Student Resources

Students may apply for accommodations by submitting the Registration Form.  

A close captioned video user guide for this module is available at this link and a Word document user guide is availble at this link. 

Students who are approved for testing accommodation(s) are eligible to book a quiz/test/exam in the Testing Center by using the, "Book a Quiz/Test/Exam in the Testing Center," portal module.

A close captioned video user guide for this module is availble at this link and a Word document user guide is available at this link.  

Students are welcome to complete Disability Services forms, as needed, via the, "Complete an Online Form," portal module.

A close captioned video user guide for this module is available at this link and a Word document user guide is available at this link. 

Students are welcome to schedule meetings with Disability Services using the, "Schedule/View Upcoming Appointment(s)," portal module.

A close captioned video user guide for this module is available at this link and a Word document user guide is available at this link.  

Students (*with the exception of Law School) who are approved for classroom and/or testing accommodation(s) will be provided with a reminder via email approximately two weeks prior to the start of each term to send their Disability Accommodation Notice (DAN) to each of their professors via the, "Send My Disability Accommodation Notice," portal module.

A close captioned video user guide for this module is available at this link and a Word document user guide is available at this link. 

*Law School students should instead work directly with the Assistant Director of Student Affairs at 804-287-1846 to create an implementation plan for their classroom and/or testing accommodation(s). 

Students are welcome to upload documentation to their confidential case files via the, "Upload Documentation," module. Documentation guidance is availble at this link.

A close captioned video user guide of this module is availble at this link and a Word document user guide is available at this link. 

• Academic Advising Resource Center: The Academic Advising Resource Center at the University of Richmond provides support to advisors and advisees in the School of Arts & Sciences, the Robins School of Business, and the Jepson School of Leadership Studies.
• Academic Skills Center: The Academic Skills Center provides University of Richmond students with support that will enhance their academic experience and personal development. The Center assists students in understanding and learning ways to improve their cognitive skills, thus maximizing their collegiate experience.
• Boatwright Memorial Library: The Boatwright Memorial Library strives to provide University of Richmond students, faculty, and staff with information resources and services that enable them to excel in their academic and intellectual pursuits.
• Speech Center: The Weinstein-Jecklin Speech Center offers assistance to those who wish to pursue effective speaking and articulate behavior across academic disciplines.
• Writing Center: The Writing Center assists writers at all levels of experience, across all majors. Students can schedule appointments with trained Writing Consultants who offer friendly critiques of written work.

• Edible Bytes: Edible Bytes is a nutrition app that will display the nutrition facts label, ingredient lists and allergens for all of the food made on campus at the different cash operations and the Heilman Dining Center.
• Nutrition Counseling: The University of Richmond offers free and confidential nutrition counseling and nutrition assistance, available to all students, faculty, and staff. If you need help with weight gain, weight loss, food allergies, eating disorders, special diets, medical disorders, diabetes, deciding what is healthy, or need other nutrition advice, please feel free to take advantage of the special service.

The Health & Well-being Unit’s mission is to create and sustain a culture and community of health and well-being that supports and enhances lifelong learning that helps all individuals reach their full potential.

• Counseling & Psychological Services: Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) at the University of Richmond offers a wide range of short-term services to currently enrolled, full-time, degree-seeking students, (as well as full-time undergraduate visiting students living on-campus; e.g., exchange students) at the University of Richmond. Over one third of UR students use CAPS services at least once before they graduate. CAPS is fully accredited by the International Association of Counseling Services (IACS).
• Health Promotion: We support a holistic approach to the health and wellness of students, faculty, staff, and community members. We frequently partner with campus-wide departments to offer educational programming and prevention services, while creating and building community. Our prevention and educational approach to health and wellness focuses on changing behaviors, healthy lifestyle choices, and creating a unified culture to educate the campus community on the lifelong benefits of maintaining a healthy and well-balanced lifestyle.
• Student Health Center: The Student Health Center provides evaluation and treatment for illnesses and injuries, assistance in managing chronic disease and offers comprehensive program in health education and health maintenance. Our staff of board-certified physicians, nurse practitioner and registered nurses are experienced in the care of young adults.
• University Recreation: University Recreation enhances the lives of its members by providing quality recreational and educational programs in an environment that promotes healthy lifestyles, academic productivity, and personal growth.

The mission of the Office of Residence Life and Housing is to foster community by celebrating the individual student through the encouragement of personal growth and development that embraces inclusion, encourages responsible leadership, and promotes an intellectual community.

• Area Coordinators: Area Coordinators have primary responsibility for the management of undergraduate residential communities. Area Coordinators work to establish an environment that will allow their residents to accomplish their academic goals and to participate in co-curricular personal growth experiences. Area Coordinators seek to develop a sense of community in each residence hall in their assigned area of responsibility. Area Coordinators also assist with addressing academic, personal, and social concerns of the students, and facilitates programmatic experiences. Through various connections, Area Coordinators are key contributors to many areas within the Division of Student Development and the University community.
• Resident Assistants: Resident Assistants assumes a leadership role in all aspects of residence hall and apartment living and are integral members of the Office of Residence Life & Undergraduate Student Housing. They are responsible for supervising a community of about 25–60 students and are actively involved in assisting them with personal and academic problems, organizing social and educational programs, and performing various administrative functions.

• Accessibility
• Nap Map
• Parking
• Single Stall Lockable Bathrooms

University of Richmond Parking Services provides safe, convenient, and accessible parking for the faculty, staff, students, and visitors of the University.

• Campus Parking Map
• Golf Cart Use on Campus: Golf carts may be used as transportation for students with an illness or injury that limits their mobility on campus. 

Registration starts by submitting an application and documentation. You can read all about our application/registration process in more detail on our website!

Disability status is extremely confidential and the University takes it very seriously. Information about disability status is not displayed on a transcript or on any other University documents unless you decide to disclose this information outside of Disability Services. The only people who have access to disability records/status information are Disability Services staff (currently limited to two people), and the Deans of your College. All of these people are bound to standard confidentiality rules; therefore, you are in control of who you disclose information to, when you do it, and the specifics of what you tell them. Your graduate program or potential employer would have no way of knowing anything about your disability unless you decided to disclose this information.

Please reach out to us! We always try to work with students in terms of what documentation they can provide, and we always take into account a student’s personal experiences in the accommodation approval process. While we can’t make any promises about accommodations without meeting you, our goal is to make Richmond accessible for everyone and we do not want for there to be barriers in the way of this simply because you don’t think you can provide documentation that meets our suggested guidelines. While there may be limitations in what we can do, we always do our best to work with students in regards to what they have access to.

As a student, your biggest role in regard to using academic accommodations is disclosing your need to use them to your instructors. DS very strongly encourages you to do this with every instructor at the very beginning of each semester so that your accommodations needs can be met from the start! It’s always best to have a plan in place from the beginning. This process works by providing a copy of your DAN to your instructor (you can email it or give them a hard copy) *and* requesting a short meeting during office hours so the two of you can have a private meeting and work through the logistics of using your accommodations. This does not mean that some or all of your accommodations are optional--it just means that utilizing accommodation often requires collaboration between a student and their professor. Depending on what you are approved for on your DAN, your conversation might include a plan for using the Testing Center, a plan for communicating if you will be absent from class, or informing them that you use your phone as a recording device for lectures so there is no confusion about why your phone is on your desk. Every student’s conversation will be different, and the same student’s conversation may vary from instructor to instructor--and that’s totally Ok!

Yes, in some instances. Instructors have up to 7 days from the time you give them a copy of your DAN until they are required to provide your accommodations. This is because some accommodations logistically take time to arrange. However, after this time frame, you are legally entitled to your accommodations. If you are unsure of what to do in a situation such as this, please contact Disability Services--we are here to help!

Yes. Accommodations cannot be applied retroactively. This means that they cannot “go back in time” in order to apply to a previous situation before you gave your DAN to your instructor. Students are only entitled to their accommodations after disclosing their disability status by giving their DAN to their instructor (and ensuring receipt by having a meeting with them to discuss the logistics of using approved accommodations that semester). It’s for this reason that students are always encouraged (and reminded via email) to reach out to instructors about accommodations at the very beginning of the semester.

Nope! Disability Services operates off of bare minimum disclosure and information-sharing when it comes to disability status and details. Your DAN will include: 

• Your name
• A blurb about the legal side of things
• Your approved accommodations

NO. (This is a very hard no.) Disability Services exists so that students only need to disclose specifics about their disability to one entity on campus who is an expert in making decisions about appropriate accommodations. However, your professor absolutely has the right to--and should--ask you for your DAN, as that is verification of the accommodations that you were approved for. But remember, as noted above, a DAN contains no information about your disability--just your accommodations.

An ESA isn’t really something you "get." It is an accommodation that is approved by the University’s Housing Accommodation Committee. The University takes this application process quite seriously--pets are not approved as ESAs. However, the University absolutely recognizes that ESAs can be very beneficial for certain students.

All students that wish to apply for an ESA go through an application process, which includes first completing our Emotional Support Animal Application, and then supplying documentation from a treating professional that supports the need for an ESA. We strongly encourage students to have their mental health providers complete our Emotional Support Animal Provider Request for Information Input Form. If a provider does not want to complete this form, we recommend they write a detailed letter that explains the impact of your diagnosis and how an ESA will mitigate your symptoms. You can read about his process in more detail on our Apply for Accommodations page.

Of note, the Committee has yet to approve an ESA based on a letter purchased over the Internet from one of the many scam sites that provide very inaccurate information to the public regarding ESAs. Instead, we expect to review information from a treating professional who knows you very well, who is qualified to comment on the benefits of an ESA for you specifically, and who notes that an ESA is part of a holistic ongoing treatment plan.

There are a couple things to note about ESAs:

• ESAs provide therapeutic benefit for their person, and are not the same as a Service Animal (SA, which can only be a dog or a miniature horse). A SA is an extension of a person, as they have been trained to perform a specific task(s) to support their handler. For this reason, a SA can go anywhere their handler is allowed to go. However, an ESA is strictly a housing accommodation and is not allowed anywhere other than a student’s residence hall room and anywhere a typical pet is allowed (such as walking a dog on campus grounds).
• There are unfortunately many scam sites and organizations that make promises about ESAs, provide for-fee letters that “guarantee” things around ESAs, and claim to be certification or registry sites for ESAs. Unfortunately, these sites are scams. There is no such thing as a certification or registry for ESAs. Along those lines, for-fee letters from websites often do not provide enough information for a student to be approved to have an ESA in University housing, despite what the website/organization may promise. Students are strongly discouraged from making purchases through these organizations/websites--they are often useless and do not actually guarantee anything in most instances.