WashU strives to provide equitable access to Residential Life facilities for all WashU residents in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (Amendments Act), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Fair Housing Act (FHA), and other applicable federal and state regulations. Disability Resources assists disabled students when accommodations to University housing are necessary due to a barrier associated with a documented disability.

Requesting housing accommodations

Requests for housing accommodations should be made well in advance of Residential Life’s process for room assignments. Requests evaluated after placement cannot be guaranteed and will be subject to availability.

Documentation must be from an appropriately qualified medical/mental health professional with expertise in the differential diagnosis of the documented condition, and follow the established practices in the field. Documenting practitioners must have a working relationship with the student.

Disability Resources may consult with University colleagues (e.g., the Student Health Center, Center for Counseling and Psychological Services, Dining Services’ Nutrition Team) when necessary to fully understand or interpret requests.

When supported, DR communicates accommodations to Residential Life for placement of the student. DR will articulate conditions necessary for a student’s access, but does not dictate specific placement (i.e., a preferred buildings/rooms).

University residential facilities are considered communal environments and are not designed to be, nor should they be viewed as academic areas. Therefore, requests from students with ADHD seeking private or reduced capacity placement for the purpose of studying will generally not be approved.

Unless specified, returning WashU students with approved housing accommodations do not need to provide new documentation each year (except in situations in which they are seeking additional accommodations not previously approved). However, students do have the responsibility to communicate to DR their intention to utilize approved accommodations prior to WashU Residential Life’s deadlines to ensure necessary adjustments are made should the student be granted placement in University facilities.

New students

Incoming students and current WashU students who do not already have accommodations through Disability Resources must submit a New Student Application using DR’s Access WashU portal. Necessary documentation may be uploaded after completing the online questionnaire or otherwise provided to Disability Resources for review. Requests will not be considered “complete” and reviewed by DR until both a request and appropriate documentation is received.

Returning DR Students (without prior housing accommodations)

Students who have requested accommodations of any type in the past may submit a supplemental request to request additional accommodations, or changes to current approvals. Step-by-step directions to complete the supplemental request are below.

  1. Navigate to Access WashU.
  2. Log in using a valid WashU Key.
  3. Select Accommodation Plan Modification Request from the menu bar on the left-hand navigation panel.
  4. Use the button in the center of the page to Submit an Accommodation Plan Modification Request
  5. Include thorough responses to the included questions.
  6. If not already submitted, provide documentation necessary to consider housing accommodations.

Requests will not be considered “complete” and reviewed by DR until both a request and appropriate documentation is received.

Timeline for processing requests

Students should refer to Residential Life information for Housing Application deadlines.
Accommodation requests and any necessary documentation must be submitted to Disability Resources well in advance of ResLife deadlines to ensure consideration in a timely manner.

Disability Resources strives to respond promptly to all submissions, and can usually do so within 10-15 business days from the time of verifying a student’s complete submission. However, in times of high volume (such as the summer months and the period leading up to housing placement), this timeline cannot be guaranteed. For this reason, DR encourages students to submit requests well in advance of Residential Life deadlines.

Guidelines for requesting housing accommodations

  1. Students requesting accommodations due to disability-related housing concerns must also complete the Room & Board application through their WashU Housing Portal to be considered for placement.
  2. Approved accommodations will not guarantee a preferred placement/location or roommate/suite mates. Upon approval, Disability Resources determines accommodations to meet the functional necessity in housing, and placement is then coordinated and communicated by Residential Life through their process.
  3. Residential Life will make reasonable efforts to place students with accommodations with their identified roommate selections but generally cannot consider groups of more than a total of 4 when coordinating placement.
    Students may also submit requests without identified roommates, but this does not guarantee a single room placement.
  4. Requests or appeals for housing accommodations received after posted Residential Life deadlines will be coordinated as available due to current placement. In such situations, the student may be assigned without preferred roommates, or offered placement on a waitlist for an assignment meeting their accommodation need.

For this reason, students are strongly encouraged to submit accommodation requests and any necessary documentation to Disability Resources well in advance of ResLife deadlines.