Whether a student requests to live in a single room, be located with others who share common interests, or needs close access to allergen-free eating space, Washington State University’s Housing and Residence Life (HRL) staff and its partners work hard to meet their needs.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, Nichole Goodwin, associate director for housing operations and conference services, said she has observed a significant increase in the number of students requesting medical or disability accommodations for their living spaces at WSU Pullman.
To manage the influx, HRL partners with WSU’s Student Accommodations and Disability Resources (formerly the Access Center) which receives the applications for these types of accommodations, meets with each student individually, and determines the recommended accommodations.
Before the pandemic, Roberto Morales, the associate director of the Access Center, said he received about 60 applications annually for medical or disability accommodations in living spaces. By 2024, the number surged to 460 applications, with 325 students completing the process and receiving approval.
In addition to requesting single rooms, many students ask for single or semi-private bathrooms, a room located on the ground floor or near an elevator, or to live with an emotional support animal.
If we can make something easier for a student so they can be happier and more successful, we want to do it.
Nichole Goodwin, associate director for housing operations and conference services
Washington State University
Not all students can receive their preferences due to limited facilities, but Goodwin’s team and Morales work together to find alternative solutions for each student placed on a waitlist.
“If we can make something easier for a student so they can be happier and more successful, we want to do it,” Goodwin said. “I always encourage them to tell us what they need even if they think it may be silly and something we can’t help with.”
Extending the learning environment
Goodwin and her colleagues are also working closely with faculty on campus. The First Year Focus Program has been a fixture in the residence halls for many years and is built on the premise that students taking common classes, who live together in the same hall, form stronger bonds and learn from each other. Their professors meet with them in the halls, too, extending the learning environment beyond the classroom.
HRL expanded this concept by creating three living learning communities (LLC’s) for students with shared interests: Environmental Sustainability in Olympia Hall, Wellness in Goldsworthy Hall, and LGBTQIA+ in McCroskey and Scott Halls. In each LLC, students take a common class. In the Environmental Sustainability LLC, for example, each student enrolls in SOE 110: Environment, Human Life, Sustainability.
“Students can knock on their neighbor’s door and talk about the class they are taking together, or they can meet a faculty member in their hall where they may be too nervous to reach out to them on campus,” Goodwin said.
Allergen-friendly dining options
Amongst the increased medical or disability accommodation requests, more students are seeking enhanced safe dining options. While all dining centers have clearly marked allergen-friendly food, students with severe food allergies can benefit by having access to specially trained chefs who can help meet their individual needs.
Working with HRL, WSU Dining Services has created the Dietary Accommodation Residential Program, which will launch in the fall 2025. As part of the program, Dining Services will dedicate two specially trained chefs at Northside Café to preparing allergen-free food. Students in the program pre-order their food from a custom menu in the GET app and their meals will be ready to eat within an hour. HRL has a block of rooms held on the north side of campus for students needing easy access to their meals.
“These students will be able to get allergen-free food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, seven days a week,” said Martha Flores, registered dietitian and health and wellness coordinator. “Dining Services has a lot of knowledge about food allergies, and by partnering with WSU Housing, we are truly innovators in this realm.”
