Case Study #1: Admissions

Disability Awareness 101: A Case Study on Students with Disabilities and College Admissions Offices Staff

Background

My name is Amy. I have a mild speech impairment, although my speech is clear enough to be understood by most people. I am a high school senior, and I plan to attend a local community college after I graduate.

Access Issue

I went to the community college admissions office to get some help with my application. I was immediately referred to the college's disabled student services office.

  1. Discuss issues regarding the case described.
  2. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each proposed solution.
  3. Clarify the appropriate roles of the prospective student, admissions office staff, and disabled student services staff in providing accommodations if needed.
  4. After you have completed your discussion, read the access solution that actually occurred in this case. It is printed on the back of this handout. Compare your proposed solutions with this solution. Discuss the conclusions listed, and add at least one more.

Source: The Student Services Conference Room, DO-IT, University of Washington. Permission is granted to reproduce this handout for educational noncommercial purposes.

Solution

Following is the solution that was actually employed in this case:

When I arrived at the disabled student services office, I explained that I had questions about the application. The disabled student services coordinator took me back to the admissions office to make sure they provided me with the assistance that I requested. We explained that I was not looking for accommodations but that I simply needed an explanation about some of the information requested to complete the forms.

Conclusion

This case study illustrates the following:

  1. Admissions office staff, as well as staff of other student service offices, need to understand the role of the disabled student services office.
  2. Students with disabilities may not need accommodations; often their questions are the same as those asked by other students.
  3. Front-line personnel need to be trained to address the needs of students with disabilities and understand when referrals to disabled student services should be made for disability-related accommodations.