AccessComputing

Administrators at Purdue University look for ways to raise awareness of web accessibility issues and to educate employees on how to create websites that are accessible to individuals with a broad range of disabilities. They have focused efforts through a campus-wide Web Accessibility Committee (WAC). WAC members represent both academic and administrative units across campus. Most are web developers and all are strong supporters of accessible web design. WAC members have:

DO-IT Scholars is a college preparation program for teens with disabilities. Originally funded by the National Science Foundation in 1992, DO-IT Scholars was institutionalized with Washington state funds in 1998. The program also receives funds from Microsoft and Boeing.

The United States Department of Labor includes the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), which was created in 2001 as a sub-cabinet policy agency.

The University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA) invited a group of thirty high school seniors with disabilities, along with their teachers and parents, to a transition event. The UAA Transition to Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) event exposes students, teachers, and parents to STEM programs on campus and facilitates the transition from high school to college.

Mary Driscoll teaches in the special education and learning assistance program (LAP) at Evergreen Elementary School in Spokane, WA. Following a presentation on assistive technology by DO-IT staff, Ms. Driscoll applied for and received an AccessSTEM minigrant to purchase technology for her school.

All students, including those with disabilities, should be expected to comply with established campus behavioral standards. Consider discussing the problem with the student in private and informing them of behavioral expectations in the classroom.

Contact the campus student services unit that handles behavioral issues and/or the disability services coordinator for guidance.

The United States Department of Veterans Affairs has established more than 300 community-based Vet Centers in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Vet Centers provide readjustment counseling and outreach services to veterans who have served in any combat zone.

In conjunction with the University of Minnesota, Duluth (UMD) orientation program for incoming freshman, Career Services and Disability Services (DS&R) and Resources staff, with funding support from AccessComputing, held an additional orientation program for incoming freshman with disabilities on August 31st and September 1st, 2006.

Students with mental health issues benefit from traditional job supports such as career assessments, job search training, and work-based learning opportunities. As referenced in the National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability's workforce guide, youth with mental health needs may also benefit from employment programs that offer

California State University has set up faculty learning communities to help their faculty implement universal design principles in their classes, labs, and lectures. The learning communities at Sonoma State University are organized by Ensuring Access Through Collaboration and Technology (EnAct), a project funded by the U.S. Department of Education.