Connecting Faculty with Students with Disabilities: Final Results from a DOE Grant

1. Connecting Faculty with Students with Disabilities:Final Results from a DOE Grant • Educational Development for Faculty and Staff • Local and national experts help campus educators understand best practices and current research in teaching students with disabilities. • Provide tips on teaching students with different disability types • Introduce and give examples on how to include universal design in the classroom • How to mentor SWDs • Results • Increased comfort levels of working with SWDs • Better informed faculty and staff • Higher success rates for SWDs in classes taught by mentors • The Role of the • Faculty Mentor • New SWDs are connected with a faculty member in the student’s major or area of interest. The mentor and student meet on a regular basis. The mentor: • Provides tips on how to interact with professors • Serves as a friend to help with transition questions • Acts as a resource person to help investigate the major and related career options • Results of FMP Participation • Higher GPAs • More credit hours earned • Greater use of campus resources • Higher retention rates Ball State University’s Faculty Mentorship Program The Faculty Mentorship Program has served more than 200 students with disabilities in its seven years of existence. Approximately 50 faculty members from 35 academic departments volunteer to mentor SWDs. The Faculty Mentorship Program is partially funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education. The full grant is entitled, “Ensuring a Quality Education for Indiana’s Students with Disabilities” (Project # P333A080021). Difficult Transition for SWDs Faculty Engagement is Vital Research has indicated that students who interact with faculty members get better grades, are more satisfied with their education, and are more likely to stay in school (National Survey of Student Engagement, 2006). Establishing a bond early in the student’s freshman year gives the student a sense of belonging to the university community and a better understanding of the academic expectations of the university (Light, R. 2001;Noel, L. & others, 1986; Webb, E. 1987). The transition to college can be especially difficult for students with disabilities. Many students with disabilities come to college less prepared for the rigors of college (Madaus, 2005). Often, students with disabilities are “over-accommodated” in high school (Smith, English, & Vasek, 2002). • Benefits of Attempting a Faculty Mentorship Program • Mentoring is important for all students, especially SWD • Fosters collaboration across units • Greater awareness in departments about disability services Roger Wessel, Professor of Higher Education, rwessel@bsu.edu Jacqueline Harris, Coordinator for Study Strategies and Writing, The Learning Center, jroberts@bsu.edu Larry Markle, Director of Disability Services, lmarkle@bsu.edu Taiping Ho, Professor of Criminal Justice & Criminology ,taipingho@bsu.edu