Housing Accommodations

In order to request a housing or meal plan accommodation due to disability you will need to submit documentation. We recommend completing a Housing Accommodation Form. We will accept documentation in the form of a signed letter from a qualified off-campus health care professional with no familial relationship to the you in lieu of the form.

You must then go to the college's reporting form,  complete the Housing Accommodation Request, and upload your documentation to the secure portal. 

Students requesting the use of a service animal or emotional support animal should refer to the Service Animal policy and the Emotional Support Animal policy for complete details of definitions, procedures, and handler responsibilities. Request an Emotional Support Animal by submitting the ESA Request form.

All documentation submitted will be reviewed by the Housing Committee. Committee members could include, based on the complexity of the request:

• The Coordinator of Disability Services
• The Director of Residence Life
• The Director of the Ebersole Health and Wellbeing Center
• The Director of the Counseling Center
• The General Manager of Dining Services
• The Associate Dean for Student Life and Director of Compliance
• The Dean of Students/VP of Student Life

In the event of extended absences or staff vacancies, a designee for any of these positions may be consulted. The Director of Facility Services may be consulted by the committee when the health care professional's recommendation has an impact on existing facilities.

All documentation for incoming new and transfer students starting in the fall semester are due by June 1. Requests for spring semester are due by December 1. 

Documentation for current students requesting an accommodation for the following year must be submitted by March 1 of the preceding academic year prior to the general room selection process.

These deadlines are established to ensure time to consider and implement accommodations. However, you can submit documentation after these deadlines if special circumstances exist.  Submit documentation for any accommodation for the current year as soon as possible. The Coordinator of Disability Services and the committee will typically review the completed documentation within thirty business days during the academic year and work with the student on approved requests to implement as quickly as possible.

If approved, housing and/or meal accommodations are provided for the current academic year only.  If you have been given an accommodation, you must resubmit your request annually (during the room selection process). You must also be prepared to resubmit updated documentation as requested by the Housing Committee, ideally before March 1 (prior to the next year's general housing selection process begins).

Temporary medical conditions (such as certain injuries, surgeries, or illnesses) are likely not considered a disability. However, Cornell College recognizes that some temporary conditions may impact a student's ability to live comfortably in certain buildings or on certain floors (such as a student on crutches who is assigned to the top floor of a building that does not have an elevator). Any student with a temporary medical condition who may wish to have an accommodation is encouraged to contact Residence Life staff to explore available options (such as a temporary space on a lower floor or in a different building). The availability of alternatives is not guaranteed. In cases where alternatives are available, you may be asked to obtain supporting documentation from a health care provider.

Students with temporary medical conditions who wish to explore alternate parking options should refer to Campus Safety's Student Parking Regulations.

The process outlined here is specifically for requests related to housing and/or meal plan accommodations. If you want to explore academic accommodations due to a disability, refer to the information provided by the Office of Disability Services for the process to request an academic accommodation.