Forms + Documents

The Department of Residence Life strives to develop positive living and learning environments within the residence halls at Loyola University Chicago. An important part of our role in this involves ensuring the safety of our students as well as any visitors and guests, particularly those under age 18. For this reason, we require completion of the Minor Visitation Request Form for any minor (under age 18) who wishes to visit a Loyola University Chicago student overnight in the residence halls. All requests will be reviewed on a case by case basis.

 

This form must be submitted no later than 12:00PM (noon) at least one business day (Monday–Friday) prior to the minor’s visit to the residence halls. A Department of Residence Life representative will contact the student host and/or guest directly regarding the outcome of the request.

 

 This form must be completed by the parent/legal guardian of the minor.

All full-time first-year and second-year students are required to live in Loyola University Chicago Residence Life housing and purchase a meal plan. Typically, this requirement requires four semesters of residency in Loyola's residence halls (not including summer terms). This residency requirement is published in the Undergraduate Bulletin of Information, on the University website, and in the annual Community Standards for Loyola students.

 

Conscious that a small number of students may be interested in pursuing their educational goals without this residential experience, Loyola University Chicago affords a non-residential option for students living at home with parent(s)/legal guardian(s). Students seeking a non-residential experience must complete the exemption request process and meet established criteria to be approved.

You must be a deposited student to log into the Residence Life Portal. If you would like to submit an exemption request prior to submitting an enrollment deposit, email us at res-life@luc.edu. 

 

In partnership with the University, Loyola Dining is committed to providing a well-balanced meal plan with a wide variety of options at each meal to meet each student’s needs and preferences. We have many creative ways of supporting each student’s individual dietary needs within the dining program. Meeting directly with the Loyola Dining registered dietitian, touring the dining halls, and building relationships with our chefs and managers are the best ways for students to be supported by Loyola Dining.

In rare circumstances, the University will make accommodation for a first- or second-year student from the required meal plan. Dining accommodations will be considered for those who demonstrate that, for disability-related reasons, a University meal plan cannot in any way meet their dietary needs, and provide appropriate supporting medical documentation. It is the responsibility of the student to obtain all required documentation.

The student must apply for disability accommodations for dining via The Residence Life Portal and upload supporting documentation at that time. Students must submit documentation that meets the below guidelines to be considered for an accommodation, but submitting documentation does not guarantee that an accommodation will be made.

Documentation must:    

• Be provided by an appropriate medical doctor (MD or DO) or licensed mental health professional who is not a family member of the student
• Include a medical diagnosis for a disability
• Describe the nature, severity, and extent of the disability’s impact
• Include the procedures, tests, and/or evaluations used in determining the diagnosis
• Support the need for a specific accommodation, special diet, or dietary restriction
• Contain a signature from the professional and their professional license number
• Be typed on official letterhead that includes contact information
• Be un-editable
• Be recent (typically within the last 5 years)

Students may also provide a personal statement, if they choose, describing the nature and impact of their disability, but this is not a substitute for the required medical documentation. Students may be asked to provide additional documentation at any point during this process.

Once sufficient documentation has been received, the Loyola Dining dietitian will reach out to the student via email to schedule a one-on-one Zoom meeting to review and discuss reasonable accommodations.

If the provided documentation is insufficient, the Loyola Dining dietitian will reach out to the student via email to request sufficient documentation. Once sufficient documentation has been received, the Loyola Dining dietitian will reach out to the student via email to schedule a one-on-one Zoom meeting to review and discuss reasonable accommodations. Accommodation decisions will be made in collaboration with the Res Life/Dining/SAC committee and will be communicated to the student via email.

If the student disagrees with the decision or believes that their documentation has been incorrectly deemed insufficient, they may file an appeal. They are entitled to appeal and request a reconsideration of the decision. These requests should be made to the Director of the Student Accessibility Center, Carolyn Corbran (ccorbran@luc.edu). If the student still feels as if they were unfairly denied they may submit a formal appeal to the Assistant Vice President for Student Academic Services, Lester Manzano (Lmanzan@luc.edu). Students are allotted one opportunity to appeal each specific accommodation decision.

Some students seeking dining accommodations may also be eligible for class-related accommodations based on the impact of their disability. The Student Accessibility Center (SAC) would review those needs with a student. Students should contact SAC to register their disability or discuss plan updates if already registered to discuss class-related accommodations. They can be contacted at sac@luc.edu and information found on the website about registration can be located here: https://www.luc.edu/sac/applywithsac/

Please be advised that students will continue to be billed for their meal plan until such time as a decision has been reached on the requested accommodation. Applying for a meal plan accommodation means the students understands the following:

• I understand that meal plan accommodations will be considered only for students with a documented disability which prevents the dining program from in any way being able to meet their dietary needs.
• I understand the documentation guidelines as written above.
• I understand that I will continue to be billed for my meal plan until a decision has been reached on my requested accommodation.

Spring 2026 only: Request for Meal Plan Release/Exemption Portal

2026-2027 Requests for Meal Plan Exemptions are not being accepted yet. 

Students may request to change their meal plan during the first few weeks of the semester. Please refer to our Important Dates calendar for the exact deadline to change your meal plan. Please follow the steps below to locate the meal plan change form:

Residential Students (continuing students): To change your meal plan, you can follow these steps: LOCUS > Student External System > Residence Life Portal > On the right hand side of the page click one of the meal plan forms that applies to you.

Off-Campus/Commuter students (continuing students): To change your meal plan, you can follow these steps: LOCUS > Student External System > Residence Life Portal > On the right hand side of the page click one of the meal plan forms that applies to you.

Off-Campus/Commuter students (new students): Please email us at res-life@luc.edu to change or add a meal plan. 

In order to create a campus community that is safe and welcoming for all, students are expected to abide by the Loyola University Chicago Community Standards.