Meal Plan Exemptions
All students who reside in campus housing are required to have a campus meal plan. Because of limitations of the College’s dining facilities, we have defined reasons why a student may qualify for a partial or full exemption from our campus meal plan requirement. These reasons include the practice a recognized religion or the diagnosis of a documented medical condition, either of which requires a specific diet that cannot be accommodated by Earlham College
Meal plan exemptions are not granted solely on the basis of the student’s status as a vegetarian/vegan or that food service does not meet a student’s personal food preferences. Meal exemptions are also not granted based on financial need.
For more information about dining plans and their costs, visit the housing costs and meal plans page.
Application Process
Students applying for a meal plan exemption are required to submit the Meal Plan Exemption Request Form linked below. Depending on the reason(s) you are applying for a meal plan exemption, you may be asked to submit supplemental documentation to support your request. See the section below for more information about the specific reasons students may qualify for an exemption and the documentation you’ll be asked to submit for each reason.
Students submitting a Meal Plan Exemption Request are encouraged to discuss this with Financial Aid, as exemption from the meal plan requirement will result in a reduction of your cost of attendance which has the potential to impact your financial aid package. Please contact Financial Aid to discuss the implications of the meal plan exemption.
Requirements and Documentation
Below are the reasons students may be eligible for a meal plan exemption and the supporting documentation that will need to be submitted for each reason when completing the Meal Plan Exemption Request Form.
Students who have a documented medical condition which requires a specific diet that cannot be accommodated by Food Services may be exempted from the meal plan requirement.
Required Documentation
Students seeking a medical exemption from the campus meal plan will be asked to have a medical provider submit documentation of their condition directly to Earlham Health Services who will share it as appropriate with the Residence Life and Metz staff reviewing your exemption request. This documentation should include any dietary requirements the student may have as a result of the documented medical condition. No additional documentation is required from the student.
Documentation not accepted:
- Letters written by healthcare providers who are related to the student or who are not caring for the student in an official capacity
- Physician’s notes recommending exemption from the meal plan requirement without any additional information about the student’s medical concerns and recommended diet to support the exemption recommendation
- Self-diagnosis or family diagnosis of food allergies, non-celiac gluten intolerance, or another diagnosis without supporting medical corroboration
Medical exemption requests will not be reviewed until both parts of the request are received by our office:
- The student submitted Meal Plan Exemption Request Form (this form).
- The care provider submitted the Care Provider Certification Form as documentation of the student’s medical condition and dietary needs.
Care providers can fax completed documentation to Health Services at 765-983-1488. If your care provider is unable to fax your documentation, please reach out to our team to inquire about alternate ways to submit your documentation.
You can download the Care Provider Certification Form to provided to your medical provider here: Care Provider Certification Form – January 2025
Students who practice a recognized religion which requires a specific diet that cannot be accommodated by Food Services may be exempted from the meal plan requirement.
Required Documentation
Students seeking a religious exemption from the campus meal plan will be asked to respond to the following questions to support their exemption request:
- What recognized religion do you practice?
- What are the dietary restrictions for practicing this religion?
- How long (for what time period, if limited to a finite set of time) are these dietary restrictions in place?
Students who have been approved for an exemption to the campus housing residency requirement are automatically exempted from the meal plan requirement. There is no need for them to submit additional documentation or a formal meal plan exemption request as the exemption is applied as the default meal plan for these students.
Students approved to live off-campus may request a meal plan at any time by reaching out to our office. If a meal plan is selected by a commuting student during the fall semester, the same plan will also be applied to their spring semester unless they communicate with our office about their desire to remove the plan prior to the start of the campus meal plan in the spring.
General Review Process & Timeline Information
Our office reviews requests and supporting documentation in partnership with Food Services, Health Services, and Religious Life as appropriate and will either approve the request, deny the request, or ask for additional information. Students are able to review the status of their application in the housing portal at any time under the “requests” section. Once a final decision has been made, our office updates the request in the portal and sends the decision in writing to their Earlham student email.
A meal plan exemption request must be submitted prior to the start of fall semester classes every academic year in which they hope to be exempt along with supporting documentation for their request as required by Residence Life.
- For consideration for the full academic year, all requests received by June 15 will be processed by July 1. Subsequent requests after the June 15 deadline will be processed after July 1 within 5-10 business days.
- For consideration for only the fall semester, all requests received by June 15 will be processed by July 1. Subsequent requests after the June 15 deadline will be processed after July 1 within 5-10 business days.
- For consideration for only the spring semester, all requests received by November 15 will be processed by December 15. Subsequent requests after the November 15 deadline will be processed after December 15 within 5-10 business days.
Prior approvals do not guarantee future approvals, as the student’s dietary restrictions may have changed and/or the college may have been able to expand options that now support the student’s required diet.
Refunds for Approved Exemptions
To ensure accurate billing, all meal plan exemption requests should be submitted by June 15th for the Fall Semester or November 15th for the Spring Semester. Requests submitted after theses dates may not receive a full refund of applicable meal plan charges based on when the application was submitted – even if the exemption has been approved.
If a request is submitted after student billing deadlines, you are expected to still pay for the meal plan until your exemption request has been processed and reviewed. Failure to do so may result in an accounting hold on your student account.
Depending on the date of approval, the refund amount will be based on the starting date of the campus meal plan. Refund proration follows a weekly structure running Sunday – Saturday. The refund schedule is available upon request.
Appeal Process
Students wishing to appeal a decision to deny their meal plan exemption request can submit a written appeal to the director of residence life within five (5) business days of the decision being sent to the student. This appeal should be sent via email to [email protected] or mailed directly to the Office of Residence Life.
In the appeal, the student should clearly and concisely articulate why they believe the specific exemption reason(s) and its definition(s) applies to their situation, to include providing any additional information or documentation that was not shared in the original meal plan exemption request.
The Director of Residence Life will review the appeal and respond in writing. Their decision is final.
More information and resources
The Office of Residence Life supports and encourages students by providing guidance in contemplative inquiry, opportunities for dialogue, sponsoring celebratory communal events, and supporting opportunities that enable students to put their most cherished beliefs into daily practice.