Faculty Learning Community on Disability Issues FLCDI

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Faculty Learning Community on Disability Issues
(FLCDI)

• Phillip D. Rumrill
• Lynn C. Koch
• Clis Stauffer
• Kent State University

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Trends in Higher Education and Disability

• Enrollment rates tripled since 1978
• 7 of American student body have documented
  disability
• Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
• Title ll of the Americans with Disabilities Act
• Services and supports rapidly expanding
• Increased federal funding
• Increased number of employees with disabilities

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Postsecondary Students with Disabilities

• Have slightly lower academic performance than
  non-disabled students
• Have higher drop out rates
• Take longer to complete their degrees
• Report fewer friends on campus and less social
  capital
• Believe that faculty are accepting of their needs
  but lack specific knowledge of disability issues

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Concerns of Students with Disabilities

• Funding
• Independent living
• Social relationships
• Choosing a major
• Housing
• Transportation
• Access to technology
• Access to health care

• Asking for help
• Supports on campus
• Internship/Co-op
• Reactions of other students
• Reactions of instructors
• Physical accessibility
• Employment after graduation

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Employment and a College Education

• College graduates have 1,000,000 greater
  lifetime earning potential than those who never
  attended college
• College graduate with a disability is 4-6 times
  more likely to be employed than a person with a
  disability who never attended college
• College graduates with disabilities are 8 to 12
  times more likely to be unemployed than
  non-disabled college graduates

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Faculty Concerns

• Information regarding disabling conditions
• Disability etiquette
• Responsibility to provide accommodations
• Equity of accommodations
• Academic integrity/adherence to standards

• Students with psychiatric disabilities
• Academic freedom vs. civil rights
• Resources on and off campus
• Legal liability
• Technical assistance/use of technology

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Faculty Members Questions Regarding Students
with Disabilities

• Who are they and what are their needs?
• Technical assistance, services, and resources?
• Disability issues in a broader societal context?

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Why Establish a Faculty Learning Community on
Disability Issues?

• Create a vehicle to achieve awareness for faculty
• Enable faculty to establish initiatives, within
  their classrooms, to assist students with
  disabilities
• Enhance teaching and student learning
• Engage in a process of inquiry teaching
• Disseminate project findings through professional
  presentations and scholarly publications

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Purpose

• Promote full inclusion of students with
  disabilities in postsecondary education
• Improve faculty awareness of how to facilitate a
  positive transition to higher education for
  students with disabilities
• Increase faculty members self-efficacy in
  implementing classroom accommodations and using
  assistive technology
• Equip faculty members with a repertoire of
  Universal Design for Learning instructional
  techniques

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Selection Process for the FLCDI

• Members were selected from 80 participants who
  attended a week-long Institute on Disability
  Issues
• Ten faculty were chosen, and accepted the
  invitation to be a part of the FLCDI. Two
  additional faculty requested to join the FLCDI -
  n12.

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Other Participants

• Student Accessibility Office
• Student Ability Unlimited
• (student organization)
• Faculty Professional Development Center
• Provosts Office
• Center for Disability Studies

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Meetings

• Orientation/Luncheon
• Meetings held every two weeks
• Co-sponsor other events
• Small groups working on special projects on their
  own schedule

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FLCDI Communication

• List Serve
• BLOG
• Training from Ohio Learning Network
• Consultation from Faculty Professional
  Development Center

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Discussion Topics

• Transition and adjustment needs of college
  students with disabilities
• Career development issues facing postsecondary
  students with disabilities
• Legal issues in delivery of postsecondary
  education programs for students with disabilities
• The role and treatment of people with
  disabilities in modern society
• The inclusion and exclusion of people with
  disabilities in the American system of education
  and workforce development

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On-Going Activities

• Individual research and teaching plan
• Public deliberation on disability issues
• Distinguished lecture series on Universal Design
  for instruction
• Campus Climate Survey
• Research projects
• Minor/concentration in disability studies
• Conference presentations