UMBC Housing Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
UMBC considers Residential Life an integral part of a student’s development and will coordinate reasonable and necessary housing accommodations for students with qualifying documented disabilities to allow for full inclusion and participation in the residential community.
Requests for housing accommodations or modifications in housing due to an accessibility barrier are considered on a case-by-case basis and will be determined based on the interactive disability services’ intake process that occurs between the student and the Office of Student Disability Services (SDS) staff. Although requests for accommodations can be submitted to SDS at any time during the year, housing accommodation requests must be submitted and reviewed annually in accordance with posted Residential Life timelines for housing applications to ensure availability. The University will prioritize requests based on space availability, documented need, and timeliness of requests.
An example of a reasonable modification in campus housing might include SDS approving an accommodation request for an ADA-accessible room assignment in which a student has access to a ADA grab bars in the bathroom when a mobility challenge prevents the student from having a room that does not include these features.
How to Request Housing Accommodations:
Students with documented disabilities that would like to request a housing accommodation based on a disability/disabling condition will need to:
- Register with the Office of Student Disability Services (SDS) through the Accommodate software online student portal (via the online SDS Registration Form),
- Provide documentation of their disability and limitations that would require a modification to housing, and
- Schedule an interactive intake meeting with an SDS disability specialist (in-person or via Webex).
- SDS will approve the accommodation request or will offer alternative access accommodations, solutions, and support resources. SDS will notify the student and Residential Life in writing through an official accommodation letter of the approved, necessary accommodations.
**Students should note in their housing application that is submitted directly to Residential Life that they are requesting disability-based housing accommodations. Making “request” for an accommodation to Res Life or SDS does not automatically mean the accommodation is approved, however. Students must meet with SDS for an intake discussion and receive the accommodation approval letter first before Residential Life will implement accommodations.
*SDS intake appointments may take up to two weeks to schedule from the time of initial accommodation request. Please allow ample time to register with SDS prior to housing application due dates to complete the accommodation process. Expedited and late requests, such as during the week of move-in, may not be able to be accommodated and there may be waitlists for specific accommodation requests.
Website link to Residential Life’s Accommodations page for additional information