MICA supports the use of Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) on campus by students as a reasonable accommodation specifically to give students with documented disabilities an equal opportunity to use and enjoy College housing in accordance with Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (Fair Housing Act). Any questions about the use of ESAs should be directed to the Learning Resource Center (LRC). It is the student’s responsibility to make an ESA accommodation request in a timely manner.
An ESA is a companion animal that provides therapeutic benefit to an individual with a documented disability. ESAs are not pets and they are not service animals. ESAs are ONLY approved to be on campus in and around a student’s campus residence.
A student wishing to bring an ESA to College housing will need to meet with a LRC staff member as well as submit a fully completed and signed request using the online accommodation request form along with all required documentation. In no case may a student bring the animal to campus pending the final decision on a request for accommodation, only after a request is approved and all paperwork requirements are met.
Students should review the Emotional Support Animal Policy as well as the Q&As about Emotional Support Animals.