Transylvania University is committed to supporting our campus community by reviewing requests for Emotional Support Animals in dormitories and Service Animals on campus. Please review the definitions, policy and procedure below.
Definitions
Emotional Support Animals: According to section 1.A. of statute 383.085, an emotional support animal, “provides support that alleviates one or more identified symptoms or effects of a person’s disability.”
Service Animals: Service animals are typically defined as dogs that are individually trained to do work or perform tasks for people with disabilities. Examples of such work or tasks include, but are not limited to: guiding people who are blind, alerting people who are deaf, pulling a wheelchair, alerting and protecting a person who is having a seizure, reminding a person with mental illness to take prescribed medications, calming a person with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) during an anxiety attack, or performing other duties. Service animals are working animals, not pets. The work or task a dog has been trained to provide must be directly related to the person’s disability. Dogs whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support do not qualify as service animals under ADA service animal requirements.
According to Kentucky State law and the Fair Housing Act (FHA), individuals with a disability may request to keep an ESA as a reasonable accommodation to a housing provider’s pet restrictions. This includes ESAs that have been prescribed by a licensed healthcare professional to help cope with a disability and to alleviate one or more identified effects of the person’s disability. The documentation must demonstrate the nexus between the person’s condition and the support being provided by the animal. The ESA Form may be used for this purpose, but other legitimate documentation will be accepted as long as it provides all necessary information to make an informed decision. Students interested in requesting this accommodation should follow the guidelines as outlined in the ESA Policy.
Please note that an unapproved animal brought to campus will be subject to immediate removal and the student may face fines and student conduct charges.
- Student Information form
Required for all residential accommodation requests. - ESA Policy
Review the policies and request process in the ESA policy before completing the ESA request form. - ESA Request Form (PDF Download)
Please print and complete this form with a licensed practitioner
Documentation Requirements
- Must be typed or printed on official letterhead and signed by an evaluator qualified to make the diagnosis (licensed physician, psychologist, psychiatrist or therapist)
- Must clearly state diagnosis with DSM code or chronic health condition
- Must be current – i.e. completed within the last year for psychiatric disabilities, physical disabilities and chronic health conditions; or within the last five years for learning disabilities, ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder and intellectual disabilities. Documentation of traumatic brain injury must have been completed within the past one to three years, depending on the date of the injury.
Transylvania University (Transylvania) is committed to being a welcoming and accessible place for all community members and visitors and permits service animals, as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA §36.302), access to areas of public accommodation on campus.
Students who will be accompanied by a service animal should contact Accessibility Services to alert them of the presence of their service animal on campus.
Under Kentucky State Law, service animals include dogs in training while engaged in learning service tasks. The same standards of conduct and location access are granted to dogs in training regarding public access on campus as to service dogs. Puppy rearing, which focuses on socialization and general obedience training, is not considered to be in training. All trainers must have identification in their personal possession verifying that they are trainers of assistance dogs.
Students who will be accompanied by a service animal should contact Accessibility Services to alert them of the presence of their service animal on campus. For more information, please refer to the Service Animal Policy, found on the Transylvania University homepage under Campus Policies.