Accommodated Housing at Tulane University
Tulane University strives to create intentional and supportive living communities that account for the needs of all students. We recognize that students may occasionally require specific housing accommodations to achieve this goal. As such, we have established the Housing Accommodation Committee, which represents a collaborative effort between Housing & Residence Life, Campus Health, Dining Services, and the Goldman Center for Student Accessibility. The Committee provides a student-focused process that allows individuals to receive consideration for housing accommodations based on disability status and medical necessity.
NOTE: The University’s priority will always be to accommodate the student's documented medical and/or disability-related needs over specific roommate and/or building requests.
The Housing Committee will explore and prioritize all available campus-based resources when reviewing requests and determining reasonable and appropriate accommodations.
Overview:
The process for requesting housing accommodations is similar to requesting academic accommodations, though the timeline for housing requests is lengthier. Below is a brief summary of the process, though we suggest reading this page in its entirety for a comprehensive understanding of our housing processes. Students will...
- Submit a COMPLETE housing accommodation application. A housing accommodation application is complete with the receipt of BOTH the properly submitted online request form AND the supporting medical documentation noting impairment information in the residential environment.
- Incoming students and current students who have NOT requested other accommodations will submit a new application with associated supporting documentation.
- Current students with approved accommodations will submit a housing request through the "Additional Accommodation Request" link on their Goldman Center Portal. The Additional Accommodation Request form will prompt the student to provide new documentation.
- All documentation should speak to the current request. If your documentation already on file does not include recommendations for accommodation in the residential environment, please provide pertinent documentation.
- Requests submitted through any other route-- via email, phone, or to another Tulane office-- will not be considered. Requests MUST be submitted through this stated process in order to be considered for accommodation.
- After submitting a completed housing accommodation application (online request form AND supporting medical documentation), your application will be placed in our queue for follow up, where you will receive further information regarding next steps. If you submitted a completed application, you will receive a Calendly link to self-schedule a consultation with a member of our team to schedule your Welcome Meeting.
- Meet 1:1 with a member of our team to discuss your request for housing accommodations in more detail. This Welcome Meeting consultation will ask clarifying questions, gather your first-hand narrative, discuss your documentation, walk through available resources, and communicate next steps.
- You may be asked to seek additional documentation for supporting your request. Any request for additional documentation is centered in ensuring that the appropriate level of support is provided through the accommodations process.
- After your Welcome Meeting/Housing Consultation, your request will be processed through the Housing Committee, which meets on the first Friday of every month. Your determination will be communicated to you via email on the second Friday of the month.
Please read through this page thoroughly before submitting your request for housing-related accommodations through the Goldman Center for Student Accessibility. Requests submitted outside of the considerations detailed below, such as applications without documentation or with insufficient documentation, may experience a delay in processing.
Priority Deadlines
Adhering to the priority deadlines for housing accommodations is critical. Applications and requests received after the priority deadline will be considered on a rolling basis and accommodated depending on inventory.
Current Students
| Requesting housing for the upcoming.. | Deadline to submit an application: |
| Spring Semester | October 15 |
| Fall Semester | February 15 |
Incoming Students
| Requesting housing for the upcoming.. | Deadline to submit an application: |
| Spring Semester | October 1 |
| Fall Semester | May 1 |
Supports for Students in Residence Halls
A Network of Resources
As Tulane University students, you have access to a wealth of campus-based supports for addressing concerns you may be experiencing in the housing environment. We encourage you to view a housing request through the Goldman Center for Student Accessibility as one component of this web of resources. We care about your housing concerns and your needs in this campus community; as such, we operate as only one component of campus resources intended to address your needs as a student with a disability.
During your housing accommodation application review, you may be asked what resources you have accessed so far at Tulane to remediate your concerns, so take special care to understand and utilize your available supports listed below. The Housing Committee will prioritize campus-based solutions to the concerns raised in the accommodation process.
Address maintenance needs, including appliance and air quality concerns, through Campus Services.
Housing & Residence Life has policies and procedures in place for supporting students in dorms, including room changes.
Seek treatment and management support for health concerns through on-campus medical services or through a referral.
College comes with transitional changes and developmental challenges. Seek support for new and existing mental health concerns on campus or through a referral.
Campus housing is not a distraction-reduced environment, but there are plenty of spaces to study across campus.
Tulane Public Safety offers support for campus safety, including safety escorts and crime prevention.
Dining Services offers support for students in need of dining plan modifications for a range of concerns.
Students can access support for eating and nutritional concerns through Campus Health.
Tulane's Wave of Support details resources available to students for a range of concerns across the domains of wellness.
The Goldman Center for Student Accessibility housing accommodation process is designed to support students with diagnosed disabilities navigate identified barriers in the housing environment. This process is intended to identify where students with chronic medical conditions with functional limitation are severely impacted in the living environment .
Please keep the following in mind during your request. The University generally does not consider housing accommodations for:
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Requests centered in attentional, executive functioning, and learning concerns: please see information on campus study spaces and other academic resources for these concerns.
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Dorm specific requests/building change requests
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Roommate preferences AND/OR roommate conflicts. HRL is your campus-based resource for mitigating the impact of roommate conflicts.
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Non-chronic, non-permanent health conditions such as sinusitis, mono, etc.
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Religious/Spirituality based housing requests
The University follows the guidelines of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology in granting housing accommodations for environmental allergens. Consistent with those guidelines, students with housing accommodations due to environmental allergens will be permitted to purchase and bring allergen-proof fabric covers for bedding, a dehumidifier and/or a HEPA filter air purifier. The Goldman Center cannot approve "guaranteed housing" as an accommodation for Third and Fourth Year students.
For additional information on the housing process, see here: Returning Student Room Selection
NOTE: By engaging in the Housing Accommodation review process, you are giving permission for Committee members to share and discuss information about your medical condition and/or disability status strictly and specifically as it applies to your housing needs.
Requesting Housing Accommodations
Housing accommodation requests should be submitted with documentation through the Goldman Center following the steps detailed above. Housing accommodation requests for the Fall semester should be submitted no later than February 15.
Students who are already approved for accommodations from the Goldman Center may submit an "Additional Accommodation Request" through their Goldman Center portal in order to apply for housing accommodations.
Updated/Current Documentation: Even if you are already approved for academic accommodations, you will need to submit additional documentation supporting your request for specific housing accommodations.
Accepted students should submit their request for housing accommodations based on disability and/or medical need to the Goldman Center at their earliest convenience between March 1 and May 1.
You can apply for any academic accommodations at the same time as your housing request; please note, however, that your supporting documentation should contain recommendations for both the academic and housing environment if applying for both.
The Housing Accommodations Committee is dedicated to ensuring that all students receive housing assignments that are consistent with their documented needs. Please note, however, that the University may not be able to honor special housing accommodation requests received after the deadline, even if the Committee approves the corresponding student’s request.
Frequently Asked Questions
We know that the accommodation request process may take some time. Please references the resources listed on this page for support during your application request phase.
The University's priority is to support you, the accommodated student, over specific roommate requests. When possible, one (1) roommate may be moved with you before the START of room selection. Honoring roommate requests after room selection is not possible. Accommodating roommate groups (two or more roommates) is wholly not possible.
No. The Goldman Center works collaboratively with Housing to determine the specifications of the environment needed for equitable access, but does NOT assign specific dorm buildings or specific room requests.
The Goldman Center will not assign a new dorm building as an accommodation. For room/dorm changes, see Housing's Room Change process.
Tulane University has a host of on-campus study spaces across campus to support your learning needs outside of the classroom. As such, the University does not approve distraction reduced housing, nor is this a singular reason for being approved for off-campus living.
Tulane University Libraries Study Areas
Freeman School - Uptown Campus Study Spaces
No. The Goldman Center cannot fundamentally alter the requirements of the housing contract and housing expectations. We cannot mandate residency/adjust residency permissions beyond Housing's policies.
SoPA students cannot be granted housing until they are considered a student of Newcomb-Tulane College.
Even if you have given Housing or another campus department such as Case Management or Counseling any documentation or information requesting a housing accommodation, you still have to formally request accommodation through the Goldman Center.
Again, just to clarify: You MUST submit your accommodation request and supporting documentation to the Goldman Center in order to have any housing accommodation based off a disability/medical necessity processed. Once you submit an online application to the Goldman Center, you must then also have a Welcome Meeting/Consultation to discuss your request with a member of our team. Your request must then be processed through the Housing Committee.
Quick Links
Providing Supporting Documentation
In general, documentation should be written by a medical professional. Documentation must include comprehensive information on the diagnosis (including the DSM 5 or ICD-10 code), associated severity of the diagnosis, and the specific impact and resulting functional limitations of the diagnosis in the academic, housing, or dining environment. Common sources of documentation are health care providers, psychologists, and diagnosticians.
Suggested Documentation Elements:
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Typed on letterhead, dated, and signed by the qualified evaluator providing the documentation.
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Contains information on the diagnosed condition(s), including the DSM 5/ICD 10 codes
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Details the severity of the diagnosis, relevant symptoms, and associated impact in the academic and/or living environment
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If appropriate, discusses treatment, expected progression, and medication side-effects.
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Discusses current or past accommodations. It may discuss recommended accommodations.
*The Goldman Center requires that students complete their request for accommodations AND provide current documentation before scheduling a meeting with the student. However, we are aware of potential barriers that exist in seeking current documentation necessary to move forward with your request, and we work with each student on a one-on-one level to navigate this process and discuss potential solutions and resources. If you have concerns about the documentation requirement, please feel free to contact the Goldman Center for further information and assistance.
