Accommodation Information

The SAA office processes all requests for academic, housing, medical and dining accommodations. Accommodation requests should be made via the Accommodations section of the Student Health Portal.

Student Health Portal Documentation Guidelines & Standards

Accommodations are determined by the Student Accessibility and Advocacy (SAA) office on a case-by-case basis. Decisions are made with careful consideration of a student’s disability-related limitations, evidence provided, and recommendations made in supporting documentation. A recommendation from a provider does not guarantee that a specific accommodation will be approved. There must be a direct connection between the disability or condition and the accommodation(s) being requested. If the documentation is incomplete or does not support the request(s), further information may be needed.

Academic

Examples of accommodations may include extended time for exams, access to assistive technologies, and notetaking tools. In addition to academic accommodations, students are encouraged to utilize the free resources available to all students, including the tutoring center, the writing center, academic coaching, and the counseling center.

Documents such as IEPs or accommodation letters from previous educational institutions are valuable for providing context and complementing professional evaluations; however, they do not independently establish the need for accommodations or guarantee that specific accommodations will be approved at Albright College.

Students with accommodations are expected to complete each course, having achieved the academic outcomes for that course. Approved accommodations may not fundamentally alter the course outcomes.

Students who have approved accommodations for recording lectures to support notetaking or for attendance flexibility due to a chronic medical condition must complete contracts with their professors before using these accommodations. Recording class lectures is strictly prohibited without prior approval for this specific accommodation.

Student Agreement: Audio Recording (PDF)

Student Agreement: Flexibility with Class Attendance (PDF)

General Education Requirements

The ADA requires that all colleges provide accommodations for students with disabilities. Albright understands that some qualified students with disabilities may encounter barriers in certain general education courses that impede their progress toward degree completion. We are committed to providing reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities that impact their completion of specific required courses.

While the college does not grant course waivers for students with disabilities, our aim is to ensure that every student has the opportunity to complete their degree. If reasonable accommodations are not sufficient to remove the barriers to a specific general education course, the student can petition for a course substitution. Each request will be carefully considered on a case-by-case basis.

For additional information, please refer to the documents below.

Course Substitution Policy

Course Substitution Procedures

Housing

Housing accommodations are determined on a case-by-case basis based on submitted documentation. Please by advised that students are requesting an accommodation—not a specific housing assignment. If approved, the SAA office will notify Residence Life, which will assign housing accordingly. 

Housing accommodations are approved only when documentation demonstrates that a disability creates a substantial limitation in meeting standard housing expectations. Preferences (e.g., room location or type) are not considered accommodations, and housing accommodations are not used to resolve roommate conflicts or bypass standard housing processes. Accommodations are not granted solely on the recommendations of care providers, but on the documented functional limitations posed by the student’s disability under the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.  

Please be advised that single rooms are reserved for individuals whose documentation illustrates substantial need and for whom a standard housing assignment with a roommate is not viable and cannot be addressed by alternative options. Emotional support animals (ESAs) are considered housing accommodation requests (information below). 

All requests for housing accommodations must comply with the information contained in the following document: 

Requesting Reasonable Housing Accommodations (PDF)

Requests may be submitted at any time; however, accommodations are not guaranteed if requests are received after the deadlines below or after a student has moved into housing. If the need for the accommodation arises when a student already resides in campus housing, the student should contact the SAA office as soon as practicably possible.

Fall Semester Housing Request Deadlines 

Returning Students: April 1st  

New Students:   June 1st  

Spring Semester Housing Request Deadlines 

ALL Students:    November 15th   

Please note: Updated documentation for renewal of existing housing accommodations is due April 1st.

Dining

Dietary modifications can be facilitated through Albright College Dining Services, where every reasonable effort will be made to support a student’s documented dietary needs while maintaining Albright’s core belief that dining with fellow students is an important facet of life at a residential college.

Dietary modifications that are currently available through Dining Services offer a variety of foods that promote healthy lifestyles including gluten-free and lactose-free options, meals for vegetarian and vegan diets, and various allergy considerations. While Dining Services is committed to the dietary health of each student, it is the student’s responsibility to inquire about the ingredients in the foods served. In all Dining Services locations across campus, nutrition information is either posted or available upon request. 

Dining Services is almost always able to meet the needs of individual students; however, the student is required to interactively work with them. 

Needs that are not met because the student did not interact with the SAA office and/or Dining Services are not an indication of the college’s inability to meet a dietary need. In addition, please note that unused meal swipes at the end of the semester are not evidence that the suggested modification was not provided to the student. 

Dietary Accommodations Process

Step 1: Meet with the Director of Dining Services on Campus

Albright College students with specific dietary needs must meet with the college’s Director of Dining Services. The SAA office will schedule and facilitate this meeting once we are notified of a need.  The student will be sent a meeting invite through their Albright email address for an initial meeting to discuss the student’s dietary needs, available dining options, and meal planning.  

The initial meeting may include consultation with Albright College’s Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, if appropriate, as well as a tour of the Dining Hall, if requested. During the initial meeting with Dining Services, information will be provided to the student regarding the variety of eatery locations on campus available to all students, faculty, and staff. These include Jake’s in the student center, Lion's Brew in the student center, Peg’s in the Schumo Center, and the Dining Hall in the student center.   

Please be aware that the student is expected to meet with the Director of Dining Services or their designee as outlined in this step to determine if a student’s dietary needs can be reasonably met with the dining offerings available to all students on campus prior to any request for accommodations. 

Step 2: Submit your request for Dietary-Based Dining Accommodations with Documentation 

Sometimes students have special needs based on documented health conditions which may necessitate dietary accommodations that exceed the regular food offerings available to the campus community. 

Therefore, if after meeting with the Director of Dining Services or their designee, it is determined by the Dining Services staff that a student’s dietary needs cannot be sufficiently met with the dining offerings readily available and that a specialized diet or plan will be required, the student will be advised to request dietary-based dining accommodations through the SAA office. This is accomplished by completing the accommodations application in the Student Health Portal.   

Documentation to support your request should be uploaded during the application.  A detailed dietary plan with specific nutritional needs should be prepared by a qualified professional and included with your applications. It is recommended that students ask their provider to complete the Dietary-Based Verification form (PDF); however, an official letter that is written, dated, and signed by your medical provider on their professional letterhead, which provides all the necessary information can be accepted as documentation as well. 

Step 3: Documentation Review 

Once a request for dining accommodations is submitted to the SAA office we will review the application, taking into full account the record of interactions with Dining Services and the information provided in the professional’s letter, in determining reasonable dietary-based accommodations. A medical records review may be requested from the college’s physician if necessary.   

There must be a dietary-based disability, documented and verified by a student’s medical provider, to be considered for dietary-based dining accommodations. 

Step 4: Notification 

Animals on Campus

Albright College recognizes the importance of service animals, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA), and of emotional support animals (ESAs), supported by the Fair Housing Act. The college is committed to allowing individuals with disabilities the use of a service animal on campus to facilitate their full participation and equal access to the college’s programs and activities. Albright is also committed to allowing ESAs necessary to provide individuals with mental health disabilities an equal opportunity to use and enjoy college housing. 

PLEASE NOTE: All dogs on Albright campus property must be kept on a leash or lead and be under the control of their owners at all times.  The leash must be suitably attached to the dog and held by the responsible person.  A leash is defined as a physical tether not exceeding 6 feet in length.  Electronic collars or retractable devices should not be used in place of a physical tether. Persons may request an exemption from the leash policy if tethering interferes directly with the tasks of a trained service dog or if the person is not able to hold a leash based on a disability. Requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis and should be made to the Student Accessibility and Advocacy office.  

Service Animals
Emotional Support Animals (ESAs)

Service Animals

A service animal is defined as a dog that is individually trained to do work or perform specific tasks for people with disabilities. These tasks can include things like pulling a wheelchair, guiding a person who is visually impaired, alerting a person who is having a seizure, or even calming a person who suffers from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. The tasks a service dog can perform are not limited to those on this list; however, the work or task a service dog does must be directly related to the person’s disability. Service dogs may accompany persons with disabilities into any places that the public normally goes. This includes state and local government buildings, businesses open to the public, public transportation, food service facilities, and non-profit organizations open to the public. The law that allows a trained service dog to accompany a person with a disability is the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008 (ADAAA).

In accordance with the ADAAA and the Fair Housing Act (FHA), individuals with disabilities may be permitted to have their assistance animal in the residence halls of Albright College. Please contact the Director of SAA about your service animal as soon as possible to ensure timely accommodations and appropriate access to the campus. A service animal is not a pet.

Please note that service animals are different from therapeutic emotional support animals and are treated differently under various laws. If you have questions about a service animal, please contact SAA@albright.edu.  Students are encouraged to register their service dog with the SAA office.  This allows the SAA office to notify those who may encounter the dog that it is a confirmed service dog and to prepare those who may have the dog in their class or residence to prepare for its presence.   

Albright College Policy and Expectations for Service Dogs on Campus (PDF)

Service Dog Fraud  

People trying to convert their pet into a service animal to gain public access to no-pet areas or reasonable accommodations for their pet in workplace or residence settings are committing disability fraud. Ignorance of the law has never been recognized as an acceptable defense in the United States.

Purchasing online documentation, paperwork, registrations, certifications or vest/equipment to imply that a pet is a service animal is disability fraud by deception.

Disability fraud carries civil liabilities for your actions and your pet’s actions. Many states are adopting additional criminal penalties for misrepresenting a pet as a service animal including fines, community service, time in jail, and a permanent criminal record.

A person commits the offense of misrepresentation of entitlement to an assistance animal or service animal if the person intentionally: 

misrepresents to another that the person has a disability or a disability-related need for the use of an assistance animal or service animal in housing; or

makes materially false statements for the purpose of obtaining documentation for the use of an assistance animal or service animal in housing.

A person who violates the provisions commits a misdemeanor in the third degree. 68 P.S. § 405.5 

Emotional Support Animals (ESAs)

PLEASE NOTE: An ESA is a housing accommodation and is subject to housing accommodation deadlines. 

Students with disabilities who seek to bring an emotional support animal (ESA) to campus must adhere to the guidelines described in the following documents:

Albright College Policy and Expectations for ESAs on Campus

Understanding the Process for Requesting Reasonable Housing Accommodations 

An animal may not be on campus during the request process. Any animal on campus without prior approval from the SAA office is considered a pet and will be subject to code of conduct rules and fines.   

An emotional support animal (ESA) is a single animal that provides therapeutic emotional support for an individual with a diagnosed mental health disability. Unlike service animals that are trained to perform specific tasks that are important to the independence or safety of their disabled handler, ESAs are generally not trained to perform disability-specific tasks. Their therapeutic support is a function of their presence and interaction with the person with a mental health disability. ESAs are not pets, but they typically are animals commonly kept in households as pets. An ESA may be a small bird, cat, dog, rabbit, hamster, gerbil, fish, turtle, or other small, domesticated animal that is traditionally kept in the home for pleasure. Under recent guidance from the United States Department of Urban Development (HUD), reptiles (other than turtles), barnyard animals, monkeys, and other non-domesticated animals are not considered common household animals. Exceptions to these guidelines regarding animals serving as ESAs will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

The primary consideration in determining if an ESA will be allowed in college housing is whether the ESA is necessary, because of the individual’s disability, to afford the individual an equal opportunity to use and enjoy college housing, and its presence in college housing is reasonable. 

Unlike a service animal, an ESA is not automatically granted access to places of public accommodation. ESAs are not permitted in other areas of the college (e.g. dining facilities, libraries, academic buildings, athletic buildings and facilities, classrooms, labs, individual centers, etc.).

Documentation from a qualified professional is necessary in determining the need for an ESA as part of the reasonable accommodation process conducted by the Student Accessibility and Advocacy office.

Documentation needs to demonstrate that the student is under the care of the mental health professional and that they have a therapeutic relationship. To assess the appropriateness for prescribing an ESA, it is generally recommended that the prescribing mental health care provider has been consistently treating the student for a minimum of one year for the identified disability. 

PLEASE NOTE: Some websites sell certificates, registrations, and licensing documents for assistance animals to anyone who answers certain questions or participates in a short interview and pays a fee. Under the Fair Housing Act, a housing provider may request reliable documentation when an individual requesting a reasonable accommodation has a disability and a disability-related need for an accommodation that are not obvious or otherwise known. In the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s experience, such documentation from the internet is not, by itself, sufficient to reliably establish that an individual has a non-observable disability or disability-related need for an assistance animal.  (Excerpt from 2020 HUD Guidance)  

Process for Requesting an ESA

The presence of an ESA is considered a housing accommodation, and is subject to the same rules as any other housing request. Should there be any instances where the general housing policy is contradicted by the ESA policy, the ESA policy takes precedence.   

Before approval: 

Submit your online request.

If you have other approved accommodations, notify the SAA office in writing of your request for additional accommodations.

Review, understand, and agree to abide by the ESA policy and the Requesting Reasonable Housing Accommodations (PDF) document.

Upload supporting documents to your student health portal.

Complete the forms regarding animal and housing requests in the student health portal.

Meet with the Director of SAA to discuss your request.

Provide a release form for your provider if requested.

Because most providers are not accustomed to documenting the need for housing accommodations in the college environment, it is common for the SAA office to request contact providers to clarify their recommendations.

Approval of an ESA Accommodation

If SAA determines that the requested accommodation is necessary and reasonable, it will contact the student to arrange a meeting to discuss the implementation of the accommodation.    

Before bringing your animal to campus the following must be completed: 

Complete the animal identification card in your student health portal, including an alternative responsible person.

Upload a photo of your ESA to the portal.

Upload a photo of the animal’s crate or cage to the portal.

Provide current vet records and license as required.

Complete the roommate agreement.

Receive clearance from ResLife and SAA that everything is completed.

Denial of Accommodation/Appeal

If SAA determines that a requested accommodation is necessary but unreasonable, the office will notify the student in writing of the determination and will engage in an interactive process with the student to determine if there are alternative accommodations that might effectively meet their disability-related needs.  

If no alternative reasonable accommodations are available, or if the student is unwilling to accept any alternative accommodation offered by SAA, the student will be provided with notification of the denial and the reasons for the denial. Students have the right to appeal the decision, and the details of the appeals process are explained on the SAA website.

Personal Care Attendant (PCA)

Albright College understands that Personal Care Attendants (PCAs) may be necessary to address the personal needs of a student with a disability so that student may fully participate at the college.

Students who provide documentation that meets the college’s requirements may request permission for a personal care attendant (PCA) to be granted the same access to campus facilities as the student. The PCA will be provided access to campus facilities for the sole purpose of assisting the student. The PCA should be an impartial individual qualified to assist the student. Albright College recommends that PCAs are not family members or close friends of the student.

An otherwise-qualified student who requires personal attendant services is responsible for identifying/selecting, hiring, training, supervising, and paying any PCAs. Albright College will not provide personal aids or services, “including help in bathing, dressing, or other personal care,” per Section 504 and Title II of the ADA, nor does the college assume financial responsibilities for personal attendant services.

In addition to applying for accommodations, students requesting a personal care attendant should contact and be approved by the SAA office before the PCA comes to campus. The following forms must be completed by the student and the requested personal care attendant:

Personal Care Attendant Agreement (PDF)

Background Check Attestation: Personal Care Attendant (PCA)/Visiting Medical Personnel (PDF)

Temporary Medical/Extended Absence

All students requesting extended absences or academic adjustments due to temporary medical conditions such as illness, injury, surgery, pregnancy, etc., are to work with the Student Accessibility and Advocacy (SAA) office to process such requests.

If you are experiencing a temporary medical condition, please complete the Application for Temporary Accommodations (PDF) and submit any supporting documentation to the SAA office. This application must be received as soon as medically possible for injuries or illness, and in advance of any pre-scheduled procedures.

Accidents and Illnesses can happen unexpectedly at any time. We strongly recommend that students be proactive and consider purchasing tuition insurance. Insurance must be purchased before the beginning of the semester.

Tuition Insurance

What happens when your education is disrupted by an unexpected injury, illness, or other serious life event? Depending on the timing of the withdrawal, you may not be eligible to receive a refund for all of your tuition and fees. That is why Albright College is pleased to offer an affordable tuition insurance plan called GradGuard Tuition Insurance which will strengthen and broaden the scope of our existing refund policy, and can help students and parents avoid a financial loss due to an unexpected withdrawal for a serious covered illness, injury, or other covered reason.

Our collaboration with GradGuard through the Tuition Protection Plan, can reimburse up to 100% of nonrefundable college expenses (tuition, room, and meals) after a withdrawal due to a covered reason such as:

Covered Serious Injury or Illness such as mononucleosis, or severe head injury

Chronic Illness such as diabetes or an auto-immune disorder

Mental Health Conditions like depression, anxiety, suicide/attempted suicide

Unforeseen crisis

Covered withdrawals can take place any time during the covered term. GradGuard offers members special access to an Assistance Hotline to help students and their families take care of emergencies and unexpected issues.

To view the various coverage amounts and costs that GradGuard offers, please visit: https://gradguard.com/tuition/albright or contact a Tuition Insurance Advisor by telephone at 877-794-6603.

Accommodated Exams

If approved, you may choose to take exams in the Accommodated Testing Center (Teel 301). To schedule an exam, please complete the Accommodated Test Administration Form with your professor. This form can be downloaded to complete electronically, or printed to fill out manually. Please email digital copies to testing@albright.edu or return printed forms to the SAA office in the Student Center back hallway.

Information for Faculty:

When possible, please complete and return your portion of the format least one week before the exam SAA requests that you provide our office with the exam 24 hours before the exam, either via email or hand delivery to the SAA office in the Student Center back hallway. Exams may also be hand-delivered by students; these must be in a sealed envelope with the professor's signature across the seal. Please remember to adjust the start/stop times for any online/Canvas exams to match the student's approved extra time. Every effort will be made to sched ule accommodated examns to begin on the same day and at the same time as the rest of the class.

Questions regarding testing accommodations or scheduling can be directed to the SAA office by email at testing@albright.edu or by phone at 610-921-7503