Ensuring a Quality Education for Indiana’s Students with Disabilities

1. Ensuring a Quality Education for Indiana’s Students with Disabilities Jacqueline Harris Taiping Ho Larry Markle Roger Wessel Ball State University

2. Roger Wessel,Professor of Higher Education, www/bsu/edu/edstudies rwessel@bsu.edu Jacqueline Harris,Learning Center Study Strategies and Writing Coordinator, bsu.edu/universitycollege/learningcenter jroberts@bsu.edu Larry Markle,Director of Disabled Student Development, www.bsu.edu/dsd lmarkle@bsu.edu Taiping Ho,Professor of Criminal Justice and Criminology, www.bsu.edu/cjc tapingho@bsu.edu

3. BSU Grant – Ensuring a Quality Education for Indiana’s Students with Disabilities (Project # P333A080021-09) • Received from the US DOE’s Office of Postsecondary Education • Multi-faceted approach to facilitating a smooth transition to college for SWDs • Impetus behind the grant was the Faculty Mentorship Program for SWDs • Four distinct components to the grant

4. 4 Components of the Grant • Faculty Mentorship Program • Educational opportunities for faculty, staff, & administrators • Training for tutors at the Learning Center • Outreach to the K-12 community in Indiana on the transition to college for SWDs

5. Need for the Grant Activities • Transition to college can be especially difficult for SWDs • Laws governing disability are different in K-12/postsecondary • Students often over-accommodated in K-12 • Student is an adult in college & must take the lead in his/her own education & accommodations – Not the case in K-12

6. Relevant Legislation Individuals with Disabilities Improvement Act (2004 Reauthorization of IDEA) Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

7. Differences in Legislation • ADA= Eligibility • Attending college is a privilege. Students must be eligible • Emphasis on equal access (standards are not modified) • IDEA= Entitlement • Student has a right to a free and appropriate public education • Emphasis on success (modify standards)

8. Differences in Responsibility Source: Brinckerhoff, L.B., Shaw, S.F., & McGuire, JM

9. Faculty Mentorship Program Partnership between DSD, the Learning Center, & BSU faculty Connect a new SWD with a faculty member in student’s major or area of interest for informal mentoring SWDs in FMP have higher GPAs, more hours earned, better use of campus resources than SWDs who chose not to participate

10. The Need for the FMP, Part 1 Research has indicated that students who interact with faculty members: Get better grades Are more satisfied with their education Are more likely to be retained Students who come to college less prepared benefit more from faculty engagement Source - National Survey of Student Engagement 2006 report, Engaged Learning: Fostering Success of All Students

11. The Need for the FMP, Part 2 Difficult transition to college for SWDs Legal differences Philosophical differences Differences in services provided Greater expectations of students in college Authority of teacher/faculty member is different

12. FMP Activities FMP creators have weekly meetings to coordinate the program and to plan events Emails sent to students Suggesting questions/talking points for meetings with mentors Reminding students of services available on campus End of semester survey of students & mentors

13. FMP Activities Regular lunch meetings with mentors Discuss the program and solicit feedback Guest speakers discuss campus services & their assistance for SWDs Connect different academic disciplines & assist other mentors with concerns students have outside of mentor’s area of expertise

14. Benefits of Attempting FMP Mentoring is important for all students, especially SWDs Fosters collaboration across units Awareness in departments about services offered – mentor becomes “go to” person in that department Gets word out about resources available on campus

15. Faculty Training Series • Local & national experts come to campus to talk with faculty about best practices & current research in teaching SWDs • Tips on teaching different disability types • Discuss topics such as Universal Design • Effective mentoring • Utilizing technology in the classroom • Info available on web at: http://cms.bsu.edu/en/About/AdministrativeOffices/DSD/Programs/Fedgrant.aspx

16. Learning Center Assistance • Graduate assistants working directly with SWDs • Additional tutoring & study assistance for SWDs • Training series for LC tutors on interacting & tutoring students with a variety of different disabilities

17. Outreach to K-12 Community • Brochure on the transition to college for SWDs sent to every high school in Indiana • Presentations given across state to high school educators, students, parents, & others involved in the transition to college for SWDs

18. Ball State Grant Administrators • Jacqueline Harris – Coordinator of Study Strategies & Writing, The Learning Center • Taiping Ho, Professor of Criminal Justice & Criminology • Larry Markle, Director of Disability Services • Roger Wessel, Associate Professor of Educational Studies