Indicators of Institutional Change Positively Correlated With DO-IT Interventions

University of Washington (UW)

Data routinely collected at the UW that suggest impacts for DO-IT interventions to create a more welcoming and accessible environment for students with disabilities in general and specifically for the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Increased Degree Attainment of Students with Disabilities

It is impossible to determine the effect of DO-IT activities on the number of students with disabilities enrolled at the UW and their choice of majors. Specifically, there is no comparison group; UW data collected is only about a small subset of students with disabilities, namely those who request accommodations through Disability Resources for Students, which is estimated to be no more than 1/3 of the total number of students with disabilities at the UW; and a cause-effect relationship cannot be established simply from correlations.

Given these limitations, it is still of some interest to compare available data about degrees and majors of UW students with documented disabilities and students who have not disclosed disabilities. It is important to keep in mind that MOST interventions undertaken by DO-IT since 1992 do not focus on the UW; instead, they outreach to students and institutions state-wide, regionally, nationally, and internationally. Some interventions encourage the participation of students with disabilities in STEM degrees (e.g., those funded by the National Science Foundation such as AccessSTEM, but others are more generally focused on increasing the success of students with disabilities in college and careers; further, some STEM-related interventions reach out to students already interested in STEM fields, but most do not. It should also be noted that DO-IT interventions promote self-determination skills for students with disabilities and the application of universal design for instruction and student services; together, these efforts can lead to fewer students reporting disabilities to DRS, as students make use of technology (e.g., Braille translation and speech output systems for students who are blind) and other interventions to gain access to curriculum and as faculty and staff make their resources (e.g., websites) more accessible to students who have disabilities.

The table below should be interpreted with these significant limitations in mind. It reports degree and major information, comparing STEM with other fields, for UW students who disclose and for students who do not disclose disabilities.

UW Students:		With Disclosed Disabilities				Without Disclosed Disabilities
		Degrees		Majors		Degrees		Majors
Year	Field	Bachelors	Graduate	Undergrad	Graduate	Bachelors	Graduate	Undergrad	Graduate
1991	STEM	22	2	105	14	2,736	916	9,129	3,774
1991	non-STEM	20	7	256	38	2,790	1,666	19,411	5,104
2002	STEM	52	5	129	26	3,648	1,190	11,320	4,361
2002	non-STEM	56	19	235	67	4,132	2,324	22,153	6,957
2007	STEM	59	11	245	49	3,908	1,258	13,143	4,667
2007	non-STEM	71	31	395	122	4,691	2,763	21,539	7,907

1991 (Pre-DO-IT) to 2007, Degrees: There was a 210% (168% STEM) increase in undergraduate and 282% (45% STEM) increase in graduate degrees earned by students who reported disabilities (estimated to be 1/3 of actual number of students with disabilities); there was only a 56% (43% STEM) increase in undergraduate and 56% (37% STEM) increase in graduate degrees for others. Majors: STEM majors increased 133% for undergraduate and 250% for graduate students with disabilities, but only 44% and 24%, respectively, for others.

2002 (Pre-AccessSTEM) to 2007, Degrees: There was a 20% (14% STEM) increase in undergraduate and 75% (120% STEM) increase in graduate degrees for students with disabilities; there was only a 10% (7% STEM) increase in undergraduate and 14% (6% STEM) increase in graduate degrees for others. Majors: STEM majors increased 89% for undergraduate and 82% for graduate students with disabilities, but only 16% and 7%, respectively, for others.

Institutional Changes at the UW

Institutional Change: AccessSTEM and other DO-IT efforts have contributed to systematic changes at the UW: diversity issues are more broadly defined to include disability in the College of Engineering and the Office of Minority Affairs and Diversity (which instituted an Advisory Committee on Disability Issues); a user group and website were developed to guide UW webmasters on accessible web design; the Adaptive Technology Lab grew into the Access Technology Lab1 to increase consulting on accessible design; videos of campus leaders on the UW website include captions; technology units routinely develop web-based tools with accessibility features; sign language is accepted for language credit; a disability studies program was established; and the distance learning program adopted universal design policies. AccessSTEM also documented changes in STEM teaching practices of 33 precollege teachers to be more inclusive; institutionalization of AccessSTEM interventions by project collaborators; and success in getting the Northwest Engineering Talent Expansion Partnership (NW-ETEP) and other programs to recruit participants with disabilities and collect disability demographic data.

Institutional Changes at Other Institutions

Listed below are specific changes that are associated with interventions employed within specific DO-IT projects and programs.

Highline and Seattle School Districts and Spokane Community College institutionalized annual transition events.
Changes in teaching practices of 33 precollege teachers to be more inclusive of students with disabilities in STEM fields have been documented as part of AccessSTEM.
University of Wisconsin–Madison's Provost will be placing a statement addressing compliance with the campus policy on accessibility on all Technology Enhanced Licensing grants.
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is currently working on a new procurement policy that addresses accessibility.
At the University of Wisconsin–Madison an engineering graduate student is working on making all campus student websites accessible.
Grant certification and travel applications at the University of Wisconsin–Madison are now on-line.
All project managers for web-based applications at the University of Wisconsin–Madison are now required to assess accessibility early on in project design, including registrar applications that go out to all students.
The Campus Accessibility/Usability Committee was formed at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and was instrumental in the development and hiring of a new provost position for equity and diversity that now includes disability as part of diversity.
The new faculty orientation at the University of Wisconsin–Madison now includes information on the campus policy on web accessibility and information on Disabled Student Services and Do-It UW-Madison .
At Florida State University (FSU) the Director of Disability Services is now part of the regular teaching assistant trainings in four major university departments.
Every academic department at FSU uses the personalized DO-IT publication Working Together: Faculty and Students with Disabilities (for an example of the template for this brochure see http://www.washington.edu/doit/Brochures/Academics/teachers.html) to promote accessibility for students.
Southwestern Oregon Community College (SWOCC) re-designed their campus map to reflect all accessible routes and doors.
Southwestern Oregon Community College (SWOCC) is developing an accessible web portal for student, staff, and faculty access to all services on-line that is currently being BETA tested.
Johnson and Wales University - Rhode Island is in the process of making all texts on campus available through e-text. Many of their texts are available only through their campus and were written by their faculty so they have procured hardware and software to convert all texts to electronic format themselves.
All syllabi at Johnson and Wales University -Rhode Island are being mandated to use inclusive language and provide information about services for students with disabilities.
The Multi-cultural Center and Women's Center at Johnson and Wales University - Rhode Island now include disability in their diversity programming.
Accessible equipment has been purchased for computer labs at Johnson and Wales University-Rhode Island.
There has been an increase in accessible housing for students with disabilities at Johnson and Wales University - Rhode Island and campus signage is now universally designed.
Content on the university website at Johnson and Wales University - Rhode Island now includes inclusive people first language.
AccessCollege team member has been asked to chair of the President's Commission on Diversity at Green River Community College (GRCC).
At GRCC the campus maps are currently being redeveloped to show accessible routes and buildings.
The Capital Improvement Planning Team at Green River Community College now includes the Disabled Student Services Director and our AccessCollege team member (Dean of Student Services) and is incorporating universal design and accessibility into their short and long term planning.
AccessCollege team member at Green River Community College was appointed to the President's Executive Team and is bringing issues of universal design and accessibility to policy and practice discussions and development.
At Green River Community College Critical Incidents teams have been developed to address incidents of bias or harassment in the areas of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion and disability on campus.
At Green River Community College the Disabled Support Services office was awarded at $2,500 grant from the Vice President of Instruction to work with faculty to create alternative/universally designed teaching strategies.
At Green River Community College universal design processes have been implemented for all student service offices through intensive 3 stage staff workshops.
The University of Florida is implementing a technology fee of which part will be used to buy accessible computer software and hardware on campus.
University of Florida has begun to video caption all pre-recorded materials for classes and campus presentations.
Arizona State University has adopted the 11 Campus Accessibility Indicators developed by AccessCollege (for more information see http://www.washington.edu/doit/Brochures/Academics/access_college.html) on all four of their campuses.
Arizona State University is working to develop and implement a policy that mandates universally designed and captioned video/Web content on their campuses.
University of Minnesota-Duluth (UMD) is working to redesign structural barriers to make their campus more accessible.
University of Minnesota-Duluth adopted statement on their syllabi related to accommodations for students with disabilities.
University of Minnesota-Duluth is developing a campus policy and implementation plan on accessibility.
University of Minnesota-Duluth is developing a Faculty Mentorship Group to train faculty on universal design and accommodations and pair them with students with disabilities on campus and to educate faculty peers.
At Des Moines Area Community College all syllabi now contain an accommodation statement for students with disabilities.
Des Moines Area Community College has implemented a scheduled universal design and accommodations training for all faculty and adjunct faculty on their campus.

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