DO-IT Admin: A Project to Help Postsecondary Student Services Administrators Work Successfully with Students Who Have Disabilities

DO-IT-Admin-Project-Postsecondary-Student-Services-Administrators-Students-Disabilities.pdf

DO-IT at the University of Washington has, since 1992, worked to increase the representation of individuals with disabilities in postsecondary education and employment through direct work with students who have disabilities; professional development for faculty, administrators, teachers, service providers, and employers; and information dissemination. DO-IT stands for Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology.

The DO-IT Admin Model Demonstration Project applies lessons learned by project staff and other researchers and practitioners nationwide to implement a comprehensive professional development program for postsecondary student services administrators. It is funded by the Office of Postsecondary Education of the U.S. Department of Education (grant #P333A020044, 2002-2006). DO-IT Admin also continues the work of the successful DO-IT Prof project, whose primary audience was postsecondary faculty. DO-IT Prof was also funded by a grant from the Office of Postsecondary Education (grant #P333A990042, 1999-2003). Consult The Faculty Room for more information about DO-IT Prof.

DO-IT Admin serves to improve the knowledge and skills of postsecondary student service providers in order to better prepare them to fully include students with disabilities in academic programs and student services on their campuses. Student services addressed include admissions, registration, advising, career services, learning centers, libraries, distance learning programs, and computer centers. Responding to the diverse content and scheduling needs of student services administrators, the DO-IT Admin team created and delivered six models of professional development, to complement the six developed by the DO-IT Prof team.

Model 1: A 20-30 minute introduction on legal issues, universal design, accommodation strategies, and campus resources, including distribution of a systemic change checklist.

Model 2: A 1-2 hour presentation on legal issues, universal design and accommodations, systemic change checklist, and campus resources.

Model 3: Tailored workshops on legal issues, universal design, accommodations, checklists, and resources for specific student service units (e.g., career services, tutoring centers).

Model 4: Televised instruction through a series of videos shown online, on site, and on public television. The following videos can be freely viewed at DO-IT Video; Equal Access: Student Services, Equal Access: Campus Libraries, Equal Access: Universal Design of Instruction, Real Connections: Making Distance Learning Accessible to Everyone, and Equal Access: Universal Design of Computer Labs. They may be purchased in DVD format by using the order from at DO-IT Videos, Books, and Training Materials Order Form.

Model 5: A distance learning course delivered via email and available at Distance Learning Course: Serving Students with Disabilities.

Model 6: Self-paced, web-based instruction with interactive components and video presentations on the website at Distance Learning Course: Serving Students with Disabilities.

The DO-IT Admin project team includes disabled student services staff, faculty, and administrators at institutions of higher education in 23 states. The nationwide recruitment process was highly competitive. Applicants for project team membership were rated by DO-IT's Academic Advisory Board. The Board based its ratings on past efforts in this area, team diversity, and the potential to contribute to project efforts.

Project team members conducted focus groups with student services administrators and students with disabilities to explore the means of increasing accessibility for students with disabilities in student services offices. Team members also participated in annual 3-day collaborative meetings in Seattle. At the working meetings, team members discussed student service administrator professional development and technical support issues and strategies, developed professional development materials, made data collection plans, and created project timelines for their home institutions.

Project team member schools each chose an institutional partner in their state. Team members from four-year institutions partnered with a community or technical college, and team members from a community or technical college partnered with a four-year institution. The partner school had demographics (e.g., racial and ethnic diversity, size, location) that are different than those of the project team institution. At the team member campus and partner campus, professional development programs were delivered, materials were disseminated, and strategies for providing additional technical assistance to student service administrators and faculty were explored.

DO-IT Admin staff created and disseminated a comprehensive set of multi-media materials that can help campuses create more accessible student services. Titled Students with Disabilities and Campus Services: Building the Team, these materials are freely available online or purchased using the order from at DO-IT Videos, Books, and Training Materials Order Form. All project materials, including online resources, videos, and printed materials, are offered in formats that are readily accessible by individuals with disabilities. Permission to copy and further distribute project products is granted for noncommercial educational purposes as long as the source is acknowledged. DO-IT Admin efforts continued as part of a subsequent project, AccessCollege.

Completion of this and similar projects materials will result in student services that are more accessible to students with disabilities. Ultimately, DO-IT Prof and DO-IT Admin activities will result in greater postsecondary education and career outcomes for individuals with disabilities.

Postsecondary Website

The DO-IT Admin project created two websites to complement The Faculty Room created in the DO-IT Prof project. The collection, which can be found by selecting AccessCollege, includes The Faculty Room for faculty and academic administrators, The Student Services Conference Room for campus service administrators, and The Board Room for high level administrators.

Within these comprehensive websites are guidelines, checklists, and other information that lead to more accessible postsecondary courses and programs.

DO-IT Admin Staff

The original DO-IT Admin project staff at the University of Washington were:

Sheryl Burgstahler, Ph.D., Director
sherylb@u.washington.edu

Lisa Stewart, Project Coordinator
Christina deMille, Research Coordinator
Linda Tofle, Publications Manager
Sue Wozniak, Publications Assistant
Terry Thompson, Accessible Technology Specialist
Tanis Doe, Ph.D., External Evaluator
Marvin Crippen, Technology Specialist

DO-IT Admin Team

Members of the DO-IT Admin project team and their partner institutions were:

Alice Anderson
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
alice.anderson@doit.wisc.edu
Partner: Jackey Higby Thomas
Madison Area Technical College
Madison, Wisconsin

Beatrice Awoniyi
Florida State University
Tallahassee, Florida
bawoniyi@admin.fsu.edu

Meryl Berstein
Johnson and Wales University
Providence, Rhode Island
mberstein@jwu.edu
Partner: Tracy Karasinski
Community College of Rhode Island
Warwick, Rhode Island

Sharon Bittner
Des Moines Area Community College
Ankney, Iowa
sgbittner@dmacc.org

Deborah Casey-Powell
Green River Community College
Auburn, WA
dcasey@greenriver.edu

Rosemary Coffman
Lee College
Baytown, Texas
rcoffman@lee.edu
Partner: Jean Ashmore
Rice University
Houston, Texas

Jane Furr Davis
Hunter College
New York, New York
jane.davis@hunter.cuny.edu
Partner: Columbia-Greene Community College
Hudson, New York

Jill Douglass
Santa Fe Community College
Santa Fe, New Mexico
jdouglass@sfsccnm.edu
Partner: Donna Collins College of Sante Fe
Santa Fe, New Mexico

Jim Gorske
University of South Carolina Spartanburg
Spartanburg, South Carolina
jgorske@uscs.edu
Partner: Sharon Bellwood
Greenville Technical College
Greenville, South Carolina

Pam Griffin
University of Minnesota, Duluth
Duluth, Minnesota
pgriffin@d.umn.edu
Partner: Anita Hanson
Fond Du Lac Tribal and Community College
Cloquet, Minnesota

Grace T. Hanson
Mt. San Antonio College
Walnut, California
ghanson@mtsac.edu
Partner: Dave Sanfilippo
California State University Long Beach

Nancy Hart
Lane Community College
Eugene, Oregon
hartn@lanecc.edu
Partner: Margaret Dibb
Southern Oregon University
Ashland, Oregon

Dyane Haynes
University of Washington Seattle
Seattle, WA
dyane@u.washington.edu
Partner: Richard Okomoto
Seattle University
Seattle, Washington

Elaine High or John Pedraza
Michigan State University
East Lansing, Michigan
high@msu.edu or pedrazaj@msu.edu
Partner: Scott Hickman
North Central Michigan College
Petoskey, Michigan

Richard Jones
Arizona State University
Tempe, Arizona
richj@asu.edu
Partner: Steve Schroeder South Mountain Community College
Phoenix, Arizona R.

Scott Laurent
University of Missouri-Kansas City
Kansas City, Missouri
laurentr@umkc.edu
Partner: Mary Ellen Jenison
Longview Community College
Lee's Summit, Missouri

Rodney Pennamon
Georgia State University
Atlanta, Georgia
disrep@langate.gsu.edu
Partner: Carolyn Swindle
Gainsville College
Oakwood, Georgia

Patricia Richter
Kutztown University
Kutztown, Pennsylvania
richter@kutztown.edu
Partner: Lehigh Carbon Community College
Schnecksville, Pennsylvania

Sharon Robertson
University of Tennessee, Martin
Martin, Tennessee
sroberts@utm.edu
Partner: Fred Deaton
Jackson State Community College
Jackson, Tennessee

Rosezelia Roy
Virginia State University
Petersburg, Virginia
rroy@vsu.edu
Partner: Debby Wilkerson
J Sargeant Reynolds Community College
Richmond, Virginia

Al Souma
Seattle Central Community College
Seattle, Washington
asouma@sccd.ctc.edu
Partner: Richard Okomoto
Seattle University
Seattle, Washington

Suzanne Tucker
Southern Connecticut State University
New Haven, Connecticut
tucker@scsu.ctstateu.edu
Partner: Toni Page
Gateway Community College
New Haven, Connecticut

Linda Walter
Seton Hall University
South Orange, New Jersey
walterli@shu.edu
Partner: Cathleen Doyle
Raritan Valley Community College
Somerville, New Jersey

DO-IT Admin Project Partners

The following organizations supported DO-IT Admin:

Model Demonstration Projects to Ensure Students with Disabilities Receive a Quality Higher Education

DO-IT Admin is a Model Demonstration Project funded by the Office of Postsecondary Education of the U.S. Department of Education (#P333A020044, 2002-2006). However, these contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. The purpose of the Model Demonstration Projects is to develop innovative, effective, and efficient teaching methods to enhance the skills and abilities of postsecondary faculty and administrators in working with students who have disabilities. Links to all of the Model Demonstration Projects can be found at www2.ed.gov/programs/disabilities/awards.html.

About DO-IT

DO-IT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology) serves to increase the successful participation of individuals with disabilities in challenging academic programs such as those in science, engineering, mathematics, and technology. Primary funding for DO-IT is provided by the National Science Foundation, the State of Washington, and the U.S. Department of Education. DO-IT is a collaboration of UW Information Technology and the Colleges of Engineering and Education at the University of Washington.

Grants and gifts fund DO-IT publications, videos, and programs to support the academic and career success of people with disabilities. Contribute today by sending a check to DO-IT, Box 354842, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-4842.

Your gift is tax deductible as specified in IRS regulations. Pursuant to RCW 19.09, the University of Washington is registered as a charitable organization with the Secretary of State, state of Washington. For more information call the Office of the Secretary of State, 1-800-322-4483.

To order free publications or newsletters use the DO-IT Publications Order Form; to order videos and training materials use the Videos, Books and Comprehensive Training Materials Order Form.

For further information, to be placed on the DO-IT mailing list, request materials in an alternate format, or to make comments or suggestions about DO-IT publications or web pages contact:

DO-IT
University of Washington
Box 354842
Seattle, WA 98195-4842
doit@uw.edu
www.uw.edu/doit
206-685-DOIT (3648) (voice/TTY)
888-972-DOIT (3648) (voice/TTY)
206-221-4171 (fax)
509-328-9331 (voice/TTY) Spokane

Founder and Director: Sheryl Burgstahler, Ph.D.

DO-IT Funding and Partners

Acknowledgment

This publication was developed with funding from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE #P333AO20044). However, the contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the U.S. Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the federal government