Dominique Green

SPA 501
Prof. Becky Figura
9/26/18

Functional Area: CAS Standards Disability Services

When conducting research for my functional area, I first had to identify what does it

mean to have a disability on a college campus, the history of how disability services became

available, as well as what a college or university must do to provide adequate support for those

students with disabilities. A disability by definitions is as followed:

“A person with a disability is anyone who has a physical or mental impairment that substantially
limits one or more major life activities, has a record of such an impairment, or is regarded as
having such an impairment.” - Illinois Legal Aid Online

As indicated in research and the use of the CAS standards, there are 12 rules that a

college or university should obliged, in order to provide an inclusive and equitable educational

experience for all students. The guidelines for disability resources and services consist of 12

parts, such as: Mission, Program, Organization and Leadership, Human Resources, Ethics, Law,

policy, and Governance, Diversity, Equity, and Access, Internal and External Relation, Financial

Resources, Technology, Facilities and Equipment, and Assessment (CAS Standards, 2014).

Before the 1970’s, many children with disabilities in the United States did not receive

appropriate educational services. In the early stages in public education, educators were trying to

accommodate students in need of special assistance. They later discovered that their actions to

help were counterproductive. They exclude those students from general population by isolating

them in special classrooms rooms that failed to support their special learning needs (University

of Kansas, 2018). The first federal eligibility program that provided funding for special
education and related services was, Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; known as IDEA

(Martin E., Martin R., & Terman, 1996).

The purpose of this act was to guarantee educational opportunities for children with

disabilities in public elementary and secondary schools. Due to the benefits that IDEA provided,

research by the American Council on Education discovered that higher amounts of students with

disabilities were enrolling in four-year colleges and universities after high school (Martin E.,

Martin R., & Terman, 1996). That then lead to a noticeable problem with IDEA, as it only

accounted for student with disabilities from infancy to 21 years of age. The knowledge from the

research led to the creation of two federal civil rights laws, which specifically applies to colleges

and universities; the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

(ADA) (University of Kansa, 2018).

Before the end of the 1970’s there were only a few colleges and universities that provided

access for students with disabilities. Many of these institutions were segregated and due to the

Civil Rights Movement, there were direct influences for people with disabilities in minority

communities (Martin E., Martin R., & Terman, 1996). There was advocacy for their rights to

equality and societal opportunity. This included access to higher education and resources to

support the needs of all students. The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 applies to any entity that

chooses to accept federal financial assistance for any program of service, including higher

education institutions. Section 504. Subpart E- specifically applies to postsecondary education

settings (U.S. DOJ, 2009). Subpart E, required any public or private college or university that

accepted federal funds for any activity provide “program accessibility” to campus programs and

services (U.S.DOJ, 2009).

 Due to the establishment of these new laws, academic institutions had to make the

appropriate adjustments to legitimatize their merit on how they support students with disabilities.

Students can request academic adjustments at any time. Colleges and universities require

students who wish to receive academic adjustments follow reasonable procedures and polices

outlined by the university. Procedures vary from institution to institution, but they all must in

some form implement the CAS Standards and Guidelines.

One institution I looked into was Western Michigan Universities Disability Service for

Students. This institution stood out to me as it was referenced as one of the top institutions for

students with disabilities in the state by colleagues and students. The mission of the office is to

make education accessible.

“A student is a student, regardless of the issues, challenges or conditions faced. DSS

advocates for the student to be provided with the appropriate tools to allow that person the
opportunity to reach goals and potential. Those tools, academic accommodation or adjustment,
facilitate learning while maintaining the integrity of course content and outcomes.”
- Disability Services for Student, Mission

To ensure that DSS is upholding the values within their mission, the office follows

through with its vison for how their students educational experience should be organized. The

Disability Service for Students at Western Michigan University, wants to promote the services of

the office through participation in university showcases, outreach with area school districts and

disability awareness presentations across the campus community. Provide the necessary tools or

accommodations to students with disabilities so students have the opportunity to be productive in

their learning.

Participate on university committees to give voice to concerns of the students with

disabilities. Disseminate information addressing compliance with the disability laws and

discrimination. Remain current with universal design and best practices within the realm of
national standards of service providers (Disability Services for students, 2018). There are listed

resources for accommodations for students like, DSS-Accommodate, testing, textbooks,

university resources, workforce recruitment, and programs. Types of accommodations may

include but are not limited to: copy of lecture materials, permission to record lectures, test

accommodations, text material in alternate formats. The facilities available for students may have

adaptive compute labs, classroom furniture comfortable for students, provision for snow removal

for easier access, and referral for library research assistance (Disability Services for Students,

2018). The Disabilities Service for Students at Western Michigan University does a great job at

upholding the CAS standards overall. There are five guidelines I see that WMU are the most

efficient; Program, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, Internal and external relations, Technology,

and Facilities and Equipment.

Starting with accessibility through facilities and equipment, DSS has maintenance contact

information posted for students when they are faced with some non-working automatic doors. If

stranded in an elevator, students with disabilities can report it to Bronco Fix-It and public safety.

If students have a regular schedule for travel to classes and campus they can request to get the

snow removed for equitable access throughout campus. The programs they conduct within the

office related to their DSS/ASC (Autism Services Center) Mentor Program. The purpose of the

program is for students to be paired with a junior, senior, or graduate mentor who has disabilities

and has been academically successful. They conduct weekly one-on-one meetings with the ASC

coordinator or graduate assistants as well as peer advising to increase gradation and retention

rates (Disabilities Services for Students, 2018).

The Disability Services for Students offer volunteer opportunities to connect with their

internal relations to the general student population. Students organizations and some courses
require volunteer opportunities, and the DSS helps students obtain those hours while serving

fellow students. As stated before, DSS provides accommodating computer labs for students with

disabilities and are able to assistance them with the working of the technology to get their

assignments completed. At Western Michigan University, staff hold various position titles such

as; Director, Coordinator for Autism Services, Administrative Assistant, Office Associate, Book

and Test Coordinator, Faculty Fellow, and Accommodations Specialist. The Disabilities Services

for Students at Western Michigan University has some phenomenal resources for their students.

They follow the CAS Standards and Guidelines and are very successful in doing so.
 Reference

CAS Standards and Guidelines. (2014). Disability Resources and Services. https://www.cas.ed/

Illinois Legal Aid Online. (2018). Disabilities Recognized Under The ADA.

https://www.illinoislegalaid.org/legal-information/disabilities-recognized-under-ada

Martin, E., Martin, R., & Terman, D. (1996). The Legislative and Litigation History of Special

Education. (pp. 25-39). The Future of Children.

https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/16b1/c6fda4e8be11fa56b0bc77f70553ee2572bf.pdf

University of Kansas, School of Education. (2015). Timeline of the Individuals with Disabilities

Education Act (IDEA. https://educationonline.ku.edu/community/idea-timeline

United States Department of Justice. (2009). A Guide to Disability Rights Laws. Civil Rights

Division Disability Rights Section. https://www.ada.gov/cguide.htm

Western Michigan University. (2018). Disability Services for Students.

https://wmich.edu/disabilityservices