Accessibility & Accommodations

We recommended students initiate the process before August 1st for the fall semester and before December 1st for the spring semester.

Students are responsible for creating a semester request in Accommodate each semester to create their letter of accommodation. Once letters of accommodations are ready, students will receive them via email. It is the student's responsibility to share their letter of accommodation with their professors.  Processes for implementing individual accommodations will be explained in an individual meeting with the student as part of the interactive process.

Students should first contact their professor to see if they can proctor the exam. If the professor is unable to proctor the exam, please verify with your professor the in-class duration of the exam and the acceptable date and times to complete the exam.  Please note that the student must provide the office with at least a 4-5 business day advanced notice. A copy of the request will be sent to the professor. Keep in mind that proctored exams occur Monday-Friday between 8:00 a.m. - 5:00. p.m. A deadline for requesting proctors for final exams will be sent to students each semester and requires at least two weeks advance notice.

We’re committed to providing students with nutritious meals that they can enjoy without worrying about food allergies. Access menu information. Contact Dining Services any time with questions.

Students with severe food allergies can submit the appropriate documentation to the Office of Student Accessibility Services. This allows students to have a direct line of contact with Student Accessibility Services and Dining Services to discuss allergies and dining needs.  

At Kimball Main Dining Hall, our staff prepares items in a separate kitchen area free of the following allergies: Peanuts, Tree Nuts, Gluten/Wheat, Soy Beans, Sesame, Eggs, Dairy/Milk, Fish, Shellfish, Coconut. Menus, nutrition information, ingredients and allergens are available on the Dining page. 

Any Holy Cross student may schedule an appointment to meet with the Director of Culinary Development and Nutrition or one of the dining managers at diningadmin@holycross.edu to discuss nutrition concerns or dining options.

Requests are not meant for housing preferences. While our office doesn’t assign specific housing locations, we validate a student’s need for accommodations.

Deadlines
The deadline for formally requesting Housing accommodations through the Office of Student Accessibility Services is by your class year deadline (see below). If you do not meet this deadline (Accommodate request and complete documentation), submitted housing requests that are received after this date and approved may not be able to be granted for the 2024-2025 academic year since the availability for certain types of accommodations may be limited post-deadlines

Returning Students: Friday, February 16, 2024
Incoming First-Year Students: Friday, June 28, 2024
Transfer students should submit their request soon after acceptance.

If a housing accommodation need arises outside of the above timelines, students should follow the same request process. The Offices of Student Accessibility Services and Residential Life will make every attempt to implement approved accommodation(s) based on availability.

Students requesting an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) must submit qualifying documentation that meets the documentation guidelines by the housing deadline. Documentation for ESAs must also include:

• A completed practitioner form explaining how the animal serves as an accommodation for the documented disability
• A statement regarding how the need for the Assistance Animal relates to the ability of the individual to use and gain benefit from College housing.

Students who are requesting an Emotional Assistance Animal are encouraged to review the Service Animal and Assistance Animal Policy (PDF) and specific documentation guidelines. Please contact the Office of Student Accessibility Services for the required practitioner form if you are otherwise unable to access it.

A Personal Care Attendant (PCA) is defined as a paid, employed individual who provides personal care/assistance (chronic or temporary) to a student with a disability, or other health care needs with activities of daily living, including nursing services not administered through the College Health Services or assistance with normal life functions.

A Personal Care Attendant is considered a personal service; therefore, students who require a PCA are responsible for all arrangements of hiring, paying, and managing their own PCAs. The College does not assume coordination of, financial responsibility for, or legal liability for the PCA chosen and hired by the student.

To protect the privacy interests of men and women in the College's residence halls, PCAs who are the same gender and/or gender identity are required when assisting students in shared single-sex restrooms or other shared rooms in which students may be undressed or exposed.

Parking passes approved via the interactive accommodation process by the Office of Student Accessibility Services are for students with weekly medical or mental health appointments off-campus that require in person appointments. For psychotherapy appointments, please have your provider document why a remote appointment option is not viable. Please create a profile in our Accommodate database and upload relevant documentation.

Supporting documents must include:

• The frequency and duration of the scheduled appointments
• Start and end dates of appointments
• Be printed on official letterhead
• In pdf (uneditable) format
• Signed and dated by the medical service provider

Once you upload your documentation, please email hcaccessibilityservices@holycross.edu to notify our office. Once we receive documentation, please allow at least two weeks for the review process. If you require parking beyond the approved term of accommodation, you will be asked to provide updated documentation.

Temporary conditions lasting less than 6 months may not meet the definition of a disability and therefore, may not be eligible for accommodations. Support and assistance or referrals to appropriate offices on campus can be provided to students with temporary conditions. Due to the temporary nature of their condition, students should be proactive and maintain ongoing communication with Health Services, their Class Dean, and their faculty, as appropriate.

In the event a temporary injury results in substantial limitation that meets the definition of a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), students may request accommodations via the Accommodate portal by submitting written evaluations from treatment professionals documenting the nature of the illness/injury, along with functional limitations and how the accommodations would remove barriers to education.