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Student Accommodation Process

As a student at CMU, it's your responsibility to request accommodations. From there, we lead you through an interactive process to determine reasonable and appropriate accommodations.

Registering for services

1. Submit an Accommodation Request Form online

  • If you are registering with us for the first time, please use the REGISTER FOR SERVICES button.
    New accommodation requests for incoming students for the following academic year will start being reviewed in late spring or early summer.
  • If you have previously registered with SDS, please use the gold RETURNING USERS button on this page to log in to Accommodate with your CMU credentials. From there, you can submit an Additional Request under the Accommodation tab.

REGISTER FOR SERVICES

2. Provide documentation from your medical provider

Diagnoses of disabilities documented by family members are unacceptable.

3. Meet with us regarding your request

  • We'll discuss:
    • How your condition impacts a major life function.
    • Subject areas or times that are particularly difficult for you.
    • Expectations of higher education, including anticipated workload, program technical standards, attendance, code of conduct, standards, etc.

4. Determination of reasonable accommodations

  • We will determine what accommodations are reasonable for each individual student.

5. Notification of faculty

  • We will send an accommodation letter to your CMU email account.
  • It's your responsibility to distribute, in person or by email, the accommodation letter to your instructors to notify them of eligibility and desire to use accommodations.
    • We highly recommend that you meet with instructors early in the semester to discuss the particulars of your accommodations and how those accommodations will work in individual classes.

6. Continued interaction

  • You are encouraged to continue working with us at any point, but especially if you are experiencing difficulty with your academic accommodations, have a new diagnosis to share, are experiencing different impacts due to medication changes or ongoing disability-related treatment or progression, or want to discuss support resources that may be available to aid in your success.

    Additional steps for an assistance animal and/or housing accommodations

    Be aware

    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 disability-related need for an accommodation that is not obvious or otherwise known. 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.

    A reliable form of documentation is from a person's health care professional that confirms a person's disability and/or need for an animal when the provider has personal knowledge of the individual.

      Review the Assistance Animal Policy and Residence Life Student Expectations for Assistance Animals.

      • Submit an Accommodation Request Form online.
      • Provide documentation from your medical provider.
      • Your provider must complete the Accommodation Documentation Form and complete the additional section dedicated to assistance animal requests.
      • Provide vet records including a clean bill of health and up-to-date immunization records.
      • If the animal is a dog, provide proof of dog license and rabies vaccination.

      Once all needed information is submitted, we will contact you to discuss the request. If approved, we will notify Residence Life of your paperwork status. Residence Life will then reach out to any roommates you have to ensure there are no concerns (allergies, etc.). You will also need to meet with your RHD/RD to discuss assistance animal expectations and provide emergency caregiver information prior to Residence Life giving you the final approval to bring the animal to campus.

      Housing accommodation requests should be submitted by June 15 for the upcoming fall semester and by October 15 for the upcoming spring semester. Housing accommodations are based on availability. Please note that we are able to accommodate many students on campus with a variety of medical needs. A request for exemption is not guaranteed.

      • The ability to provide reasonable accommodation is determined by the University.
      • A physician's recommendation for an off-campus accommodation will not necessarily determine a release from contractual obligation.
      1. Submit anAccommodation Request Formonline.
      2. Provide documentation from your medical provider. They must complete the Accommodation Documentation Form and complete the additional section dedicated to housing accommodation requests.
      3. Once this information is submitted, we will contact you to discuss the request. If approved, we will notify Residence Life of your accommodations, and they will work with you to implement them.

      Being approved for a housing accommodation does not guarantee that you will be placed in your first-choice residence hall or with your preferred friends.

      Student Disability Services makes determinations regarding functional accommodations in housing and is not involved in the process of assigning a student's specific room or specific roommates/suitemates. That process is managed by the Office of Residence Life, and they will notify students of their specific room assignment.