CDA Housing Accommodations

Housing assignments are made based on availability. It is the student’s responsibility to submit their housing deposit and complete all paperwork required by the Office of Residential Life & Housing in accordance with all applicable deadlines. When requesting a reasonable housing accommodation, applicants are expected to have already applied for RIC Housing and have met all eligibility requirements and payment deadlines. Please pay close attention to the deadlines indicated by the Office of Residential Life & Housing, as well as the deadlines for submitting reasonable housing accommodation applications.

All accommodations are determined on a case-by-case basis according to documented need and prevailing standards for reasonable accommodations. The Center for Disability Access reviews applications and approvals are sent to the Office of Residential Life & Housing, which then offers assignments based on availability.

In accordance with state and federal law, it is the policy of Rhode Island College that “no otherwise qualified person with a disability…shall, solely by reason of …disability, be excluded from the participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity.” The Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended, defines the term “disability” to mean a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more Major Life Activities.

Major Life Activities include, but are not limited to, caring for oneself, performing manual tasks, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking, communicating, and working. A Major Life Activity also includes the operation of a major bodily function, including but not limited to, functions of the immune system, normal cell growth, digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory, circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions.

Your Request for Reasonable Housing Accommodations Application, along with supporting documentation from your healthcare provider will be reviewed by the Center for Disability Access. There may be instances where our office may need to consult with other departments on campus (ex. The Office of Residential Life & Housing, Facilities) during the review process to determine viable methods of accommodation.

You will be notified of the decision via email from the Center for Disability Access. The correspondence will include a decision regarding your eligibility for each housing accommodation requested. The Office of Residential Life & Housing will notify you of your housing assignment according to the notification schedule detailed on their website. You must call the Office of Residential Life & Housing at 401-456-8240 with all inquiries related to features or specifications of the housing assignment that is offered to you. The Center for Disability Access is unable to provide specific information regarding buildings and rooms managed by the Office of Residential Life & Housing. If you have any questions about the process for requesting reasonable housing accommodations, please call the Center for Disability Access at 401-456-2776.

Rhode Island College requires documentation from a licensed healthcare provider that describes the student’s disability and supports the request for a reasonable housing accommodation. The licensed healthcare provider must submit documentation that meets the Center for Disability Access documentation guidelines.

• Low Occupancy Rooms: Double room suites
• Single Rooms: A private sleeping area within a shared suite. All upperclassmen at RIC are automatically eligible for a single room. A request for a single room for a freshman must clearly demonstrate how sharing a sleeping area adversely impacts your ability to live and perform successfully at RIC. The request should include an explanation of how typical roommate adjustments (such as using headphones, using a sleeping mask, or negotiating shared use of a space) would not resolve the concern.
• Proximity to Restroom: If closer proximity to a restroom or semi-private restroom is a critical accommodation for a student with a qualified disability, this must be reflected in the submitted documentation. There are no fully private restrooms in RIC residence halls.
• Physical Modifications: Students who may require physical modification in their living space must indicate their specific needs. Examples of modifications may include a ground level room, wheelchair accessibility, and modifications for students with hearing or visual impairments.
• Furniture: RIC provides student furniture which meets certain space and fire safety requirements. A student with a qualified disability who wishes to bring non-RIC furnishings related to his/her special need must submit a formal request.
• Air Conditioned Room: Some residence halls do not have air-conditioning. If air conditioning is a critical accommodation for a student with a qualified disability, this must be reflected in the submitted documentation.
• Emotional Support Animals: The ESA and its accoutrements (e.g., heat lamp, live insect food, etc.) cannot pose a direct threat to the health and safety of persons on the College campus, cause physical damage to property, have the potential to transmit zoonotic diseases (salmonella, rabies, bird flu), breed with other animals, feed on live animals, or fundamentally alter the nature of the College’s operations or buildings. 
  
  Animals that are intrinsically predatory or dangerous (such as certain snakes/reptiles and birds), animals known to carry or transmit zoonotic diseases (diseases that can spread from animals to humans), animals that require a heat lamp (such as reptiles, amphibians, and arachnids) wildlife, exotic, or endangered species and large animals unfit for College housing space will generally be excluded as ESAs. Exclusion determinations will be made on a case-by-case basis with the CDA and other appropriate College offices.
  
  Please Note: One emotional support animal per student will be authorized unless the requestor provides sufficient documentation that outlines the necessity of more than one emotional support animal. The approval of more than one emotional support animal is not guaranteed and approved on a case-by-case basis. 

• When students first enroll at RIC, they are encouraged to submit
• Housing preferences to Residential Life & Housing  
• Housing disabilities accommodation needs to the Center for Disability Access
• A housing preference reflects what the student would like to have and what is likely to improve their living space experience even if they have a disability.
• If a student has a housing preference, they should focus their request with Residential Life & Housing.  
• A housing need reflects the necessity for the CDA to remove or reduce the impact of a barrier caused by a disability. That barrier prevents the student from engaging in a living space in the same way as a person who does not have a disability. For example, if a student can’t use a standard bathroom shower because they are a wheelchair user, then that shower’s configuration represents a barrier to their being able to wash. 

Rhode Island College welcomes trained service animals on campus who perform work or a task related to their handler's disability. The College also allows students to request an accommodation for an Emotional Support Animals in campus residences, subject to the review and approval of the Center for Disability Access (CDA) and the Office of Residence Life and Housing.  The ADA requires that service and assistance animals be under the control of the handler at all times.

Trained service animals who are working on campus with a visitor or student do not need to be approved as a formal accommodation. Students planning to come to campus with their trained service dog are kindly requested to register with the CDA so we can support you in navigating campus as a team.

To confirm the dog is a service animal, the following questions may be asked:

• Is the dog a service animal required because of a disability?
• What work or task has the dog been trained to perform?

You may not ask specific questions about the student’s disability. If you are concerned about health and safety on campus due to a service animal, please contact the CDA for guidance.

Please Note: Service animal-in-training approval is subject to the review of the CDA Director.

Students should provide completed applications, including all required documentation by the deadlines indicated below:

Returning Students

Please follow the appropriate process, based on whether you have previously received housing accommodations at RIC or not.

Already Eligible and Need to Renew

If you are already eligible for housing accommodations your  eligibility will roll over to future semesters, unless you contact the CDA to request changes.

Any eligibility change requests must be received by March 15th for full consideration.

Requesting Accommodations for the First Time

If you need to request housing accommodations for the first time, please follow the Center for Disability Access Request Accommodations process. If you are already registered with the Center for Disability Access, but still need to request housing accommodations for the first time, you can simply login to AIM and submit a New Accommodation Request on the online portal. Priority consideration will be given to completed applications received by March 15th for full consideration.

Please note: Requests must be received by March 15th for full consideration.

New Students

To request disability-related housing accommodations, follow the Center for Disability Access Request Accommodations process. Documentation to verify the presence of non-observable disabilities and to establish the need for disability-related accommodations is required. Priority consideration will be given to completed applications received by June 15th. 

Please note: Requests received after June 15th may be limited by available inventory.