MEETING THE NEEDS OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES IN THE RESIDENCE HALLS: GUIDING OUR PRACTICE WITH UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTION

1. MEETING THE NEEDS OF STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES IN THE RESIDENCE HALLS: GUIDING OUR PRACTICE WITH UNIVERSAL INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN Megan Hawley, Andrew McGeehan and Paige Gardner; Seattle University

2. Background Knowledge

3. Empowering our students • In 2008, 11% of all postsecondary students reported having a disability. • From 2000-2008, reports of ADD increased from 7-19 percent. • Twenty-four percent of students with disabilities reported having mental, emotional or psychiatric conditions. • The average age of students with disabilities has become more consistent with the average age of students without disabilities. • Students without disabilities average age: 25 (2000-2008). • Students with disabilities average age: 30 (2000). • Students with disabilities average age: 26 (2008). Information gathered from the 2009 GAO report to the Chairman, Committee on Education and Labor, House of Representatives. “Higher Education and Disability: Education Needs a Coordinated Approach to Improve Its Assistance to schools in Supporting Students.”

4. Common Issues • Unaware of their rights and responsibilities. • School faculty and staff lack awareness of support needed for students with disabilities. • School faculty and staff lack education on the legal requirements for students with disabilities. • Students with disabilities tend to attend community colleges and two year colleges; possibly due to smaller class sizes, personalized attention, and specialized services.

5. Legal Basics • Higher Education Act of 1965/ Higher Education Opportunity Act. • Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. • Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990/ Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of 2008. • Post-9/11 Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2008. • Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

6. Universal Instructional Design • UID began as an architectural philosophy, a way of addressing the societal demands to improve accessibility to those with disabilities. • UID demands that when designing, the creator will consider the needs of all potential users. • Often referred to as “creating curb cuts,” UID hopes to make education more accessible to all students not just those with disabilities. • UID does not emphasize “one size fits all” but instead seeks to provide access to all people.

7. Universal Instructional Design • Guiding Principles: • Create welcoming atmosphere • Determine essential components • Communicate clear expectations • Provide constructive feedback • Explore the use of natural supports for learning • Design methods that consider diverse styles, ways of knowing and abilities. • Allow for multiple ways of demonstrating knowledge • Promote interaction between students, faculty and staff

8. UD and UID • Concepts/ models that developed to address the needs of students with disabilities. • Closely related and supportive of each other. • Readings: • Universal Design for Learning (UDL; Center for Applied Special Technology, n.d.; Rose, 2001; Rose & Meyer, 2000). • Universal Design for Instruction (UDI; Scott, McGuire & Shaw, 2001, 2003). • Universal Instructional Design (UID; Silver, Bourke & Strehorn, 1998).

9. Best Practices

10. Accommodation Approach • Access is a problem for the individual and should be addressed by that person and the disability service program. • Access is achieved through accommodations and/or retrofitting existing requirements. • Access is retroactive. • Access is often provided in a separate location or through special treatment. • Access must be reconsidered each time a new individual uses the system, i.e. is consumable.

11. Universal Design Approach • Access issues stem from an inaccessible, poorly designed environments and should be addressed by the designer. • The system/environment is designed, to the greatest extent possible, to be usable by all. • Access is proactive. • Access is inclusive. • Access, as part of the environmental design, is sustainable.

12. PASS IT Program • University of Minnesota • Pedagogy and Student Services for Institutional Transformation Project. • Funded by the US Department of Education. • Seeks to provide professional development for faculty, staff and administrators, particularly those not directly involved in disability services. • Using a Train the Trainer format, facilitators work to increase knowledge and materials related to UID/ UD.

13. Unlimited Time and Funding • New Construction • Wide hallways • Accessible restrooms/ showers • Adjustable furniture • Bedroom Areas

14. Limited Time and Funding • Front Loading washers • Learning Community development • Entry areas/ doors • Training for RA and professional staff • Audio/ Visual fire alarm boxes

15. Immediate Action • Website font size/ auditory option • Information in multiple formats (Braille, aurally, other languages) • Assistive listening devices • Provide programming assistance (location, time, interpreters)

16. Discussion

17. Group Discussions • Table groups. • Create an ideal campus. • Where do students with disabilities fit in? • When you get back to your campus, how can you incorporate Universal Design? • What does Universal Design mean to you? How would your campus react to implementing UID? • Has your campus been implementing UID inadvertently?

18. Resources • Dion, B. (2006).International best practices in universal design: A global review. Canadian Human Rights Commission. Ottawa; Government of Canada. • United States Government Accountability Office. (2009).Higher Education and Disability: Education Needs a Coordinated Approach to Improve its Assistance to Schools in Supporting Students. (GAO-10-33). Washington, DC; U.S. • Higbee, Jeanne L., Goff, Emily (Eds.). (2008). Pedagogy and Student Services for Institutional Transformation: Implementing Universal Design in Higher Education. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota, Center for Research on Developmental Education and Urban Literacy.

19. Questions?