Find Support In Every Way
The housing, ESA, and dining accommodation process represents a collaborative effort between students, Residence Life, Dining Services, Student Affairs, and Student Accessibility Services (SAS). As part of our commitment to establishing reasonable accommodations for qualified students with disabilities, WNE provides reasonable accommodations for housing and dining which may include modifications to the university’s policies and procedures. Careful consideration is given to all requests for accommodations on a case-by-case basis.
The Office of Student Accessibility Services (SAS) reviews each request for accommodations, determines the appropriate reasonable accommodation, and notifies the Office of Residential Life of the outcome. If approved, the Office of Residential Life will assign the student based on the SAS-approved accommodation. Residential Life staff will contact students via email once their housing assignments are made.
We urge students to submit disability-related housing, ESA, and dining accommodation requests at least 60 days before the housing selection process to provide adequate time to provide complete disability-related documentation and support the residential placement process. Incomplete or late requests may delay or prevent the university from meeting the SAS-approved housing accommodation. In that event, students will have the option of being released from their housing contract.
All students seeking housing, dining, and/or ESA SAS-approved accommodations must:
- Complete the standard WNE housing process.
- Complete the SAS Intake Form.
- To better understand the disability-related needs and how the requested accommodation relates to the living environment, please provide a thorough self-report.
- Provide supporting medical documentation.
- Documentation should be current (within three years), provide a clear diagnosis and impact on the student’s education, and be written by an appropriate medical/psychological professional.
- Participate in a SAS Welcome Meeting.
- Complete the ESA Documents provided during the Welcome Meeting (only applicable if seeking an ESA-related housing accommodation approval)
After the Office of Student Accessibility Services reviews the SAS Intake Form and the student’s supporting documentation, the SAS office staff will work with the student to schedule an interactive process meeting to discuss reasonable and appropriate accommodations.
Note: Accommodations are individually determined based on the functional limitation(s) related to the student’s disability diagnosis and requested accommodations are not guaranteed for approval. Accommodations cannot be made retroactively.
Service Animals
Western New England University is committed to ensuring equal access to the campus for disabled students, staff, faculty, guests, and visitors who will be accompanied on campus by service animals. Service Animals may travel with their handler throughout the college, except where restrictions apply for health and safety reasons.
Service animals are defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act as dogs (or miniature horses, with certain qualifications) that are trained to perform one or more specific tasks for a person with a disability. The work or tasks performed by a service animal must be directly related to the individual’s disability. In determining if an animal is a service animal, staff may ask only the following questions: (1) Is this a service animal required because of a disability? (2) What work or tasks the animal has been trained to perform?
WNE and the SAS office encourage students to register with the Office of Student Accessibility Services as a support resource.
Emotional Support Animals
The university will permit Emotional Support Animals (ESA) to reside in the residence halls with students with documented disabilities and as a reasonable accommodation. This is determined on a case-by-case basis. Approval for an emotional support animal can take a month or more and is not guaranteed. Additionally, students seeking an ESA as a SAS-approved accommodation are required to provide documentation as to the animals’ health status (vet and vaccination records), roommate signatures (as applicable), and complete an ESA document provided to students during the SAS Welcome Meeting.
ESAs must be contained within the assigned residential area (room, suite, and apartment) at all times, except when transported outside the residential area in an animal carrier or controlled by leash or harness. In contrast with service animals ESAs may not be present in any other campus buildings. When outside the residence, the handler of a support animal shall carry proof that the animal is an approved ESA.