may be removed from campus until approval is complete.
The owner must notify CAS if the animal is no longer needed or is no longer residing on university property. If the animal will be replaced, the owner must submit a new request.
If a student is denied an ESA request, the student may make an appointment with CAS offices to discuss the decision.
The Center for Accessibility, and/or the ESA Review Committee, in collaboration with Housing and Residential Life has the right to decline an ESA accommodation request.