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UWC-ADA Compliance Committee Minutes Time: 3:00-4:00 PM Agenda topics Review of minutes Chris Discussion: Members present reviewed minutes from Nov. 8, 2007 meeting. Conclusions: Minutes accepted. Action items: Person responsible: Deadline: Options to increase faculty use of ADA Statement on course syllabi; Guest: Ken Warfield, UFS Discussion: Chris reviewed discussion from last meeting regarding options to increase use of committee approved ADA Statement on course syllabi. Any syllabi requirements are part of the CBA according to SEA. The committee could develop an MOU to request requiring the ADA Statement on course syllabi. Ken noted that the committee’s efforts to increase education efforts to faculty about using the ADA Statement on course syllabi would be the most effective strategy. We discussed the plan to send a memo to department secretaries about ADA resources, and Ken suggested including Department Chairs in this communication. He also suggested considering addressing education efforts to Deans, and possibly the President’s Advisory Council. A UFS resolution would be non-binding, but could be used to endorse the use of ADA Compliance Committee approved ADA Statement for Course syllabi. Chris also shared the “University Disability Statement”, which was part of the semester syllabus template (see below). University Disability Statement For students who have a specific physical, psychiatric, or learning disability and require accommodations, please let me know early in the semester so that your learning needs may be appropriately met. By law, it is your responsibility to provide documentation of your disability to the Office of Disability Services, located in the Student Success Center, Massie Hall, (Ph) 351-3594, PRIOR to receiving services. To contrast, the ADA Compliance Committee’s recommended statement (approved by legal counsel) reads: Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 require Shawnee State University to provide reasonable academic adjustments or accommodations for students with documented disabilities which would not compromise the integrity of the academic program. Examples of documented disabilities include physical, psychiatric, and/or learning impairments that substantially limit one or more major life activities of the student. Students seeking academic adjustments or accommodations must self-identify with the Coordinator of Disability Services, Student Success Center, Massie Hall, 740-351-3276. After meeting with the Coordinator, students are encouraged to meet with their instructors to discuss their needs, and if applicable, any lab safety concerns related to their disabilities. Conclusions: Continue discussion at next meeting. Action items: Chris to send memo re: on-line resources to department secretaries and department chairs Person responsible: Chris Deadline: Dec. 11, 2007 Project: Documentation Policy Discussion: Jim unavailable for today’s meeting. Conclusions: Discuss at next meeting. Action items: Review AHEAD Best Practices on Disability Documentation in Higher Education. (www.ahead.org) Person responsible: All Deadline: Next meeting Review materials for USA meeting Dec. 11, 2007 Discussion: Chris discussed memo for USA meeting. Action items: Send ADA Resource memo to Dec. 11, 2007 USA meeting, and to department chairs Person responsible: Chris Deadline: Dec. 11, 2007 Clearinghouse Issues/Discussion Discussion: No items presented to Clearinghouse. Discussed next semester’s meeting schedule, and Chris requested all members not able to attend today’s meeting respond with preferences for spring semester meetings. Conclusions: N/A. Action items: Set up schedule for spring semester meetings Person responsible: Chris Deadline: Dec. 15, 2007 Respectfully submitted, Chris Raber, Chair UWC-ADA Compliance Committee Minutes Time: 3:00-4:00 PM Location: Health Sciences Dean’s Conference Room Type of meeting: Regular Facilitator: Chris Raber, Chair Attendees: Jim Weaver, Butch Kotcamp, Scott Douthat, Janet Snedegar Agenda topics Review of minutes Chris Discussion: Members present reviewed minutes from Oct. 18, 2007 meeting. Conclusions: Minutes accepted. Action items: Person responsible: Deadline: Discussion of 2007-08 Goals Discussion: Members reviewed and discussed goals (listed below). Chris reported that she met with Steve Midkiff, Office of Institutional Research, on Nov. 7, to explore ways this office could support the committee’s goals (specifically 1 & 4). Discussed support from this office in following areas: distributing survey (already created) to students receiving Disability Services support to assess their satisfaction with services, collect information about ADA compliance activities at peer institutions, and explore options for completing university-wide ADA Accessibility Survey for multiple stakeholders. Steve suggested submitting question to research firm in Spring 2008 requesting information about peer institutions’ best practices for ADA compliance in higher education. He was also willing to review student survey and work with data collection and analysis of this survey. Peer institution feedback would be helpful in determining plan for a new Accessibility Survey. Members approved goals (listed below). 2007-2008 ADA Compliance Committee GOALS: 1. Work with Institutional Research Office to develop plan for new SSU Accessibility Survey 2. In collaboration with Office of Disability Services, develop recommended Documentation Policy 3. Continue efforts to improve communication with campus community about available ADA resources (website, FAME training site, brochures, periodic communications) 4. Work with Institutional Research Office to complete student survey (conduct survey and analyze data) 5. Increase faculty use of ADA statement on course syllabi 6. Work with Randy Warman and Resource 25 to include Accessibility Guidelines for space reservation forms 7. On-going consultation re: ADA issues on campus for all stakeholders (students, faculty, staff, administration, public) Conclusions: Continue to develop action plans to achieve each goal. Action items: Chris sent resources for goals 1 & 4 to Steve Midkiff. Person responsible: all Deadline: ongoing Project: Documentation Policy Discussion: Jim presented information regarding best practices for documentation policies to the committee from the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD; www.ahead.org). We discussed ways to address the question of “what is proper documentation for a disability?” and timelines for submitting documentation as well as requesting accommodations. Differences between policy (which must be adopted by BOT) and guidelines were discussed. There was agreement that we need to develop guidelines which support work of the Office of Disability Services. Conclusions: Committee members will review materials from AHEAD before next meeting to progress with development of documentation guidelines. Action items: Review AHEAD Best Practices on Disability Documentation in Higher Education. Person responsible: All Deadline: Next meeting USA Meeting: Communicating with Department Secretaries about ADA resources Discussion: Chris talked with Penny Merritt, USA president, about meeting schedule. No presenters planned for December USA meeting, so Chris suggested creating handout to provide to secretaries about ADA resources for this meeting. ADA committee member to present (15-20 minutes) at January 15, 2008 meeting. Jim volunteered to do this presentation. Action items: Create ADA Resource handout for Dec. 11, 2007 USA meeting Person responsible: Chris; committee to review at next meeting Deadline: Dec. 6, 2007 Clearinghouse Issues/Discussion Discussion: No items presented to Clearinghouse. Discussion continued re: strategies to address goals. Scott suggested exploring ways to require faculty use of ADA Statement on syllabus. Reiterated need to include ADA Resources in Faculty Handbook, and brainstormed ways to educate faculty on ADA resources (FAME training module, ADA Statement for syllabi, etc). Jim volunteered to follow-up on goal 6 (Accessibility Guidelines on Space Reservation forms). Conclusions: Need to explore option of requiring ADA Statement on course syllabi with appropriate governance groups. Action items: Chris will contact SEA & UFS presidents for more information. Person responsible: Chris Deadline: Next meeting Respectfully submitted, Chris Raber, Chair UWC-ADA Compliance Committee Minutes Time: 11:00 AM Agenda topics Review of Minutes Chris Discussion: Members reviewed prior to meeting. Conclusions: Minutes accepted. Action items: Person responsible: Deadline: Update: Guidelines for Accessibility for Events Discussion: Feedback from last meeting indicated the committee would like to proceed with recommending the Guidelines for accessibility. Conclusions: Discussion with counsel is necessary to address responsibility and dissemination of the guidelines. Action items: Follow up with counsel and address process issues. Person responsible: committee Deadline: next meeting Review of FAME website: Faculty Training Discussion: Chris and Elinda had a lengthy conference call with Margo Izzo, FAME Project Director, and explored the FAME (Faculty and Administrators Modules in Higher Education) website. FAME is an on-line professional development tool for use in higher education to address the needs of students with disabilities. They reported on this site and provided handouts with the link to site: (http://www.oln.org/ILT/ada/Fame/index.html) Dr. Izzo felt that the FAME website would provide the resources we were looking for, and is interested in hearing about how we implement the website at SSU. We discussed adding this link to the ADA Compliance Committee webpage and developing a session for the faculty orientation prior to fall semester 2007 to share this resource with faculty. Conclusions: FAME is an excellent resource for faculty education regarding ADA issues for students and the teaching-learning process. Action items: Add link to ADA webpage; work on presentation for faculty. Person responsible: Chris Deadline: May 2007 Clearinghouse Discussion: No items presented to today’s meeting. Conclusions: Continue to monitor issues/requests as reported to the committee. Action items: Person responsible: All Deadline: Ongoing Syllabi review: update on CPS Discussion: Chris summarized input on course syllabi for Winter quarter that was received from CPS chairs. No input was received from IET; Business: of 68 courses, 50 use recommended language, 6 use other language, and 12 used no language; Sports Management: 2 use recommended; 1 no statement; Athletic Training: of 12 courses, all used recommended language; Health Sciences: PTA, OTA, MOT all courses use recommended statement on course syllabi, Dental Hygiene, Respiratory, and Medical Laboratory programs use the recommended statement in the program’s Student Handbook. Conclusions: Increase dissemination of the ADA Compliance Committee’s recommended ADA statement for course syllabi. Making the statement more widely accessible would promote this goal. Action items: Add the recommended ADA statement to ADA Compliance Committee’s webpage; Offer ADA Statement to Semester Conversion Committee’s “Question of the Week” Person responsible: Jim & Chris Deadline: June 2007 Documentation Policy Jim Discussion: We discussed further the need to identify resources to help with developing recommendations for a documentation policy and/or guidelines for the Office of Disability Services. Jim noted that the majority of students requesting accommodations at SSU have learning disabilities, and that he is gathering information about practices and policies from other universities. Conclusions: This is a major project that will require input from many areas. Jim will research what other higher education institutions are doing and report back to the committee. Action items: Create proposal concerning documentation of disabilities and recommendations about ways to ensure equitable methods gaining required documentation for students requesting academic accommodations. Person responsible: Jim & committee Deadline: ongoing Discussion Discussion: No additional items were presented for discussion. Next meeting TBA. Conclusions: Action items: Person responsible: Deadline: Respectfully submitted, Chris Raber, Chair UWC-ADA Compliance Committee Minutes
Agenda topics Review of last year’s goals and discussion of new
goals: Chris FAME Website Discussion: The FAME website link is now
available as a link under “ADA Resources” on the ADA Compliance webpages
on SSU site. We discussed options for increasing awareness and use of
this resource with faculty. Denise suggested meeting with USA governance
committee to discuss the resource with department secretaries and
request their assistance in communicating with faculty about the FAME
website as well as reminders to use the ADA Statement approved by the
ADA Compliance Committee on their course syllabi. Chris will discuss
possible dates for our members to talk at USA committee with Penny
Merritt, USA president. Jim also proposed adding the FAME website link
to the Academic Accommodations handout students provide to faculty after
meeting with him. We also discussed working with Teaching and Learning
Center, as well as possible Faculty Learning Communities, to further
share information about the FAME resource with faculty. It was suggested
that the FAME website be included in the Faculty Handbook. Clearinghouse Issues/Discussion
ADA Compliance Committee
Minutes Time: 11:00 AM Agenda topics Review of Minutes: Chris Discussion: Members reviewed prior to meeting. Conclusions: Minutes accepted. Action items: Person responsible: Deadline: Discussion: Guidelines for Accessibility for Events, Guest: Sandi Little Discussion: Jim circulated draft guidelines before the meeting for committee members’ review (attached). We reviewed the proposed suggestions with Sandi Little, who raised several issues for consideration, primarily around event sponsorship, and noted that there would need to be clarification of use of this language depending on whether or not the event was sponsored by SSU (internal sponsorship), as opposed to external sponsors. Examples of external sponsors include local community groups or individuals renting space(s) at SSU for their own events. Discussion focused on defining SSU’s responsibility for providing accommodations in the case of events with external sponsors. Sandi discussed the contract process for external sponsors, and Sandi stated that the contract was currently being reviewed by counsel. As a result of this discussion, we proposed adding the following language to the space reservation form and contract for EXTERNAL event sponsors: “Shawnee State University physical facilities are ADA compliant. Event sponsors are responsible for any other requested accommodations.” Sandi also indicated that the space reservation form itself was in the process of being revised and that the goal is for internal space reservations to be processed using Resource 25. We discussed using the proposed language in the on-line version, and Sandi stated she would look into how this could be accomplished with the new software. We discussed the committee’s recommendation that internal, SSU event planners have access to general guidelines proposed by Jim about possible accommodations. Conclusions: We agreed that further discussion with counsel is necessary to explore the issue of responsibility and the appropriate channels to disseminate the guidelines (ie, contracts, reservation forms, etc.) Action items: Follow up with counsel about language and clarify responsibility for accommodations based on event sponsorship. Continue to work with Sandi on process issues once responsibility issue is addressed. Person responsible: Chris, committee Deadline: next meeting Faculty Training: update Discussion: Elinda is working on setting up a conference call with OSU to explore options further. Chris distributed an e-mail link to committee members of an existing on-line course, which is more lengthy, and probably more appropriate as a resource for committee members. Need to get feedback from committee members on this website. The link is: http://www.adabasics.org/ Conclusions: Research is continuing; will need to determine plan by spring to set up for faculty training day before fall semester begins, August 27, 2007. Action items: complete conference call, evaluate website Person responsible: Chris & Elinda Deadline: May 2007 Clearinghouse: Financial Aid request for desk modifications; Name change for Office of Disability Services Discussion: Jamie Lantz, President of the Sociology Club, talked with the committee about the club’s idea to recommend changing the name of the Office of Disability Services to “Office of Academic Accomodation.” She stated that the club has been reviewing current trends in naming disability services at other campuses, and indicated that many are moving away from using “disability” in the title to reduce stigmatization and labeling. She reported anecdotally that several students with disabilities preferred the name change, and that they felt the name change would help with decreasing stigma. We discussed the idea, and there was general support for the concept among the members present. We discussed possible implications, including confusion about where to access services, if the proposed name change were to occur. Chris will follow-up with Barb Bradbury concerning request for assistance with modifying desk in financial aid for students using wheeled mobility. This modification will permit students using wheeled mobility better access to services in financial aid. Conclusions: The proposed name change is of interest to the committee, but we requested a formal, written proposal with rationale and implications from the student group. The ADA committee further suggested that the Sociology Club present their final proposal to the Vice President of Student Affairs. Prior to submitting to the VP, the ADA committee could review the club’s written proposal and discuss ways the ADA Compliance Committee may support the proposed name change. Action items: Review name change proposal when submitted by Sociology club, and determine supportive actions the committee could participate in once proposal is submitted. Person responsible: All Deadline: Ongoing Syllabi review: update on CAS Discussion: Jim reviewed a sample of CAS syllabi prior to today’s meeting, and found that approximately 1 in 5 (roughly 20%) were using the recommended ADA statement for course syllabi. He also presented a copy of language that was being used in one department template that included punitive and questionable language, as evaluated by the committee members present. Chris made a request to CPS chairs to review syllabi as well, and is beginning to get some feedback, primarily from Health Science programs at this point. One trend seen in Health Science syllabi is not using the statement in every course syllabi, but including it in the student handbook. Given the nature of cohort programs, this seems appropriate but may need to be evaluated since the syllabus the agreement for each course. Conclusions: Given upcoming semester conversion, we recommend increased dissemination of the ADA Compliance Committee’s recommended ADA statement for course syllabi. Making the statement more widely accessible would promote this goal. Action items: Add the recommended ADA statement to ADA Compliance Committee’s webpage and distribute with semester syllabi template, preferably on-line. Person responsible: Jim & Chris Deadline: June 2007 Documentation Policy Jim Discussion: Due to the extensive discussion regarding accessibility guidelines for events and proposed name change for Office of Disability services, we did not fully discuss this issue. However, we did discuss the need to create a proposal outlining the ideas we have been generating to partner with a community agency to provide testing for students, since access to, and cost of, external testing for documentation of a disability is a major concern for SSU’s student population. Conclusions: Develop proposal with recommendations to submit to the Provost, from the committee. Action items: Create proposal concerning documentation of disabilities and recommendations about ways to ensure equitable methods gaining required documentation for students requesting academic accommodations. Person responsible: Chris & committee Deadline: ongoing Discussion: No additional items were presented for discussion. Next meeting to be scheduled in early April. Conclusions: Action items: Person responsible: Deadline: Respectfully submitted, DRAFT Language for Space Reservation Form: Space Reservation Request should ask if special accommodations will be needed for any of the attendees. The Request form then ask for the nature of accommodation requested, if known. Any information, then, made available to the public concerning the meeting should include a statement such as “If you need an accommodation to fully participate in this event, please contact……” The Office of Disability Services would be happy to consult and locate appropriate services and accommodations. ADA Considerations for Space Reservation Requests LOCATION • Is there a barrier-free pathway to the meeting space? A barrier-free
pathway means that a person with a mobility impairment can make it from
the street into the meeting room without encountering stairs, any sudden
change in floor height over 1 inch, slippery or unstable ground, doorways
less than 32" wide, or any objects obstructing walkways. Any elevators in
this pathway should be large enough to comfortably fit a wheelchair. ADA Compliance Committee
Minutes Time: 11:00 AM Agenda topics Review of Minutes: Chris Discussion: Members reviewed prior to meeting. Conclusions: Minutes accepted. Action items: Person responsible: Deadline: Update: Web-based ADA training for employees Discussion: Jim will talk with Scott about his resources for faculty training. Elinda, Chris, and Beth are re-scheduling the conference call with OSU to discuss their resources for faculty training. Jim asked that we discuss with OSU how they handle issues with temporary inaccessibility of buildings (ie, elevators not working). Conclusions: Continue to research resources and work with TLC to determine best resources for faculty and employee ADA training. Action items: Complete research on available programs Person responsible: Chris, Elinda, Beth, Jim Deadline: next meeting Update: Guidelines for Accessibility for Events Discussion: Jim has obtained some resources and is working on draft. We reviewed Space reservation form, which currently has no information about ADA for event planners. We reiterated our desire to have event planners include information in all promotion/communications about procedure to request accommodations for any event. In light of Resource 25 and one-point scheduling that is coming, we plan to invite Sandi Little to our next meeting to discuss our guideline recommendations. Conclusions: Committee will review draft prior to next meeting and present to Sandi. Action items: Jim will send members draft for e-mail review and discussion before next meeting. Person responsible: Jim & committee Deadline: Feb. 19, 2007 Update: Promoting ADA committee Discussion: Chris shared copies of brochure and change in information for next reprint. Committee members agreed with removing names of all members and changing to ADA Compliance Committee (global address book). Any other suggested changes should be submitted to Chris by next meeting. Chris shared that interview with herself and Dr. Rudmann about the ADA survey was recently completed by Office of Communications. Denise explained the collaboration with MOT students and clerical staff for ergonomics and prevention of repetitive strain injuries in the workplace. Conclusions: Communications about the committee and its role are ongoing. Action items: Continue with promotion of committee and its resources. Person responsible: All Deadline: Ongoing Syllabi review: schedule work meeting Discussion: Chris checked with Dean’s secretaries and found out that only the College of Arts and Sciences maintains course syllabi in the Dean’s office; College of Professional Studies has department chairs maintain course syllabi. Jim volunteered to review syllabi in CAS prior to next meeting, and Chris will make a request to CPS chairs to review syllabi as well. Chris and Jim will bring this information to the next meeting to begin to analyze patterns of use of the recommended ADA Statement for syllabi. Members discussed how this data can be incorporated into ADA faculty training, particularly for adjuncts. We also discussed importance of reviewing again next year with semester conversion. Conclusions: Committee will review available data at next meeting. Action items: Review CAS syllabi on file, review CPS syllabi content provided by department chairs. Person responsible: Jim & Chris Deadline: Feb. 20, 2007 Documentation Policy: Jim Discussion: Jim presented the history of this request, indicating a situation that occurred in the fall with a student who requested services from his office late in the quarter, and issues that arose around documentation. Jim shared that most larger institutions do not accept high school IEP’s (Individualized Education Plans) as supporting documentation to identify disability for a student requesting academic accommodations. He shared a “request for services” form from Wright State University as a resource for the committee to consider as we work on recommendations for documentation requirements. We discussed advantages and disadvantages of using IEP’s. Gay Lynn offered that a recent IEP’s (ie, within last 5 years) could be acceptable documentation. Jim reported that 43% of SSU students requesting academic accommodations have learning disabilities, and that IEP has been accepted as supporting documentation. The committee brainstormed resources for students to access psychological testing, which is the standard documentation at many other institutions. Elinda suggested idea of partnering with local agencies or hospitals to help provide the testing, and securing grant funding was also proposed. Conclusions: Continue to explore issues and develop recommendations that can be put into place by semester conversion. Action items: Continue to develop recommendations on
documentation of disabilities. Deadline: ongoing Clearinghouse & Discussion Discussion: The main item discussed was issue of procedures to facilitate communication in the event of non-emergency evacuation needs. This came up as a student with a mobility impairment was stranded on second floor of Massie when the elevator was out of service. We discussed how the situation has been dealt with historically, which is around individual staff and buildings addressing the needs. The situation highlighted the need for a standard policy that provides guidance and standards for ensuring that the needs of individuals with mobility impairments are met in such circumstances. We added that is another example of awareness issues for faculty training as well, as they may not connect an elevator outage with a student’s absence from class. Conclusions: The committee will continue to explore this issue and make recommendations to increase awareness of ways to handle these types of situations. Action items: Person responsible: Deadline: Respectfully submitted,
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