Campus Accessibility Center (CAC)

Southern New Hampshire University is dedicated to providing equal access to students with documented disabilities, in accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, and the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act of 2008.

The University prohibits unlawful discrimination on the basis of disability, and takes action to prevent such discrimination by providing reasonable accommodations to eligible students with disabilities.

The university makes no pre-admission inquiry about an applicant's disability. We recognize that to disclose any disability is a personal choice that every applicant may exercise. We respect this choice; however, we encourage individuals with a disability to self- disclose to the Campus Accessibility Center and provide necessary information. The Campus Accessibility Center will assist in the process of identifying accommodation needs.

Procedure for Students Requesting Disability Support Services

It is the responsibility of a student with disabilities to complete the following steps to be considered for accommodations at SNHU. Forms, Guidelines, and Procedures may be requested directly from the Campus Accessibility Center.

1. Review the Disability Verification Guideline and Form and have the form completed by your healthcare professional, or gather equivalent documentation.
2. Complete and submit the Accessibility Center Intake Request Form with documentation.
3. Complete an intake interview with assigned Accommodations Specialist (in person, by phone, or via email) to discuss documentation and accommodation history to determine one's disability status and the need for particular accommodations. These determinations are made on a case-by-case basis.

Contact the Campus Accessibility Center with any questions

• cac@snhu.edu
• 603.644.3118

Accommodations & Services (CAC)

The procedures and guidelines of the Campus Accessibility Center are developed to address disability-related subjects. Some of the most frequent subjects are listed below:

1. Reasonable accommodations are made to provide academic, programmatic and physical access. Examples of program accommodations include sign language interpreters, CART providers, accessible text formats, and testing accommodations. Physical access refers to building, classroom and residence hall accessibility.
2. Personal services and personal aides (PCA) are not ADA/504 accommodations and are not provided by the University.
3. Special Housing Requests: Accommodations for housing, if approved, address the needs of the documented disability and not a specific location or roommate request. In order to be considered for a housing accommodation, a student must submit the Housing Accommodation Request Procedure and Forms to the Campus Accessibility Center.
4. Membership Meal Plan Modification Requests: In order to accurately and equitably evaluate meal plan modification requests bases on a food-related disability or diagnosis, Membership Meal Plan Modification Request and Forms must be submitted to the Campus Accessibility Center to establish the existence of the condition and substantiate the need for the modification. Typically, conditions for which this procedure will address are those with evidence of a significant impairment in a major life activity. In general, an intolerance or sensitivity does not rise to the level of engaging in this process.
5. Disability related animals:

• Service Animal: Defined as a dog under the ADA title III that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability. The work or tasks performed by the dog must be directly related to your disability. CAC will review applicable paperwork if you choose to live on campus with a fully trained Service Animal.
• Emotional Support Animal (ESA): An animal providing therapeutic, emotional support for an individual with a diagnosed mental health disability who lives in or is seeking University housing. Unlike Service Animals trained to perform work or a specific task important for the independence, safety or dignity 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 the mental health disability. The CAC will review a request for an ESA up to 30 days prior to the semester move in date, if all necessary forms have been received. A request or necessary forms received with less than 30 days before the semester move-in date will be considered for the next semester. The first step in the process is to request the ESA Policy and Agreement, review and sign it, and return it to the CAC. The ESA Policy and Agreement outlines the procedure for the approval of an ESA to live in campus housing as an accommodation.
• Visiting Therapy Animal: An animal providing stress reduction as a therapeutic, short-term visit to the University community with permissions and within a designated location.