Student_Handbook

17 NSU STUDENT HANDBOOK 2021-22 CANCELLATION OF CLASSES DUE TO SEVERE WEATHER The President determines when the campus will close in a severe weather situation. Local media, including KGIM, KSDN, KKAA, KDSD-TV, KDLO-TV, KELO-TV and KSFY-TV will be asked to inform students, faculty, and staff of class cancellations in the event of severe weather. The Campus Alert system will also be used to convey class cancellations. Announcements will also be added to Northern social media accounts and on the website. NORTHERN STATE UNIVERSITY ANIMAL POLICIES Service Animals Service animals are animals trained to assist people with disabilities in the activities of normal living. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) definition of service animals is “…any dog individually trained to do work or perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a disability, including, but not limited to, guiding individuals with impaired vision, alerting individuals who are hearing impaired to intruders or sounds, providing minimal protection or rescue work, pulling a wheelchair or fetching dropped items.” If an animal meets this criteria, it is considered a service animal regardless of whether it has been licensed or certified by a state or local government or training program. Their service for the individual with a disability entitles them to access of public places and common areas. Under the new ADA standards, miniature horses are recognized as service animals. They must meet the same criteria as service dogs. Individuals with disabilities who use a service animal on campus are not required to register with Disability Services, but students who wish to have an assistance animal in student housing must make a formal request for this accommodation through Disability Services. NSU HOUSING Assistance Animals Northern State University residence halls are covered under the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (Section 504) in addition to the ADA. The FHA addresses assistance animals as follows: An assistance animal is not a pet. It is an animal that works, provides assistance, or performs tasks for the benefit of a person with a disability, or provides emotional support that alleviates one or more identified symptoms or effects of a person’s disability. Assistance animals performmany disability- related functions, including but not limited to, guiding individuals who are blind or have low vision, alerting individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to sounds, providing protection or rescue assistance, pulling a wheelchair, fetching items, alerting persons to impending seizures, or providing emotional support to persons with disabilities who have a disability-related need for such support. For purposes of reasonable accommodation requests, neither the FHA nor Section 504 requires an assistance animal to be individually trained or certified. While dogs are the most common type of assistance animal, other animals can also be assistance animals. The Office of Disability Services, together with the ESA Approval Committee, will evaluate a request for a reasonable accommodation to possess an assistance animal in a residence hall using the general principles applicable to all reasonable accommodation requests. Requests must be made in writing at least 45 days prior to the start of classes in order to accommodate the student making the request and also the residents of the building. Any student having an animal in a residence hall prior to approval will have 24 hours to remove the animal. After that, the animal will be removed from NSU housing and boarded with a local facility at the discretion of NSU housing. The student will be responsible for any cost related to the transportation and boarding of the assistance/emotional support animal. The University also reserves the right to pose financial sanctions for violation of this policy.