Applying for an Emotional Support Animal

An ESA is an animal selected to play an integral part of a student’s treatment process, providing emotional support that alleviates one or more identified symptoms or effects of a student’s disability. An ESA does not perform work or tasks that would qualify them as service animals as defined by the ADA. Emotional support animals are not considered pets. To preserve student health and safety, pets are prohibited in all College residences, with the sole exception of fish in bowls or tanks that do not exceed 10 gallons. Having an ESA is considered an exemption to the College’s Pet Policy and is an approved animal. As such, the College requires that students who require an ESA to affirmatively request an emotional support animal within established deadlines. In general, only one ESA per student is allowed.

Applying for an Emotional Support Animal (ESA)

Applying for an Emotional Support Animal

Students may apply for an exemption through the Academic Resource Center by following the steps outlined below. Any questions about the Exemption to the Pet Policy should be directed to the Assistant Director of Disability Support Services.

  1. Review the Emotional Support Animal Policy to learn more about the process and expectations if approved.   
  2. Navigate to the Academic Resource Center(ARC)’s ClockWork Student Portal and log in with your Wooster credentials.
    *Google Chrome is the preferred browser when completing the form.
  3. Select the Register Here Button if this is your first-time scheduling with the ARC. A member of the Academic Resource Center will need to complete the intake process on their end. Please allow at least one business day for this process to be completed. If you are already registered to use ClockWork, please go directly to step 4.
  4. Once you are Registered, please fill out the Online Form “Request for Exemption to Pet Policy”.
  5. Please upload all supporting documentation for an Exemption to a Pet Policy under Student Files. Please note – all students applying for an Exemption to a Pet Policy, must have their qualified medical professional fill out the Emotional Support Animal Request for Information Form.
  6. Once all documentation has been uploaded, students are encouraged to meet with the Assistant Director of Disability Support Services about their request for an exemption. Appointments can be made on the students ClockWork Portal.
  7. All requests and documentation will be reviewed by the colleges Housing/Dining Accessibility Committee once a month during their meeting.  Contact arc@wooster.edu to confirm next meeting date.  
    • The student will be notified via email of the committee’s decision and the next steps.
    • If the request is not approved, students can choose to submit additional documentation for the Housing and Dining Accessibility Committee to review at their next monthly meeting. If you wish to appeal the committee’s decision, please review the Disability Accommodation Appeal Process. Appeals may only be filed on the grounds of procedural errors and/or conflicts of interest and bias from one or more committee members. 
    • For more information about applying for Emotional Support Animals, please check out the Emotional Support Animal portion of our website. 

Deadlines for requesting an Emotional Support Animal

To receive timely review of your request, documentation must be uploaded to your “Student Files” by the following deadlines:

  1. Fall for continuing students: January 30th
  2. Summer for continuing students and late fall requests: April 15th
  3. Fall for first year and transfer students: June 1st
  4. Spring for new accommodation requests: December 1st
  5. For students who miss the deadlines, requests for accommodation(s) will generally be reviewed each month. Late applications may result in a delay in the approval/denial of the request.    
  6. Emotional Support Animal Requests are not reviewed in May.