Assistance Animals

Animals On Campus

Students are not allowed to have animals in classrooms, residence halls, in College vehicles (including shuttle buses), or at College-sponsored events, unless the animal is a Service Animal.

Assistance Animals that meet the required criteria will be exempt from these provisions.

• What is an Emotional Support Animal?

  An Emotional Support Animal provides emotional support, comfort, companionship or therapeutic benefits. A person qualifies for a reasonable accommodation involving an Emotional Support Animal under the Fair Housing Act if:

  1. The person has a disability;
  2. The animal is necessary to afford the person with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy the residence halls; and
  3. There is an identifiable relationship between the disability and the assistance the animal provides.

  Emotional Support Animals are allowed generally within the residence halls, but not in other College buildings or College vehicles. The College will not, however, permit Emotional Support Animals in residence halls if they pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others; would cause substantial physical damage to the property of others; would pose an undue financial and administrative burden; or would fundamentally alter the nature of the College’s operations.

• What is a Service Animal?

  A Service Animal is defined under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as any dog (or in some cases, a miniature horse) that is individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability. The work or task must be directly related to the person’s disability. The provision of emotional support, wellbeing, comfort, or companionship does not constitute work or tasks for the purposes of this definition (see “Emotional Support Animals” definition below).

  Service Animals in training who are with a member of the College community who has a disability, and with whom the animal will be working as a Service Animal, are provided the same rights as Service Animals under this policy. Students with Service Animals are permitted generally to bring their Service Animals in all areas of a place of public accommodation, such as classrooms, residence halls (including the private residence assigned to the student), activities and events, and dining facilities.

  However, Service Animals are not permitted if they pose a direct threat to health or safety, if their presence constitutes a fundamental alteration to the nature of a program or service, if they cannot effectively be controlled, or if they are not housebroken. Students planning to bring a Service Animal to campus are encouraged to work closely with the Office of Accessibility, but are not required to obtain approval from the Office. Office staff may ask the student if the animal is required because of a disability, and what work or task the animal has been trained to perform, but will not ask about the nature of the student’s condition for this purpose. Documentation about the training of the Service Animal is not required. Students are encouraged to provide identification that the animal is a Service Animal so others can be aware it is a working animal.