On Campus Animal Information

Introduction

Kean University generally does not permit animals or pets to reside on campus. However, Service Animals and Emotional Support Animals (ESA) are permitted to reside on campus when they are required to fulfill the University mission of providing each student full access to the University’s programs and services. The presence of Service Animals on campus is part of this commitment. An Emotional Support Animal can also be a reasonable accommodation provided to qualified students with a disability who live in a University residence. 

Guidelines for Animals On Campus

For the definitions of Service Animals vs. Emotional Support Animals,  behavior requirements of the animals within Kean facilities and the responsibilities of their owner/handlers, please click on the linked content below:

Kean University Service Animal Guidelines  

Kean University Emotional Support Animal Guidelines for Residential Students 

Service Animals

1. The Office of Accessibility Services (OAS) asks that those using service animals on campus provide the OAS with information about their service animal (license, record of vet shots, a photo of the animal). By having a Service Animal on file, the OAS can assist the owner in addressing any issues that may arise on campus.
2. Please submit an Application for Services to begin the process of registering your service animal. Upon receipt of your application, the OAS will contact you to complete the process of registering your animal.  

Emotional Support Animals

OAS requires documentation and a meeting to verify the need for an Emotional Support Animal (ESA) on campus. Follow these 3 steps to initiate your application to have an ESA on campus:

1. Have your appropriate treating medical professional complete a Disability Verification Form for Mental Health Providers  to document your need for the Emotional Support Animal on campus.
2. Have the support animal's Veterinarian complete the Veterinarian Verification Form.
3. Complete and return an  Application for Services specifying your request to have an Emotional Support Animal accompany you on campus.  Upload the Disability Verification form (from step 1) and the Veterinarian Verification form (from step 2) right from within the web based Student Intake Application (this step, 3) before you do the final submit. 

Once the above items are received, the OAS will review these materials and schedule an intake appointment with you to review the request.

A network of websites sell certificates, registrations, and licensing documents attesting the need for an assistance animal to anyone who answers a set of questions or participates in a short interview and pays a fee. 

Under the Fair Housing Act, a housing provider may request reliable documentation when an individual requesting a reasonable accommodation has a disability and disability-related need for an accommodation that are not obvious or otherwise known. 

In a Field Notification entitled Assessing a Person’s Request to Have an Animal as a Reasonable Accommodation Under the Fair Housing Act , and a related Letter to The U.S. Federal Trade Commission Bureau of Consumer Protection,  The U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT (HUD), has indicated such documentation from the internet is not, by itself, sufficient to reliably establish that an individual has a non-observable disability or disability-related need for an assistance animal. 

The HUD rationale is that these websites offer documentation that is not reliable for purposes of determining whether an individual has a disability or disability-related need for an assistance animal because the website operators and health care professionals who consult with them lack the personal knowledge that is necessary to make such determinations. This is because the websites typically obtain information from the individual purchasing documentation by requiring the individual to answer a simple, online questionnaire or participate in a single, brief interview.