Housing Accommodation Request Deadlines

Deadline for Housing in the Spring of 2024: NOVEMBER 10, 2023

Deadlines for Housing in the Fall of 2024:

  • Returning Students: FRIDAY, MARCH 17, 2024
  • First Year and Transfer Students: FRIDAY, MAY 31, 2024

To meet the housing accommoation request deadline, all necessary documentation must be received. Students are therefore encouraged to submit any requests and to request supporting documentation well in advance of the deadline, and to contact ADS to inquire as to whether everything necessary has been received. 

These deadlines for housing accommodation requests were established to provide the Housing Accommodation Committee with sufficient time to review requests and all supporting documentation, communicate with care providers as needed, and for consideration to be given to specific disability-related housing needs before the complex housing assignment processes take place. Time is devoted to these processes in during the several weeks in March, June, and Nobember. For needs that arise after the above-posted deadlines, see below for additional details.

Dickinson is a residential college and the residential experience is understood to be an integral part of a Dickinson education. Dickinson is committed to the full participation of students with disabilities in all aspects of college life, including residential life.

Please be advised that requests for particular housing assignments based on a student’s preference, rather than need, for that type of living environment or location will not be honored (e.g., a student with ADHD or a learning disability seeking a single room to serve as a quiet, undisturbed place to study represents a preference, but not a necessity). Accordingly, a single room accommodation is reserved for individuals whose disability documentation illustrates clear and substantial barriers in the living environment, and for whom a standard housing assignment with a roommate is not viable.  Similarly, an accommodation for a room with access to a semi-private bathroom or a kitchen would be granted to students for whom a dietary accommodation would not suffice in meeting their disability-related needs. Treatment providers should be able to speak to a student's current symptomology and needs and establish a nexus between the student's disability, their treatment plan, and any recommended accommodations. All accommodation requests will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. 

For detailed information regarding policies and deadlines, please review the Disability Accommodation Request Procedures for College Housing.

PROCEDURES FOR REQUESTING A HOUSING ACCOMMODATION: 

A. Complete and submit a Disability Disclosure and Accommodation Request Form electronically through the Forms tab of the Dickinson Gateway.

B. Have your relevant care provider send ADS documentation of the disabling condition for which you are seeking a housing accommodation.

       Instruct your care provider to send ADS the following 2 things:

  1. A completed Disability Documentation Form for College Housing (For ESAs use alternate form specified in NOTE below), and   
  2. Supporting documentation of the disability, such as test results, lab reports, office visit logs, and/or consultation notes. Review our Documentation Guidelines for the requirements for each specific disability. 

     Documentation should be sent directly from the student's care provider to ADS by one of the following means:

           Fax: 717-254-8139
           Email: access@dickinson.edu
           US Mail: Access and Disability Services
                         Dickinson College
                         P.O Box 1773
                         Carlisle, PA 17013

C. Follow up with ADS to ask whether or not we have received the documentation that you asked your care provider to send us.

NOTE:

  • You can instruct your care provider to find this page by going to: www.dickinson.edu/ADS-housing.
     
  • If you are requesting the accommodation of having an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) that would meet the criteria articulated in Dickinson's Animals on Campus Policy, you will need to have your licensed mental health provider complete this Disability Documentation Form for Housing with an ESA (in lieu of the other documentation form).
     
  • Students requesting a housing accommodation based on dietary-related needs must also follow the process outlined at www.dickinson.edu/ADS-dietary. 
     
  • The presentation of documentation and/or the recommendation of a care provider does not automatically guarantee disability status or specific accommodations. See below for more information about the Determination of Accommodations process.

ABOUT HOUSING ACCOMMODATION REQUEST DEADLINES

Returning Students: For all returning students, the submission deadline for Spring 2024 housing accommodation requests was November 10, 2023, and for Fall 2024, the deadline is Friday, March 15th, 2024.

Incoming Students: For incoming First-Year and Transfer students, the submission deadline for Fall 2024 housing accommodation requests and accompanying supporting documentation is Friday, May 31, 2024.*

These deadlines were established to provide the college with sufficient time to engage in all steps necessary to determine and meet students' accommodations needs in compliance with Section 504, the Fair Housing Act and the ADA. The Housing Accommodation Committee has allocated a 3-week period to review all housing accommodation requests and supporting documentation submitted by these deadlines, to communicate with care providers, as necessary, for consideration to be given to specific housing-related needs, and for staff in Residence Life and Housing to identify appropriate housing for each student determined to be eligible for a housing accommodation before the complex housing assignment processes takes place for all Dickinson students. For this reason, it is critical that requests and all supporting documentation are received by the posted submission deadlines. 

* Students who have a need for a housing accommodation that arises for the first time after a deadline should email access@dickinson.edu to make it known that a post-deadline request will be submitted. Although the process necessarily takes longer to review requests made after these posted deadlines, the Housing Accommodation Committee will strive to determine and, for those deemed eligible, meet newly arising needs for housing accommodations as soon as reasonably possible, given the limited availability of housing options following the assignment process. If a student's housing accommodation is granted, but unavailable, the student will be placed on a priority waitlist until such housing becomes available.

If you wish to seek a housing accommodation request for subsequent semesters -- which is required for all accommodations granted on a temporary basis -- we urge you to take note of the guidance, notification information, and deadlines conveyed via email and posted in the Disability Accommodation Request Procedures for College Housing.

DETERMINATION OF ACCOMMODATIONS

Housing accommodations are determined on a case-by-case basis, according to documented need, and prevailing standards for reasonable accommodations. Guiding questions may include:

  • Does the student have a disability (i.e., a substantial limitation of a major life activity, as compared to the majority of students) that would prevent or significantly impair their participation in Dickinson's standard residential experiences?
  • If so, what barrier(s) does the disability pose, as documented by one or more professionals with expertise in the diagnostic area(s) for which the accommodation is being requested?
  • If relevant, has the treatment provider evaluated the student recently enough to speak to the student's current symptomology?
  • If the student's request is on the basis of an emotional, behavioral, or mental health disability, is the person recommending the accommodation a mental health professional (counselor, therapist, psychologist, or psychiatrist) who has been and is currently treating the student, and has the mental health professional established a nexus between the recommended accommodation and the student's treatment plan?
  • Has the treatment provider provided any alternative options if their primary recommendation is not possible?
  • What reasonable accommodation(s) -- substantiated by the documentation as necessary, and which would not pose a fundamental alteration to core or essential practices – could be granted that might reduce and/or remove the barrier(s) in the residential environment?

The College does not grant accommodations solely on the recommendations of care providers; rather -- in compliance with the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act -- an accommodation is granted on the basis of a substantiated disability-related functional limitation resulting in a barrier to access that would necessitate an accommodation. Furthermore, students requesting a housing accommodation are not making a request for a specific outcome, but rather a request for an accommodation that would foster access to equitable participation in Dickinson's academic and residential programs and services. The Disability Housing Accommodations Committee will review each student’s request and related documentation on a case-by-case basis and, if warranted, determine a reasonable and appropriate housing accommodation.

APPEALS

If you submit a housing accommodation request that is denied, the standard first step in the appeals process is to respond to your email notification asking that your request be reconsidered. You should provide an elaboration as to why you believe your request to be necessitated on the basis of a disability and provide details as to how the options provided to you pose a substantial limitation to one or more major life activities that cannot be assuaged through reasonable alternative options. If you have care providers who can provide additional documentation to support your request, you should request that they do so. If you are dissatisfied with the results of your informal appeal, or if you wish to forgo the informal appeals process, you can find information regarding the formal appeals process in this Disability-Related Complaints Policy.