Assistance or Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) in Housing 

• Incoming Students and New Requests by Returning Students
  • If you plan to request an Assistance Animal in Housing accommodation for an upcoming semester, we encourage you to submit all required documentation as soon as possible. As indicated in the Policy, if we have not received all documents by the SSD Housing Accommodation Deadline listed belwo, the College cannot guarantee that it will be able to meet your Assistance Animal Housing Accommodation Request for the upcoming semester. All submissions will be reviewed in accordance with the terms of the Policy. The deadlines are as follows: 
    • Fall Semester Deadline: May 1st 
    • Spring Semester Deadline: November 1st 

  
  

  • Assistance Animal in Housing Accommodation Requests may still be reviewed after the SSD Housing Accommodation Deadline. We encourage all students to submit their Assistance Animal in Housing Accommodation Requests with the understanding that after the SSD Housing Accommodation Deadline, the College cannot guarantee that it will be able to meet your housing accommodation request for the upcoming semester.  

  
  

  • Students need to reapply and resubmit their Assistance Animal in Housing Accommodation Requst each academic year. If an individual is approved for a Spring semester, they will need to reapply by the SSD Housing Accommodation Deadline for the Fall Semester if they are returning to on-campus housing. 

  
  

  • The ESA Accommodation Review Committee reviews and renders decisions on all complete Assistance Animal in Housing Accommodation Requests.  

  
  

  • Please know that until the Assistance Animal in Housing Accommodation Request is approved, the animal will not be allowed in campus housing. This means you may need to make alternative arrangements for your assistance animal in the interim. Bringing an animal to campus without an approval from the ESA Committee may impact your ability to be approved for the current or upcoming semesters.  

  
  

  • We also recommend that you speak with your roommates about your intention to bring an assistance animal with you to campus as roommate notifications will need to be part of the process. Roommate concerns may require changes to a student’s housing placement. 

   

   

  Application Instructions

  To apply for an Assistance Animal in Housing Accommodation is a three step process. You must complete all three steps for your application to be complete. 

  • Complete an online Application for Services on MySSD.  
    • Please use the Instruction Guide to help with the application 
    • You will be required to use your Columbia College Chicago credentials. 

  
  

  • Submit Documentation. We will require all of the following for your application to be considered complete and ready for review: 
    • The Assistance  Animal Policy and Acknowledgement and Release of Information Consent form to be reviewed, and then signed and dated by you; 
    • The Assistance Animal in Housing Verification form, to be completed by your current doctor, therapist or other reliable licensed third party who can verify that you have a disability and your disability-related need for an assistance animal; and  
    • The Assistance  Animal Housing Request and Registration form. Note: this form also requires the submission of: 
      • Vet records indicating the animal is healthy, up to date on their vaccinations, and spayed/neutered as applicable; 
      • A recent photo of the assistance animal ; and 
      • A photo of the cage/crate/carrier/kennel/etc. to be used by the assistance animal 
    • Once completed, you will need to submit all of this documentation online as part of your application.

  
  

  • Attend an Intake Meeting. 
    • After we receive your application and documentation, our staff will review it in the order in which it was received. 
    • SSD will then contact you with questions or to schedule an intake appointment.  
    • The intake appointment allows us to discuss your disability and what accommodations and other supports we can put in place to assist you. 

   

   

  Timeline for Processing Requests for ESA Accommodations 

  Students should refer to Housing and Residential Experience (HRE) for Housing Application Deadlines. The deadline to request an Assistance Animal in Housing Accommodation Request for the Fall Semester is May 1st. The deadline to request an Assistance Animal in Housing Accommodation Request for the Spring Semester is November 1st.  

  Assistance Animal in Housing Accommodation Requests are processed after the SSD Housing Accommodation Deadline. While SSD strives to respond promptly to all submissions, in times of high volumes (such as the summer months and the period leading up to housing placement), an expeditious timeline cannot be guaranteed. The student should be regularly checking their school email (@colum.edu) for updates from SSD or our Coordinator regarding ESA Requests. 

  Please know that until the Assistance Animal in Housing Accommodation Request is approved, the animal will not be allowed in campus housing. This means that you may need to make alternative arrangements for your assistance animal in the interim. Bringing an animal to campus without an approval from the ESA Committee may impact your ability to be approved for the current or upcoming semesters. 

• Returning Student with an Approved ESA
  • If you plan to request an Assistance Animal in Housing Accommodation Request for an upcoming semester after being approved previously, we still encourage you to submit all required documentation as soon as possible. As indicated in the Policy, if we have not received all documents by the SSD Housing Accommodation Deadline listed below, the College cannot guarantee that it will be able to meet your Assistance Animal in Housing Accommodation Request for the upcoming semester. All submissions will be reviewed in accordance with the terms of the Policy. The deadlines are as follows: 
    • Fall Semester Deadline: May 1st 
    • Spring Semester Deadline: November 1st 

  
  

  • Assistance Animal in Housing Accommodation Requests may still be reviewed after the SSD Housing Accommodation Deadline. We encourage all students to submit their housing accommodation requests as needed with the understanding that after the deadlines the College cannot guarantee that it will be able to meet your housing accommodation request for the upcoming semester.  

  
  

  • Students need to reapply and resubmit an Assistance Animal in Housing Accommodation Request each academic year. If an individual is approved for a Spring semester, they will need to reapply by the SSD Housing Accommodation Deadline for the Fall Semester if they are returning to on-capmus housing.

  
  

  • The ESA Committee reviews and renders decisions on all complete requests for assistance animals in housing.

  
  

  • Please know that until the Assistance Animal in Housing Accommodation Request is approved, the animal will not be allowed in campus housing. This means you may need to make alternative arrangements for your assistance animal in the interim. Bringing an animal to campus without an approval from the ESA Committee may impact your ability to be approved for the current or upcoming semesters.  

  
  

  • We also recommend that you speak with your roommates about your intention to bring an assistance animal with you to campus as roommate notifications will need to be part of the process. Roommate concerns may require changes to a student’s housing placement. 

   

   

  Application Instructions

  To re-apply for an Assistance Animal in Housing Accommodation you must resubmit the following updated documentation: 

  • The Assistance Animal Policy and Acknowledgement and Release of Information Consent form to be reviewed, and then signed and dated by you; 
  • The Assistance Animal in Housing Verification form, to be completed by your current doctor, therapist or other reliable licensed third party who can verify that you have a disability and your disability-related need for an assistance animal; and  
  • The Assistance Animal Housing Request and Registration form. Note: this form also requires the submission of: 
    • Vet records indicating the animal is healthy, up to date on their vaccinations, and spayed/neutered as applicable; 
    • A recent photo of the assistance animal ; and 
    • A photo of the cage/crate/carrier/kennel/etc. to be used by the assistance animal 

  • Documentation can be submitted by following the instruction guide for modifying your accommodations. 

   

  • After we receive your application and documentation, our staff will review it in the order in which it was received. We will contact you with any questions or submit your request for review to the ESA Committee. 

  
  

  • Returning students with a previously approved assistance animal do not need to attend a yearly intake appointment. 

   

   

  Timeline for Processing Requests for ESA Accommodations 

  Students should refer to Housing and Residential Experience (HRE) for Housing Application Deadlines. The deadline to request an Assistance Animal in Housing Accommodation Request for the Fall Semester is May 1st. The deadline to request an Assistance Animal in Housing Accommodation Request for the Spring Semester is November 1st.  

  Assistance Animal Housing Accommodation Requests are processed after the SSD Housing Accommodation Deadline. While SSD strives to respond promptly to all submissions, in times of high volumes (such as the summer months and the period leading up to housing placement), an expeditious timeline cannot be guaranteed. The student should be regularly checking their school email (@colum.edu) for updates from SSD or our Coordinator regarding their assistance animal request. 

  Please know that until the Assistance Animal in Housing Accommodation Request is approved, the animal will not be allowed in campus housing. This means that you may need to make alternative arrangements for your assistance animal in the interim. Bringing an animal to campus without an approval from the ESA Committee may impact your ability to be approved for the current or upcoming semesters.