¿Û¿Û´«Ã½

Student Accessibility and Accommodations can provide accommodations or resources to eligible students for all aspects of the student experience. This includes academic, clinical/fieldwork, campus, housing and dining.

Campus Dining or Physical Accessibility Needs

Please contact or schedule a meeting (virtual or in person) with one of our Access Consultants. You may use the "Meet with an Access Consultant" scheduling links on this website.

Housing Accommodations

St. Catherine University provides reasonable accommodations when necessary to afford a person with a disability the equal opportunity to use and enjoy University housing. Below are the 2 forms that need to be completed and returned to the SA&A office to begin the request for a housing accommodation. After both of these forms are received and reviewed, our office will contact you. If approved, your accommodation eligibility will be sent to Housing and Residence Life. The next steps are then based on St. Kate's Housing selection process, timeline and availability. We cannot guarantee preferred spaces. For priority, submit your housing accommodation request before the current Housing Priority Deadline. 

Housing Accommodation Request Forms:

1. : This is for the student to fill out.
2. : This is for your licensed healthcare/medical provider to fill out and sign. When a student’s disability and/or requested accommodation is not readily apparent, verification from a reliable third-party is needed.

Please note these forms are not applicable to Emotional Support Animal (ESA) requests - see below. 

Emotional Support Animal (ESA)

St. Catherine University provides reasonable accommodations when necessary to afford a person with a disability the equal opportunity to use and enjoy University housing. An Emotional Support Animal (ESA) is an accommodation, not a pet. 

An ESA is an animal that provides emotional support alleviating one or more symptoms or effects of a person’s disability. A disability (physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activity) and a disability-related need for an animal in University housing determines eligibility for this accommodation. 

Below are the 2 forms that need to be completed and returned to the SA&A office to begin the request for an ESA. After both of these forms are received and reviewed, our office will contact you. Students who are determined as eligible for an ESA accommodation are guided on how to request an animal.  

An animal does not need to be pre-registered as an ESA. An animal is required to be at least 10 months of age if it is a dog, at least 6 months of age if it is a cat, and at least 1 year of age for other species by the move-in date. For dogs and cats, vet records will be collected that confirm the animal's age, that they are spayed/neutered, and up to date on recommended vaccinations including Rabies. General animal information and necessary vet records are reviewed by an ESA committee. Allow up to 30 business days for processing and approval of an animal request after all required information has been submitted. An animal request could require further conversation or be denied if it poses a safety concern (i.e. reptiles can carry salmonella), due to size (i.e. a Great Dane may not have enough space in a dorm room), if it is unreasonable or inappropriate, or not in compliance with University requirements and local law. In this case, we would discuss the concerns with the student and encourage them to request a different animal if necessary.  

ESA Accommodation Request Forms:

1. : This is a Google Form for the student to fill out. This can only be accessed by an enrolled student logged in to their St. Kate's Google Account.
2. : This is for your licensed healthcare/medical provider to fill out and sign. When a student’s disability and/or requested accommodation is not readily apparent, verification from a reliable third-party is needed.

• Under the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990): Students with disabilities have the right to reasonable accommodation in the academic setting. 
  • Reasonableness is determined by a multitude of factors, including but not limited to: meeting course learning objectives, administrative time, and ensuring access to applicable course materials. 
• Ableism: discrimination in favor of or minded people. This is not always outright apparent, and sometimes is shown by someone being pitied for their disability, or viewed as a hero for existing with a disability.
• Privacy, Grievance and Conduct Policy (same as website) with additional subtext
  • Your disability is private, the SA&A office is the only space on campus that you must disclose to in order to receive accommodations. This means that your accommodations will not disclose this information, nor are you required to disclose to faculty or staff outside of the SA&A office. 
  • If a student feels that their accommodations are not being upheld by their instructor(s) or are otherwise being compromised their first step is to get in touch with the SA&A office. Our staff take each situation seriously and on a case by case manner.  Our staff will ask to meet with you in order to gather further information and support the appropriate next steps. This may include, but is not limited to:
    • Supporting the further understanding of accommodations to either the faculty or student.
    • Supporting the faculty member in how to implement approved accommodations through email, phone, or consultation.
    • Referring students to other policies and procedures that the university has to offer, such as a formal grievance. 
• University-wide policies and procedures:
  • If a student has a concern regarding their disability accommodations, they are welcome to direct their concerns to the Director of Student Accessibility & Accommodations office.  If the concern is regarding the Director, then concerns should be brought to the Associate Provost of Student Affairs.  
    • For concerns that involve issues of bias or discrimination, students may use the University’s centralized reporting center. The purpose of this reporting center is to provide students with an efficient avenue to report concerns and incidents that may arise regarding: Title IX, acts of bias, discrimination or bullying, conduct violation, concern for others or oneself, and/or academic grievances. Students may access the center here.
• All students, including students with disabilities, are subject to the St. Catherine University Code of Conduct. The Code of Conduct is in and applies to all University environments

SA&A Accommodation Policies and Procedures:

• Remote attendance: Please note that long-term remote attendance is not an accommodation that the SA&A office can provide. We can support communication and coordination needs for eligible extenuating circumstances, but cannot guarantee or implement long-term remote access.

Introduction

Emily Medcalf collaborated with the Student Accessibility and Accommodations Office Summer of 2023 for her Doctor of Occupational Therapy Doctoral Capstone project. Occupational Therapy (OT) is a profession that focuses on enhancing participation in everyday living. Emily developed a pilot program for students at St. Kate’s incorporating elements of OT. As this pilot program was initially only intended for a small group of students, Emily wanted to provide a modified version of her program to reach more students who may benefit from the education and application of skills related to time management, study skills, and mindfulness. The series of videos will be most effective if watched in order and one every consecutive week for the purpose of goal setting. However, you may watch individual sessions as you please. We hope these sessions can provide support, and the hope is to provide similar programs to students in the near future.

(Not a comprehensive list)

• Text Readers
• Alternative Formats of Textbooks/Course Materials
• Media Captioning
• Live Captioning
• Microphone Use
• Notetaking Software: Genio (formerly Glean) allows students to audio record lectures. Accommodation eligibility provides free access to this software. (This is for individual and educational purposes only, the sharing of recordings is prohibited.) Here are some resources to explore and learn more:
  •  

• • Free website that breaks down tasks into steps for you!
• • Free tool that connects to existing accessibility features to create a more seamless experience
• Available accessibility features broken down by device:
  • Microsoft:
  • Apple:
  • Android:
  • Chromebook:

Other Campus Resources

• Tutoring & Learning Center
• Counseling
  • St. Kate's 24/7/365 Crisis Counseling line (in partnership with ProtoCall): dial 651-690-6805 and press 1 at the prompt
• Health and Wellness
  • Please note that there are staff available to support medication needs.
• TRIO SSS Program
• Accessible campus tours are available for those with mobility needs or concerns. Please contact the SA&A office to coordinate this tour.

Get involved

• Disability Identity Group (student club): disabilityidgroup@stkate.edu
• Special Olympics Club (student club): specialolympicsclub@stkate.edu

University Charges

• SA&A leads an Accessibility Committee, which consists of staff and faculty across campus that are a member of one or more of the following subcommittees: Student, Faculty, UDL/technology, physical spaces and policy development. The goal is to create a more accessible environment for all and cultivate an inclusive culture St. Kate’s.
  • Some items implemented: adding visibility to grievance forms, providing and coordinating faculty with accessible technology, creating programming and resources for students, creating resources and facilitating training for staff, etc.
• Physical accessibility is an important component. As a campus with many historical buildings, our Facilities team is consistently addressing concerns and making changes whenever possible to support a more accessible environment. To view campus updates, visit the facilities webpage. Please contact the SA&A office with related questions, concerns or suggestions.