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Before you begin: Make sure you have completed your

Step 1: Using your Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓƵcredentials, complete a

Step 2: Upload documentation with your Housing Accommodations Application. Please see the tab below for information about the documentation needed. Note: Do not send any medical documentation to Residential Living.

Step 3: Each case will be evaluated individually with respect to the documentation presented, the accommodation requested, and available housing arrangements and features. Requests that are submitted and/or documentation received after published deadlines (below) will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis in a timely manner and might not be approved for the current semester.

Step 4: OAR will notify Residential Living of the decision. Residential Living will review available housing options and discuss your assignment with you.

Please note: Neither the presence of a disability nor approval for a housing accommodation guarantees on-campus housing, a specific room or residence hall placement, or a specific roommate. At times, students may have to forgo a preferred roommate or residence hall to receive a housing assignment that meets their approved accommodation.

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Requests for housing accommodations will be reviewed only after all appropriate documentation is received.

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Documentation should be provided by an appropriately licensed health or mental health provider with knowledge of the student's disability and must include the disability, the functional limitations (impact) of that disability, and MOST IMPORTANTLY a description of how the requested accommodation is necessary to accommodate the impact of that disability. This determination should be based upon access (equal opportunity for participation) and not on a perceived benefit, treatment plan, preference, or academic success. Documentation submitted for academic accommodations is usually not enough to determine a need for housing accommodations. 

The purpose of documentation is to determine the presence of a disability and the impact of that disability in the residential environment. Accommodations are not prescriptions or treatment plans. Recommendations made by providers are important since they give us a better understanding of the student's medical and disability history and impact, but they are not binding to WCU. The OAR --not outside healthcare providers--makes the final decision whether an accommodation is reasonable and appropriate for student access needs. 

If the OAR does decide that an accommodation is necessary for access and Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓƵis not able to provide that accommodation, then a waiver of on-campus housing requirements might be granted. 

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Housing accommodations can take time to process and put in place. Therefore it is important to make requests for housing accommodations well before room assignments. You should make accommodation requests at the same time as the housing contracts. Space is limited. Once housing assignments are made, requests are subject to availability and might not be able to be provided until the next semester.

Therefore, requests should be made by the following deadlines:

Requests for academic year assignments (Fall semester move-in) – June 1

Requests for new Spring room assignments – November 1

Requests for Summer housing accommodations – May 15

If you are making your request outside of these deadlines, please tell us in your comments the reason for the late request. Late requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis if there is a disability-related reason for the missed deadline (such as: the disability impact only recently made the requested accommodation necessary). Otherwise, the request will be considered for the following semester and will be subject to availability. 

Note: You must reapply for housing accommodations each academic year that you are living on campus. You may not need to resubmit your documentation if you are requesting the same accommodations as were approved before. 

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In general, Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓƵdoes not allow animals in on-campus housing. However, the OAR may approve an exception for a student with a documented mental health disability to have an emotional support animal (ESA) to live with them in on-campus housing. This exception is considered a reasonable accommodation under the Fair Housing Act (FHA). The purpose of this accommodation is to ensure that students with mental health disabilities have an equal opportunity to live in and benefit from on-campus housing. 

An emotional support animal (ESA) is an animal that provides comfort and emotional support for a person with a mental health disability.  The presence of the animal helps to reduce the effects of the disability. Unlike Service Animals, ESA's are not trained to perform specific tasks related to the disability. Instead they provide support through their presence and interaction with the student. An ESA is NOT a pet and requesting an ESA is not a way to get a pet (new or established) to live with you in on-campus housing. 

Keep in mind

• Generally, ESAs approved for on-campus housing are cats and dogs, but the University will consider requests for other doemsticated animals on a case-by-case basis. 
• ESAs must not be a threat to the health and safety of the campus living community. Certain species are known to carry diseases that can be transmitted to and between humans. For this reason, those species (including but not limited to reptiles) are not allowed. 
• Dogs and cats should be at least 1 year old by the time they will be living in on-campus housing. 
• All ESAs must be fully house-trained and have received rabies vaccination and other vaccinations for its species as required by state and local law. 
• Please consider the on-campus living environment, the size of your residential space, and the appropriateness for the animal you are requesting. ESA’s are approved for the student’s individual assigned living space only and are not allowed in common areas except as they are being taken out for natural relief, and ALL ESA’s must be confined by a appropriately-sized crate, cage, or habitat when the student is not in the room. Not all animals are suited for such an environment and if your ESA is stressed, unhappy, and unhealthy, it will be unable to provide you with the therapeutic support and symptom control you need.
• ESAs are not allowed in other areas of the University (e.g. dining facilities, libraries, academic buildings, athletic buildings and facilities, classrooms, labs, individual centers, etc.).  Permission to bring an animal approved as an ESA into other areas on campus might be considered as an academic accommodation which must go through a separate OAR process. 
• Documentation from a provider with whom you have no treatment history may not be appropriate to verify the need for an ESA. In other words, a one-time contact with a therapist may be insufficient to establish a disability or disability-related need for an ESA.

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To request an accommodation of an ESA in on-campus housing:

Before you begin: Make sure you have completed your

Step 1: Using your Ä¢¹½¶ÌÊÓƵcredentials, complete your

Step 2: If your request includes an ESA, we will send you an additional form to complete via your Catamount email. 

This form asks for information about the animal your are requesting and asks for the name and contact information for your mental health care provider who can give us information  about your mental health disability and your need for an ESA.

Your application will not be processed until this form is received. YOU must complete and sign the form and we will then reach out to the provider directly. Your signature on this form serves as a release of information for the provider. The provider does NOT sign this form.

The provider must be an appropriately licensed mental health care professional in North Carolina (or your home state) with whom you have an established and ongoing relationship and who has personally seen you, so that they can verify 1) your mental health disability (not just a diagnosis) that substantially limits one or more major life activities; 2) the functional limitations of that disability (how it substantially limits you); and 3) a description of how the animal is necessary to reduce symptoms of that disability so that you may have full use and benefit of on-campus housing. Your provider is not required to complete the forms we send. However, we do need all of the information requested on that form to make a decision. 

Some websites sell letters of support, "registrations", or "licensing" documents for ESAs to anyone who answers certain questions or participates in a short interview and pays a fee. Generally, such documentation from the internet is not, by itself, enough to reliably establish that an individual has a mental health disability or a disability-related need for an ESA accommodation. 

Additionally, documentation from a provider with whom you have no treatment history may not be appropriate to verify the need for an ESA. In other words, a one-time contact with a therapist is typically not enough to establish a disability or disability-related need for an ESA accommodation. 

Step 3: OAR will review complete requests (that have ALL documentation) and make a decision. 

Note:  Requests that are submitted and/or documentation received after published deadlines (below) will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis in a timely manner and might not be approved for the current semester.

Therefore, requests should be made by the following deadlines:

Requests for academic year (Fall semester move-in) – June 1

Requests for new Spring residency/accommodations– November 1

Requests for Summer housing accommodations – May 15

Step 4: Approvals will be sent to Residential Living, who will contact you for next steps, including required vaccinations and to review policies and responsibilities for the animal owner. If the request is NOT approved, you will be contacted with the reason. 

Approval through OAR is NOT the last step. Residential Living has additional requirements (such as vaccination requirements and a responsibility agreement). ESAs are NOT to be in on-campus housing until Residential Living has given final approval. 

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