Emotional Support Animal Policy

Geneva College provides accommodations to individuals with a documented disability - making reasonable modifications to services, programs, and/or activities. The College recognizes that emotional support animals may be an effective accommodation for certain qualified students. The presence of such animals may, however, present health, safety, security, and other programmatic concerns for all members of the college community. To preserve the mission of the college, to recognize the rights and obligations of all members of the Geneva community, and to ensure the health, safety, security, and educational needs of these members, the following criteria and requirements are in place. Geneva College reserves the right to amend this policy at any time as circumstances require.

Definition:

Emotional Support Animal (ESA): A domestic animal prescribed as treatment by a qualified mental health practitioner. This animal is not trained to provide any service, however its presence provides therapeutic support to the owner. The ADAAA does not cover or allow for ESAs as an official accommodation in an academic setting. However, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the Fair Housing Act (FHA) authorize that an occupant in a residence hall may qualify for an ESA as an official accommodation. Appropriateness of the animal is taken into consideration. 

ESA Considerations:

1. College housing is unique in several aspects including the mandatory assignment of roommates for many individuals and the mandate that individuals must share a room or suite in certain residence halls. To ensure that the presence of an ESA is not an undue administrative burden or fundamental alteration of College housing, Geneva reserves the right to assign an individual with an ESA to a single room without a roommate.

2. However, for all requests for an ESA, the Student Success Center (SSC) shall nonetheless consult with Residence Life in making a determination on a case-by-case basis of whether the presence of an ESA is reasonable. A request for an ESA may be denied as unreasonable if the presence of the animal: (1) imposes an undue financial and/or administrative burden; (2) fundamentally alters College housing policies; and/or (3) poses a direct threat to the health and safety of others or would cause substantial property damage to the property of others, including College property.

3. Geneva may consider the following factors, among others, as evidence in determining whether the presence of the animal is reasonable or in the making of housing assignments for individuals with an ESA:

• The size of the animal is too large for available assigned housing space,
  • The animal's presence would force another individual from that individual’s housing (e.g. serious allergies);
• The animal's presence otherwise violates individuals' right to peace and quiet enjoyment;
• The animal is not housebroken or is unable to live with others in a reasonable manner;
• The animal's vaccinations are not up-to-date;
• The animal poses or has posed in the past a direct threat to the individual or others such as aggressive behavior towards or injuring the individual or others; or
• The animal causes or has caused excessive damage to housing beyond reasonable wear and tear

Qualifications:

In order to qualify, the student must:

1. Present documentation to the SSC in accordance with the Fair Housing Act and HUD regulations.
   The documentation must come from a reliable third party (student’s therapist/mental health practitioner.  Generally, it is inappropriate for immediate family members to provide documentation).  If the third party provides documentation that does not have sufficient information for the SSC to determine whether an accommodation is necessary, the Director of the SSC will inform the individual in writing of the verification’s insufficiency and may request additional information, including speaking directly with the individual supplying the third-party verification, within seven (7) business days of receiving the verification
2. Show that the animal is needed to assist the student to have full comfort, benefit, and enjoyment of their College residence.
3. Show that there is a relationship between the therapeutic need and the support that the animal provides.
4. Confirm the continued need of an ESA, by providing updated documentation for every academic year that a request for an ESA is made.

Geneva College will accept and consider requests for reasonable accommodation in College housing at any time. The individual making the request for accommodation should complete and provide the Request Form to the SSC as soon as practicably possible before moving into College housing. However, if the request for accommodation is made fewer than 60 days before the individual intends to move into College housing, Geneva cannot guarantee that it will be able to meet the individual’s accommodation needs during the first semester or term of occupancy.  Any denial of an ESA request can be appealed to the College’s ADA/Section 504 Compliance Officer (Dean of Student Development).

Student’s General Responsibilities:

Any student who is approved to bring an ESA on Geneva College property must meet all requirements of this policy. This obligation is on-going and a failure to meet all requirements may result in removal or exclusion of the animal. 

• The student must notify the SSC when the ESA arrives on campus each semester. The student must provide verification of the animal’s shots/vaccines to the SSC upon initial check in.  
• The student is solely responsible for the safety, health, behavior, and actions of the animal at all times.
• The student is solely responsible for any damage the animal may cause to the residence hall room, or any other College property.  The student will be billed for any and all costs of fixing damage caused by the animal, including any special cleaning required to make the room habitable for its next occupant.
• The student is solely responsible for any harm caused by the ESA to other students, faculty, staff, or campus visitors.
• The student must ensure the following control and behavior requirements are met:
  • In accordance with Beaver County leash laws, the ESA must be on a leash any time it is outside of the student’s residence hall room.
  • The student is to be in full control of the animal at all times.
  • The student must ensure that the animal relieves itself in appropriate areas, specified by Residence Life, and the waste is properly discarded of in garbage receptacles (using bags).
  • The animal must remain only in the student’s private residence, unless being taken outside for natural relief.  The student may not take the animal into any College buildings other than his or her specific assigned residence hall room.
  • The animal must be contained as appropriate (cage, kennel, terrarium etc.), when the student is not present while attending classes or other activities.
  • The animal must not obstruct or disturb any space or activity of the academic program including but not limited to: residence halls, recreational areas, roads, walkways, and passages on any part of campus, legitimate campus activities and any other college programs, spaces, or activities.
  • The animal must not engage in other behaviors or noises that are disruptive to others including but not limited to: excessive barking, excessive whining, excessive growling, excessive sniffing people, or intrusion into the personal belongings of others.
• In the event of an emergency and the student is unable to be on campus, if the student is unable to take the animal with them (i.e. hospitalization), the student must assign someone to remove the animal from campus within 2 days of the student leaving campus.
• The animal cannot be left alone overnight, and must be taken home any time the student leaves campus for an extended time (i.e. fall break, winter break, spring break, etc.).  In addition, the animal may not be given to a roommate or friend to watch overnight.

Removal of ESA:

Violation of this policy may result in the student participating in the Student Conduct Process.  The College may require the student to remove the animal from College housing if:

1. the animal poses a direct threat to the health or safety of others or causes substantial property damage to the property of others;
2. the animal's presence results in a fundamental alteration of a College program;
3. the Student does not comply with the Student’s Responsibilities set forth above; or
4. the animal or its presence creates an unmanageable disturbance or interference with the College community.

The College will base such determinations upon the consideration of the behavior of the particular animal at issue, and not on speculation or fear about the harm or damages an animal may cause.

Should the ESA be removed from the premises for any reason, the student is expected to fulfill his/her housing obligations for the remainder of the housing contract.  If required to remove the ESA from College property, the animal must be removed within 48 hours of notification.