Housing Accommodations

If you will need an accommodation while living in Promise Housing, please read the information below on steps to enroll in services. Questions? Please reach out directly to Disabled Students Program & Services (DSPS) at 209-384-6155 or [email protected] for assistance.

Requesting Housing Accommodations

University of California, Merced, ("UC Merced" or the "University") and Merced Community College District ("MCCD") provide reasonable housing accommodations to residents with disabilities. It is a resident's responsibility to make their disability known to their home university or college. MCCD students should direct inquires and requests to the Disabled Student Program and Services (DSPS) Their phone number is 209-384-6155 and are available during business hours. They can also be reached by email at [email protected]. UC Merced Students should direct inquires and requests to UCM Student Accessibility Services (SAS). UCM Accessibility requests begin with the access form, found here: Student Accessibility Services Accommodation Request. They can also be reached by email at [email protected] and phone at 209-338-6996.

Housing accommodations are given consideration upon request and on a case-by-case basis; reasonable accommodations are determined based on documented need. This process is primarily focused on academic year housing. 

  1. Requests will be reviewed by the respective accommodations office. Accommodation decisions will consider the resident’s disability-related need(s) in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the Fair Housing Act, and other relevant federal, state, and campus regulations.  
  2. The accommodations office will engage in the interactive process with the student to establish the accommodations needed.  
  3. The accommodations office will communicate accommodations to UCM Housing/Promise Housing, determining how to accommodate the student based on the verified accommodations. 

Accommodations cannot be verified for individuals who did not meet all housing deadlines or are otherwise ineligible to live in Student Housing. 

Reasonable Accommodations 

A reasonable accommodation is a change, exception, or adjustment to a rule, policy, practice, or service that may be necessary for a person with disabilities to have an equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling, including public and common use spaces, or to fulfill their program obligations. Please note that the ADA often refers to these types of accommodations as “modifications.” 

Definitions 

Resident: any student, university employee, family member, or other individual residing with Student Housing 

Disability: a mental or physical impairment that limits the individual in a major life activity, as defined under the ADA. 

Campus accommodations team: the person(s) or office(s) primarily responsible for evaluating disability accommodations for students of UC Merced or Merced Community College District. The “home” accommodations team is the person or office at the student’s university or college of record, at the time of the request.  

Non-Student Residents 

  • UCM employees should contact UCM Human Resources for housing accommodation procedures. 
  • MCCD employees should contact MCCD Human Resources for housing accommodations procedures. 
  • Conference participants, guests, or family members residing in housing should contact conference or event organizers for housing accommodation procedures. 

Prospective students with disabilities 

  • Prospective students may consult with UCM Housing Services and/or their accommodations office on general services and options for dietary needs. These consultations do not replace documented accommodations established through an interactive process with the respective accommodations office.  
  • UCM Housing Services is available for general consultation on housing options. 
  • The prospective student’s campus accommodations office is available for a general consultation on services and addressing anticipated needs related to school and housing. 
  • After accepting admission to the home institution, a student may begin the interactive process for potential housing accommodations. Promise Housing is limited and housing accommodations may be established prior to the offer of campus housing. 

  1. Residents must apply for campus housing and follow all necessary procedures for application in addition to requesting accommodations. 
  2. Requests for accommodations can be done concurrently with the housing application (steps 3-4 below) 
  3. Priority date to complete accommodation documentation for fall semester assignments is June 1. December 1 for spring semester assignments. March 1 for summer assignments. 
  4. In order to request housing accommodations, residents initiate the accommodation request with their campus accommodations office.  
  5. UCM residents must complete Student Accessibility Services Accommodation Request form available at access.ucmerced.edu to engage in an interactive process about housing accommodations. Students are encouraged to submit documentation about their needs prior to meeting. This documentation would be comprehensive, written within a reasonable timeframe relative to the disability and include information on their specific circumstances and underlying causes. It should come from a non-familial, treating, licensed professional. Incomplete information may slow or delay the accommodation approval process. 
  6. MCCD residents must contact Disabled Students Program & Services (DSPS) at 209-384-6155 or [email protected] to begin the process. 
  7. If accommodation needs are verified, the campus accommodation office will communicate these needs to UCM Housing Services/Promise Housing Services. 

  1. UCM Housing Services/Promise Housing Services may contact the student to facilitate accommodations, or housing may send information about the accommodation if no additional information is needed (e.g., template outreach for approved assistance animals). If the student has questions about how the verified accommodation will be implemented, they can contact UCM Housing at housing@ucmerced.edu 
  2. If needed, each campus accommodations team and UCM Housing Services/Promise Housing Services. team will meet to discuss the student need and finalize reasonable accommodations. Students may be involved in these meetings, if needed. These meetings will typically involve discussing logistics and finding the best way of providing accommodations that meet the specific needs of the student. This meeting shall occur within 7 business days of SAS/DSPS verifying the student’s accommodation needs. 
  3. While a student’s disability diagnosis and documentation will be held in confidence within their home campus accommodations office, UCM Housing/Promise Housing staff (RECs, RAs, facilities, etc…) may be informed of certain accommodations as it relates to their interaction. For example, staff will be notified of service animals and assistance animals. 
  4. On-campus residents with verified accommodations may request an individualized assessment of their emergency preparedness needs for times when they are in class or on campus. These individualized assessments will involve their home campus accommodations team and UCM Housing Services staff. To schedule an emergency preparedness assessment: 
    1. UCM: 209-228-6996 
    2. MCCD: [email protected] 

  • The home campus accommodations teams handles the request process and contacts student about the accommodation request and follow up with a confirmation. 
  • Home campus accommodations teams informs UCM Housing/Promise Housing Services of the approval decision and any confirmation to students (on going). 
  • Home campus accommodations teams sends priority approved lists to UCM Housing Services/Promise Housing. 
  • UCM Housing/Promise Housing Services complete priority housing accommodation housing assignments and emails housing accommodation priority housing assignment to students. 

Parking and Temporary Transportation Needs for Residents in University Housing 

  • Please make note of any parking accommodation needs related to your housing during your interactive process with your home campus accommodations team.  UCM Housing/Promise Housing will work to facilitate housing assignments near appropriate parking areas, if necessary. 
  • UCM Parking permitting processes and temporary transportation needs are coordinated by UC Merced Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS). Information about applying for parking permit, disabled persons parking placard or transportation on campus for temporary disabilities is available on taps.ucmerced.edu website. 

Please note: 

  • Student staff with live-in requirements for Promise Housing shall work with their home campus student accommodations teams on accommodation requests. Faculty and staff living or working in housing shall work with their respective Human Resources offices on accommodation requests. 
  • Applications and requests for specific housing locations or rooms will be taken into consideration as preferences; however, priority will be given to reasonably satisfying the approved accommodation, regardless of location preference. 
  • UCM Housing Services/Promise Housing Services is currently unable to guarantee single rooms based on a desire for a quiet and distraction free study space. 
  • If a student is unable to care for themselves, they will need to provide a personal attendant and arrange access with UCM Housing/Promise Housing Services. The university does not provide personal attendants or personal care assistance. Other residents assigned to the space can not be compelled to provide regular assistance in lieu of personal attendants.  
  • Depending on the time of year, housing options may be limited due to occupancy. Submission of a request in advance allows for arrangements to be made to meet the resident’s need(s). Requests for accommodations must be placed in advance of deadlines posted on the housing website for the upcoming academic semester. If a request is made after this date, UCM Housing/Promise Housing Services cannot guarantee that it will be able to meet the student’s request immediately.  Accommodations requests after deadlines will be made as units become available.   
  • Once a student’s housing accommodation request is approved, the approval is granted for the duration of their time living on campus as a resident of their home college or university. Students who transfer between UC Merced and MCCD will need to resubmit the housing accommodation request to the new campus accommodations team as soon as possible to ensure continuous accommodations.  

Requesting a Support Animal

Promising Housing values diversity and inclusion. We welcome students with disabilities who require service animals and support animals (often referred to as an Emotional Support Animal, ESA)​ ​to manage daily living. This document will provide guidance for the process of registering a service animal and requesting an ESA in student housing. Please review the UCM Animal Policy at https://policies.ucmerced.edu/sites/policies.ucmerced.edu/files/document... definitions of a support animal, a service animal, and other useful information. Students interested in having an ESA in campus housing must submit a housing accommodation request through DSPS. Generally, the presence of only one ESA will be approved for a student, in order to fulfill the intent of the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) requirements in providing support to the student with a disability. Students or visitors who have questions about having a support animal on UC Merced campus grounds (outside of housing) can contact Student Accessibility Services at: 209-228-6996. Service dogs ​do not​ need to be approved by the DSPS as a reasonable accommodation. A service animal identification vest or harness is not​ ​required.

Part 1: Submit a Housing Application 

Student Housing

Part 2: Fill out an Accommodation Request/Submit Documentation

  1. Is the student diagnosed with a diagnosis specifically found in the Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM) 5?
  2. What is the nature/functional limitations of the disability?
  3. Is this an animal that you specifically prescribed as part of treatment for the student, or is it a pet that you believe will have a beneficial effect for the student while in residence on campus?
  4. What disability-related symptoms will be reduced by having the ESA?
  5. Is there evidence that an ESA has helped this student in the past or currently?

Part 3: Schedule appointment with a counselor and engage an interactive process.   

Please be prepared to share the following information: 

What type of animal are you requesting (dog, cat, hamster, etc)? 

How does this animal address your symptoms? 

Is the animal part of a comprehensive treatment plan? Please explain.

Notice​: 

Consistent with other U.S. colleges and universities (members of the Association on Higher Education and Disability), Merced College may not accept some licensed provider’s letters of verification of disability-related need for an Emotional Support Animal. DSPS recommends that the student should have an established treatment relationship with a licensed provider before seeking an ESA recommendation. DSPS does not recommend paying a fee for an ESA letter. ​We​ ​reserve the right to request additional information from the recommending licensed professional. 

Next Steps 

DSPS will review the documentation when the student’s accommodation request and the licensed care provider’s response to the above prompts are received. Allow ten business days for the determination to be made. In some cases, DSPS may request a follow up appointment to review the request and ask for clarifying information. Once a decision has been made the student will receive notification by email. DSPS will then communicate the decision to the Promise Housing office.