Assistance and Service Animals

Assistance Animals (Emotional Support Animals)

In accordance with the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Office of Disability Services will engage students, who are seeking an Assistance Animal accommodation, in an interactive and collaborative process. This process will help determine eligibility for an accommodation to have an Assistance Animal.

To be considered for an Assistance Animal, the following criteria must be met:

  1. The student has a diagnosed, significant impairment or disability

    • "Disability" is defined as any physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities.

      • Major life activities can include, but are not limited to, caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning, and working.

    • "Substantially Limited" is taken to mean that a person is unable to perform a major life activity that the average person in the general population can perform.

  2. The Assistance Animal requested is necessary to afford the individual with a disability an equal opportunity to use and enjoy campus housing
  3. The Assistance Animal is recognized as a reasonable treatment for the individual’s disability, as noted by a licensed provider and evidenced in the individual’s treatment plan.

Applying for an Assistance Animal

  1. Complete the online application.
  2. Complete the Assistance Animal Request Form and return to the Office of Disability Services.
  3. Have your current provider complete the Assistance Animal Provider Form and send it to the Office of Disability Services. Forms can be emailed to disabilityservices@albertus.edu.
  4. Schedule your intake meeting with the Office of Disability Services. This is an interactive and collaborative process, so please be prepared to discuss your disability and how it relates to your need for an Assistance Animal.

Please Note: There are websites and individuals online who advertise certificates and/or licensure of Assistance Animals. In line with HUD (United States Department of Housing and Urban Development), these documents are not sufficient in proving a need for an assistance animal. Albertus Magnus strongly urges you to not procure documentation in this way. Instead, the Assistance Animal Provider Form should provide enough data to determine if an Assistance Animal is a reasonable accommodation. (HUD Assistance Animal Guidelines - Page 11)

Decision

Decisions will be made within 5 business days following your intake meeting and receipt of application materials.

Living with your Assistance Animal on Campus

Upon Approval, within 10 days please provide the following documentation to the Office of Disability Services:

  1. Assistance/Service Animal Registration Form
  2. Proof of most recent vaccination/rabies shot (if applicable)
  3. Dog license number (If applicable)

College housing frequently requires students to be placed with roommates. To ensure that the presence of an assistance animal is not an undue burden or alteration to College housing, Albertus Magnus reserves the right to assign an individual with an assistance animal to a single room. If a student wishes to live with roommates, each roommate must agree to live with the assistance animal and notify the Office of Residence Life.

Students with assistance animals may be asked to relocate if their assistance animal is causing an unforeseen stress on nearby residents, for example due to allergies.

When approved to live with an assistance animal, the student agrees to the following responsibilities:

  1. The care and well-being of the assistance animal rests solely on the approved student
  2. The assistance animal must remain in the student’s room at all times
  3. The student is solely responsible for any damage caused by the assistance animal.
  4. The Office of Residence Life and/or the Office of Disability Services may ask that an assistance animal be removed if it is destructive or deemed otherwise unsafe
  5. The student handler is responsible for cleaning up after their assistance animal and disposing of pet waste.
  6. If appropriate, the assistance animal must be on a leash, unless the leash would inhibit the assistance animal’s ability to be of service.

Service Animals

Students with disabilities who require the use of a service animal (defined in this instance as a dog) are permitted to bring their service animals to campus. Students should notify the Office of Disability Services, as well as the Office of Residential Life, prior to coming to campus with their service animal. In this way Albertus Magnus can best prepare for the transition of a student and service animal to campus.

Service Animals are not required to be approved through the Office of Disability Services. However, students should complete the Assistance and Service Animal Registration Form prior to arrival. The Registration Form will help inform us about the service animal and care plan.

Students who require a service animal are allowed to bring said animal with them throughout campus, unless it is determined that the service animal’s presence fundamentally alters the nature of the program or activity, or where the service animal’s presence may constitute a safety concern to others and/or the animal.