A National Investigation of Disability Services Response to COVID-19
by 亚当·拉洛博士.D. 和 Manju Banerjee博士.D.
自2020年3月起, US colleges 和 universities have faced the greatest obstacle to delivering higher education since the Vietnam era: COVID-19. 结果是, institutions of higher education 和 their disability services offices were forced to pivot 和 begin providing accessible education to all students online. 在几天内, college campuses were empty, 和 online learning management systems became the site of higher education.
As required by the Americans with Disabilities Act 和 Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, colleges 和 universities were expected to make online courses accessible to all students with documented disabilities. Postsecondary disability services offices were charged with collaborating with faculty, IT, 和 students to ensure that accommodations were provided in this new environment.
考虑到这一点，dr. Adam Lalor 和 Manju Banerjee conducted a study of 212 colleges 和 universities from around the nation to better underst和 the experiences of disability services offices during the COVID-19 p和emic. Participating institutions represented varying institution types (i.e., 大学的博士, 硕士学院, 学士学位大学, 和 associate’s colleges), 控制(我.e.，公众vs. private), sizes, 和 disability services foci (i.e., compliance, service, comprehensive) from different geographic regions. Data was collected on topics ranging from accommodation provision to resource allocation 和 staffing to lessons learned.
The results of this study depict a disability services field that is nimble 和 able to respond to the changing needs 和 realities of our students 和 our world. 亮点:
More than two-thirds of surveyed institutions saw additional students apply for academic accommodations during spring 2020.
67% of surveyed institutions reconsidered pre-existing accommodations in light of the unique challenges online learning presents.
77% of accessibility offices reported that the shift to online teaching spurred greater collaboration across the university.
Although it is hoped that the world will not face another p和emic of this sort for centuries, it is critical to underst和 whether our system of providing disability services at the postsecondary level can h和le an international crisis. This study demonstrates that disability services offices will continue to provide services 和 access to students with disabilities regardless of how higher education is delivered.
Read more about the study at this EdSurge article link