Who Should Submit a Disability/Medical Accommodation Request

How Assignments are Made

Confidentiality

Applying with a Group

Application Procedures

Assignment Results

Responding to Assignment

Cancelling an Assignment

Attending Overseas Studies or Taking Leave of Absence

Requests for Reassignment Mid-Year

Related Information and Forms

Further Information

Important Note for filing Disability/Medical Accommodation Requests.

• Disability/Medical Accommodation Requests need to be submitted to the Student Disability Resource Center by Friday, April 18. Along with the requester, each member of a group MUST file a housing application on Axess between April 21 and April 23, 2008 at 5:00 pm. Students who have not submitted an application will not be considered for special accommodation.

By signing the request form, the requester relinquishes their right to participate in the regular assignment round if assigned. All University residence rules and regulations apply.

Who Should Submit a Disability/Medical Accommodation Request. Students with documented disabilities or medical conditions may request exemption from or accommodation within standard housing assignment procedures. The Disability/Medical Accommodation Request form should be completed by: 

• students whose disability or documented medical condition necessitates a particular housing assignment that cannot be assured by entering the regular housing assignment process (such as the Undergraduate Draw or Graduate Lottery), 
• students who need any special accommodation made in their room (such as strobe lights, access doors, rails, etc.), or for a type or location of a room (for ramps or elevators, first floor, etc.), and
• students who are living in housing already and have a newly diagnosed condition or have changes to a previously documented condition and are seeking reassignment due to these new conditions.

Who should not file a Disability/Medical Accommodation Request? 

• students who are seeking single rooms or premier housing spaces or locations,
• undergraduate students who are guaranteed housing during the 2008-09 academic year and who are medically able to accept any house and room assignment, 
• students whose needs are based on a personal lifestyle choice (vegetarian, kosher, vegan, religious practice), or
• students whose needs are based on financial constraints.

Submitting a Disability/Medical Accommodation Request does not automatically grant you a space in housing, and previous special case assignment or disability accommodation does not ensure a future accommodation. Students must request a disability accommodation each year as specific policies and medical conditions may change from year to year. Unguaranteed undergraduate students and continuing graduate students with limited or no assignment priority might not be granted an exempt housing space if their disability or documented medical condition does not necessitate on-campus housing.

How Requests are Evaluated and Assignments are Made. Housing Assignments, in consultation with the Student Disability Resource Center and Student Housing, places students based on the Undergraduate Draw, Graduate Lottery, and Summer Housing Allocation and, in general, the same policies and procedures apply. Assignments are also based on: 

• whether your medical documentation supports special accommodation and is recommended by the Student Disability Resource Center,
• if you are an undergraduate, your guaranteed housing and preferred year status,
• if are a graduate student, your housing assignment priority level (based on student status, current degree program, the number of years you have lived in housing already, and for continuing graduate students your decision to renew your current contract).
• your application number, i.e., Draw or Lottery number (yes, you still get one),
• your housing preferences and options that meet your needs,
• if you are an undergraduate, any special priorities you have collected, 
• if you are a graduate student, whether you have a returning resident, law, or engineering priority,
• the competing requests of other students, based on historical Draw and Lottery data.

When requesting a special accommodation, you must be willing to live in any residence or room that meets your medical needs. In some cases, you may not be exempted from the regular housing assignment process, but you will be given a priority that will ensure your assignment to a particular type of housing space that meets your documented medical needs. 

Example of How Assignments are Made. An undergraduate group of eight women, drawing preferred, has a draw number of 1182. The requester needs a private sleeping space and an open kitchen. Since they (like all groups requesting disability accommodations) do not know what their draw number is, this group lists 20 different housing choices. They do so because they want to include choices that would be appropriate if they had a low (good) draw number or a high (bad) one. Group members all have priorities to Suites 4, EBF, Haus Mitt, and Toyon (all are rising sophomores). Their Housing Preferences, in order, are: Suites 4, Suites 6, Toyon, Roble, Haus Mitt, [+ 15 additional choices not listed here to save space].

Using last year's cut off numbers (2007-08), the following is how we would determine the assignment for 2008-09:

Suites 4 - No. The cut off was 1082 for a group of 8.
Suites 6 - No. They did not receive priority for Suites 6 because they are a group of 8.
Toyon - No. Although the cut off was 1565, Toyon doesn't have an open kitchen.
Roble - No. The cut off was 0848 for a group of 8 and no open kitchen.
Haus Mitt - Hmm. The cut off was 2368 for a group of 8, there are 3 singles available to students other than staff and the house has an open kitchen. We've found our residence. The group is assigned to Haus Mitt. Note that if all of the singles had already been filled by other students seeking disability accommodations, this assignment would not have been made. It is also possible that no further disability assignments will be made to this house because of a desire to reserve the two remaining singles for the general in-house draw. The group's remaining housing choices are not considered because assignment has already been made.

Confidentiality. University employees have an obligation to maintain confidentiality regarding a student's disability including a student's housing assignment based on documented medical needs. To that end, the Student Disability Resource Center will provide information to University staff only when necessary in evaluating and/or facilitating accommodations, auxiliary aids, and/or services. Except where provided by applicable law, disability information will not be shared with non-employees without the student's express written permission. If you are granted an exempt assignment, Housing Assignments notifies your new residence office of your assignment and the physical amenities needed in your new room/apartment only. 

Applying with a Group. The same general application standards for applying in a group also apply when applying for a disability accommodation. Single students applying for Summer Quarter may apply with up to 3 group members (for total of 4 in group). Single graduate students applying for 2008-09 may apply with up to 3 group members (for total of 4 in group). Undergraduates applying for 2008-09 may apply with up to 7 group members (for total of 8 in group).

Along with the requester, EACH member of a group MUST file a housing application on Axess between April 21 and April 23, 2008 at 5:00 pm. Students who have not submitted an application will not be considered for special accommodation.

Every member of an undergraduate group must have the same guaranteed and preferred year status to apply as a group. Every member of a graduate student group must have assignment priority remaining (but does not have to be the same level). Group members may NOT be changed once this request is submitted.

By signing the application form to be part of a group, group members relinquish their right to participate in the regular assignment round and agree to be placed with you if assigned. All University residence rules and regulations apply to both you and all members of your group.

If your medical/disability accommodation request is approved, you and all members of your group will be assigned to specific rooms according to the residence's regular room and roommate assignment policies and procedures (typically by participating in the residence's in-house draw if undergraduate).

If, as a result of your request and due to your disability needs, you are assigned to a specific room or roommate, you (and your roommate, if applicable) do not need to participate in the regular room draw. However, the other members of your group will need to participate in the residence's regular room draw to determine their specific room assignments.

Please note: Groups applying for Winter or Spring terms will likely be split in the Waiting List. There are very few wholly vacant rooms/apartments or more than one space in a residence during the Waiting List rounds. Applications from group members will not be considered after the application deadline of April 23, 2008 at 5:00 pm.

Application Instructions

Complete the Disability/Medical Accommodation Request form and return it to the Student Disability Resource Center by the deadlines listed below. Please keep in mind that space may be limited if you apply late, and that accommodations are not guaranteed as they may not be possible. Note that group applications will only be considered until 5:00 pm on April 23, 2008. After that date, students filing a disability/medical request may do so only as an individual (unless they require a specific roommate as an accommodation).

Research the housing options available to you by referring to the Residence Tour. Consult the Student Disability Resource Center about which residences meet your needs, or see their summary list of accessible residences.

All students applying for Summer Housing 2008 must also: 

1. read the Summer Housing information on the Web, and
2. apply on Axess and agree to the Summer 2008 Residence Agreement. Requests cannot be reviewed without a regular application submitted.

Undergraduates applying for the 2008-09 year must also: 

1. read the Upperclass Housing pages on the Web, 
2. attend open houses and informational meetings,
3. request special priorities for any houses in which they are interested, and
4. apply on Axess and agree to the 2008-09 Residence Agreement. Requests cannot be reviewed without a regular application submitted.

Single graduate students, couples without children, and students with children applying for the 2008-09 year must also: 

1. read the Graduate Housing pages on the Web, and
2. apply on Axess and agree to the 2008-09 Residence Agreement. Requests cannot be reviewed without a regular application submitted.

Please note that graduate students who live in Crothers Memorial, Escondido Village (except Studios 1 and 2), Rains (except buildings 201, 202, 206, and 208), or Lyman during spring term 2008 do not need to resubmit this form for Summer Quarter 2008, unless you are requesting a reassignment. Your contracts are effective through this summer quarter. If you are asking for both summer and autumn housing, you must file two (2) applications and request forms.

The Student Disability/Medical Accommodation Request form and all other required documents must be completed and returned to the Student Disability Resource Center by the deadlines below. We strongly suggest, however, that you submit this form as early as possible to ensure that your case can be sufficiently reviewed. Applications must be filed by the appropriate term deadline for a student with guaranteed housing (undergraduate or new graduate) to be guaranteed an assignment by the first week of classes for any given term of the 2008-09 academic term.    

Assignment Results

These policies and procedures apply to both the student with a disability and to any group members. 

Autumn and summer assignment results from requests that were submitted by April 23, 2008 @ 5 pm are sent via email on Thursday, May 8. Results will NOT appear in Axess. There is a fee for ALL assignment cancellations.

Responding to Assignment. Students will no longer need to respond to their housing assignments in Axess after results are announced. Everyone will accept the residence agreement when they submit their applications in Axess. You now sign the Residence Agreement as part of your housing application. By submitting the application, you agree to the conditions of the Residence Agreement. This agreement is valid once you have been assigned a space in University housing and continues for the entire length of the agreement period.

Any student who no longer needs housing is responsible for contacting the Housing Assignments office in writing (housingassignments@lists.stanford.edu) to withdraw their application or cancel their assignment. This will cost between $100 and $400 depending on the date of cancellation. Students who do not cancel their assignments, and do not show up on the designated move in date, will have their assignment cancelled and will be charged a $400 no-show fee.

If your request is approved and you are assigned, you may not cancel the assignment and then enter the Undergraduate Draw, Graduate Lottery, or Summer Housing Allocation, or join the Waiting List for reassignment. 

If your request is not approved, your application (and the application(s) of group member(s), if applicable) will be entered automatically in the regular Undergraduate Draw, Graduate Lottery or Summer Housing Allocation, unless you notify Housing Assignments to withdraw it by May 11. The application number assigned to you for the purposes of this application will be retained and used on your Draw, Lottery, or Summer Allocation Application.

Winter and Spring Waiting List results will be announced November 16, 2008 (for Winter assignments) or March 1, 2009 (for Spring assignments) at the same time that the regular waiting list results are announced. You may not enter the regular Waiting List Round if your request is approved.

Cancelling an Assignment. As with regular Draw or Lottery assignments, should you cancel an assignment or fail to check into your assigned residence, you are charged a fee determined by the date that you cancel:

If you cancel your housing assignment, you are not eligible for housing for that same academic term and category of housing (single student, couple without children, or student with children) until demand has been met. New graduate students who refuse an assignment also lose their new student guarantee for housing. Guaranteed undergraduates who cancel an assignment forfeit a guaranteed year. Undergraduates who have designated the year as a preferred year also forfeit a preferred year.

If you applied with a group and a group member refuses the assignment, yours and any remaining group members' assignments are not affected. If you (the requester with a disability) cancel your assignment, then all group members will also lose the accommodated assignment but will be allowed to join the regular assignment round with the same application number.

Attending Overseas Studies Programs or Taking a Leave of Absence. If you will be going abroad, stopping out, or taking a planned leave of absence, you must inform Housing Assignments and the Student Disability Resource Center (in addition to filing a Termination of Occupancy Card by the deadline listed in the Residence Agreement). If you plan to return to campus during the year, contact Housing Assignments by the deadline to join the appropriate Waiting List (see dates for late applicants above).

If your disability accommodation request was approved in May and you are guaranteed housing, please be aware that Housing Assignments will meet your documented needs when you return from being off campus, however, there is no guarantee that you will be assigned to the same residence, room, or room type. If you drew in a group, you very likely will not be assigned to the same residence with your draw group after you return.

Requests for Reassignment Mid-Year. Students who are already living in housing for the 2008-09 academic year may file an accommodation request form to request reassignment to another type of room or residence. Reassignments are considered for students who have a newly diagnosed condition or have changes to a previously documented condition. Reassignments are made only for the student who is in need of reassignment and not for group members.  By filing a request for reassignment, you are indicating that it is medically necessary to be reassigned.  Therefore, if your request is approved and you are reassigned, you may not refuse it and decide to remain in your previously assigned residence. You cannot "pass" on a reassignment offer or "shop around" for other options. You must be willing to live in any residence that meets your medical or disability needs. Reassignments are made on a space available basis.   

Related Information and Forms

Documentation of Disability. Guidelines for submitting required documentation of your disability. 

Accessible Residences. A list of residences that are wheelchair accessible or have Braille signage. 

Disability/Medical Accommodation Request Form. Download the PDF file, print, complete and return a copy of the form to the Student Disability Resource Center. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this file.

Accessibility Plan for Student Residences. A summary of Residential & Dining Enterprise program to improve access in student residences as part of the Capital Improvement Plan.

Further Information. If you have questions about the housing accommodation process or housing assignment policies and procedures, please contact Housing Assignments. If you have questions about your disability needs, the required medical documentation, or services for students with disabilities, please contact the Student Disability Resource Center. 

Housing Assignments
630 Serra Street, Suite 110
Stanford, CA 94305-6034
Telephone: (650) 725-2810
E-mail: housingassignments@lists.stanford.edu
http://housing.stanford.edu

Student Disability Resource Center
Office of Accessible Education
563 Salvatierra Walk
Stanford, CA 94305

Voice: (650) 723-1066 
TTY: (650) 723-1067 
Fax: (650) 725-5301 
http://www.stanford.edu/group/DRC