1. Crossing the Threshold:
How to Get Students in Your Office

2. About Me:
Disability Services Coordinator at the University of Houston-Clear Lake
With UHCL for a little over 3 years.
In Disability Services for a total of 6 years in various capacities.

3. Why This Topic? We have all encountered the “4th quarter student”.
Halfway through a degree plan (or further) and comes to register with Disability Services a week before finals!
Why does this happen?

4. What Does the Research say?
Lyman, Beecher, et. al, have discovered six major trends that might explain why students don’t use disability services.
Some causes are direct, some are more complex.

5. What Are the Barriers?
Lyman and Beecher’s 6 Reasons that Students Do Not Connect with Disability Services:
Desire for self-sufficiency
Desire to avoid negative social reactions
Insufficient knowledge of disability services

6. Lyman and Beecher’s 6 reasons, continued.
Quality and usefulness of DS accommodations
Negative experiences with professors
Fear of future ramifications

7. Desire for Self Sufficiency
“I can do it on my own” or “I wanted to see if I could try on my own”.
Related to how broader culture views disability as a disadvantage or a weakness; students do not want to be seen as weak or undeserving.

8. Desire to Avoid Negative Social Reactions
Students say they don’t want anyone to think anything is “wrong” with them, or that they are receiving special advantages.
This stems from:
How we view disability in the larger culture.
How students view disability in relation to themselves.
How students might misperceive or misunderstand the purpose of academic accommodations.

9. Insufficient Knowledge of Disability Services
“I didn’t know you guys existed”!
Very common. Students come into the office to ask about services because the heard about DS through a syllabus statement, or from another student.
Disability Services is reactive by nature so students don’t come forward unless/until our services are needed.

10. Negative Experiences with Professors
Some students fear that professors will react negatively or judge them based on the use of accommodations.
Some instructors might feel “put upon” to provide accommodations.
Educating them and the student on the role of DS is key.

11. Quality and Usefulness of DS Accommodations
Some student perceptions about accommodations might be off the mark.
Sometimes students believe that accommodations should “continue” from h.s.
Previous negative experiences with accommodations.
Some students wait to register because of negative interactions with other disability services offices.

12. Fear of Future Ramifications
“Will this be on my (or my child’s) transcript?
Students worry about how getting accommodations will affect career status.
Commonly heard from traditional students who are coming straight out of high school, where some diplomas may indicate special education status.
Probably the simplest of the 6 to solve, with a firm ‘no’!

13. Military Veterans Veterans do not like asking for help.
Possibly because of VA experiences
Perceived (or actual) campus politics
Make connections with VSO
Sometimes you have to meet the students where they are.

14. What can we do with this information?
Realize that some of these issues are out of our control.
Not every student will register with your office.
We cannot change everybody’s perception of disability and disability services.
But we can educate people about what we do!
Listen to what students are saying.
You can’t do anything if you don’t know anything.
Are there trends in what students are saying?

15. Strategies for Connecting with Students
Identify other departments or offices with which to collaborate.
Support programs, such as tutoring offices, can be great allies.
Multicultural/diversity offices are great allies!
Keep an open mind! You don’t know where collaboration could lead.
Example: 1-day Disability Awareness speaker event becomes Breaking Bad Week?

16. Strategies, continued. Work to normalize disability.
Putting your name into the campus consciousness helps to normalize disability as just another part of campus life and life in general.
DS offices are reactive by nature, but doing some programming, whether alone or in collaboration with other offices, can put your office’s name into the campus consciousness.

17. Strategies to Help Students Register with Disability Services
Be present: let students know that your office exists by being at campus open house events, etc.
This also normalizes DS as part of campus culture.
Example: Set up an information table (with snacks!)
Remember: word of mouth works! If a student who visits your table/event does not have a disability, they might know someone who does.

18. Educate Campus Community
Find allies in academic departments.
Let them know you are an ally, not the accommodation police!
If you have a good working relationship with some professors, make sure they have accurate, first-hand knowledge of your office.
Speak with professors, departments, schools about what your office does.
The best way to reduce the number of students who get inaccurate information about disability services is to speak to the people who see them most often.

19. Examine Your Practices and Processes
Is your online information up-to-date, concise, and clear?
Is your intake process burdensome?
Is it in line with AHEAD guidance?
Inaccurate information can be as bad as no information at all.

20. Educate Campus Community
Faculty Development Office:
If your campus has a faculty development center, be present at their events.
If you can’t be present, give them information about your office to disseminate.

21. Educate Campus Community, cont’d.
Identify sources of inaccurate information.
If you have students coming in with wildly inaccurate information, get to the source.
“I was told that you excuse absences” or “I came to get a disabled parking permit”.
Bad information could be old information that needs to be updated.

22. Strategies, continued. Be open to new ideas
We all have heavy work loads and wear multiple hats.
We can get chained to our desks and miss out on whatever else might be going on around us.

23. Or comments, or possible concerns? Let’s talk about it!
Questions?
Or comments, or possible concerns? Let’s talk about it!

24. Thank you!