Students with Disabilities - How To Apply for Special Needs Housing
What is a disability? Under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, individuals with disabilities are defined as persons with a physical or mental impairment which substantially limits one or more major life activities. Major life activities include major bodily functions, seeing, hearing, eating, sleeping, walking, standing, lifting, bending, speaking, breathing, learning, reading, concentrating, thinking communicating, working, performing manual tasks, and caring for one's self.

Gettysburg College provides reasonable housing accommodations for students with disabilities. If necessary, Residence Life will collaborate with other relevant staff at the College to determine the most appropriate housing accommodations. Housing accommodations are determined on a case-by-case basis according to documented need and prevailing standards for reasonable accommodations. This includes the need for air conditioning due to asthma, allergies or other health related concerns. Students submitting a request for special housing accommodations are required to provide a verification of the disability and need for accommodations from the appropriate diagnosing professional (see form below).

Important Notes:

• Single room housing rates for students with documented disabilities shall be set at the standard single room rate.
• Roommate requests will be honored but placement will be based on the student who has the Special Need.
• Students with special needs can preference building locations and floors. Placement of room will be determined by the Office Residence Life.
• Upperclass students with disabilities who ONLY require air conditioning will participate in the regular housing selection process and will be required to submit the Special Need form by July 12, 2013. If a student is approved for air conditioning and he/she is not living in an air-conditioned building, Facilities will install a College owned window unit.

To submit a request for special needs housing accommodations, students are required to complete two forms:

1. "Special Needs Housing Request Form" To be completed by the student every year.
   
2. "Special Needs Housing Disability Documentation Form"- To be completed by the appropriate diagnosing professional usually only once in a student's four years. This form will remain on file with the Office of Residence Life. If submitting a Special Needs Request form in subsequent years due to the same disability, the student will typically not have to submit a new Disability Documentation Form. In some cases the Office of Residence Life may ask the student to submit an updated Disability Documentation Form. The College reserves the right to require that the student undergo an additional medical evaluation with a medical professional chosen by the College, at the College's expense.

Deadlines:
Accommodations for various disabilities take time to arrange. We receive many such requests, all of which affect the allocation of limited housing resources so it is very important that you follow the deadlines below:

• Special Needs applications are currently available online.
• Upperclass students with disabilities who require accommodations that may include but are not limited to air conditioning must return both forms (see above) to Residence Life by March 8, 2013.
• Approved students will be notified the week of March 18th of Special Needs placement.
• Acceptance of placement and roommate acceptance will be due to the office of Residence Life on Friday, March 22, 2013.
• Special note about air conditioning requests: upperclass students with disabilities who ONLY require air conditioning will participate in the regular housing selection process and will be required to submit the above mentioned forms by July 12, 2013. All forms received after this date will be reviewed, but we cannot guarantee installation of the air conditioner prior to your arrival for the fall semester if forms are received later than July 12. The Office of Residence Life notifies students during the first week of August, 2013, about the status of their air conditioner request.

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Once again, Eagles Apartments will be designated as single semester housing for the 2013-2014 academic year. Single semester housing is for students who are studying abroad for the Spring 2014 Semester, students graduating in December and student teachers who only need housing for the fall semester. Students who live in Eagles Apartments agree to vacate the space for the Spring 2014 Semester - NO EXCEPTIONS.

Eagles is a leased building located by Ice House at 127 Chambersburg Street. It consists of five apartments—two 3-person apartments on the first floor, two 4-person apartments on the second floor, and one 4-person apartment on the third floor. All apartments have single bedrooms. Each apartment consists of a bathroom, full kitchen and a common area. There is also a shared laundry facility in the building. Parking for Eagles is available in the Constitution parking lot.

Application Process
Eagles applications will be available on Monday, February 11, 2013, in the Office of Residence Life, CUB 250 and are due by Friday, March 8, 2013. Students will be notified of their approval status via email the week of March 18, 2013. Students must notify the Office of Residence Life of their acceptance of housing at the Eagles Apartments by Friday, March 22, 2013.

For Spring 2014, Residence Life plans to house students returning from abroad in the Eagles Apartments based on group requests and/or the need for single rooms.

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Students who are not currently enrolled at Gettysburg College may be eligible to participate in the housing selection process as follows:

Readmitted students and students returning from a leave of absence may participate in the housing selection process as long as the College has received their reserve/security deposit by Friday, March 8, 2013. Also, students must send an email to Sharon Fissel (sfissel@gettysburg.edu) stating their intent to return for the Fall 2013 Semester.

• Readmitted students will participate in the Housing Selection Process using their roommate or group’s lottery number.
• Reinstated students returning from a Leave of Absence for the Fall 2013 Semester will have a lottery number activated for them.
  
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Students who are graduating in May but are completing a ninth semester as a student teacher are NOT required to live on campus. However, for the fall semester, ninth semester students may apply for single semester housing in the Eagles Apartments (for more information on single semester housing, see information above). Those ninth semester students not applying for Eagles housing but who still desire on-campus housing with a friend or group of friends should send an email to Sharon Fissel (sfissel@gettysburg.edu) by Friday, March 8, 2013. These requests will be based on housing availability.

A special note to student teachers regarding Thanksgiving, Winter and Spring break housing: certain residence halls close during the break periods, including Hazlett, Haaland, Corkran, West, and Apple Halls (this is not an all-inclusive list). Students, including student teachers, will NOT be able to remain in these buildings during these breaks and will have to relocate to other housing facilities.

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