DO-IT Admin Team Promotes Accessible Student Services

The DO-IT Admin team met for its third collaborative meeting February 16-18, in downtown Seattle. Most DO-IT Admin team members are disability support staff. Representing 23 states, they work together to make postsecondary student services, from libraries to admissions and registration offices, more fully accessible to students with disabilities. The DO-IT Admin project, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, serves to implement a comprehensive professional development program for postsecondary faculty, student services staff, and administrators.

Throughout the 3-day meeting, team members shared their expertise and worked on professional development materials including presentations for student service staff, a video on universal design of instruction, the Student Services Conference Room at www.washington.edu/doit/distance-learning-course-serving-students-disabilities, and publications (check out the Equal Access series at www.washington.edu/doit/brief-category/academics).

In addition to a yearly meeting in Seattle, team members stay in touch via email and bimonthly teleconferences. They also train staff and disseminate information in their regions. To date, DO-IT Admin team members have given over 125 professional development presentations, reaching over 3,500 postsecondary staff, administrators, and faculty members. Their efforts are making campuses nationwide more accessible.