The Office of Disability Services (ODS) is a crucial part of the success of any student with

a disability on a higher education campus. These offices provide direct support to students with

disabilities and provide academic accommodations to help the student succeed. A disability

services office should be a stigma-free environment and encourage students to seek out

services (Lightner et al, 2012). An ODS can be many things such as an alternate testing location

and a counseling center for students with disabilities. As the ODS offers such a diverse array of

services some institutions of higher education offer different services than others. This lack of

standardization isn't necessarily bad per se, as institutions can coordinate and learn from each

other to improve.

The Office of Disability Services is the center of knowledge and resources for students

with disabilities on a higher education campus. While campuses vary in services offered the

mission usually remains the same or similar for most offices. Having a space on a campus that

offers these services isn't always known to students though (Lightner et al, 2012). This is why

many schools have webpages set up for students and parents to access services and policies.

These webpages allow for incoming and current students with disabilities to view what

accommodations are available for their specific disability such as extended testing time for

learning disabilities and wheelchair accessible buildings on campus. By providing opportunities

for students to learn about the ODS through the office’s website students with disabilities can

become more comfortable with the campus. Students with learning disabilities are especially in

need of an increased comfort level as they can be stigmatized due to their different learning

styles (Lightner et al, 2012). Students must self-advocate for themselves to be able to receive

the services offered by the office (Gil, 2007). Self-advocacy for students with learning disabilities
is especially relevant as they may not identify as having a disability when entering the higher

education system and may not seek out academic accommodations. (Lightner et al, 2012).

Three ODSs will be used as examples of providing services and critiqued two public universities,

The University of Minnesota and Ohio State University, and one private university my alma

mater, Syracuse University.

The University of Minnesota has an ODS known as the Disability Resource Center or

DRC. The mission of the office is “advancing access for everyone” specifically using the word

advancing as it implies forward motion (University of Minnesota, 2020). This portrays

accessibility as something that represents progress. The issue with portraying progress though

is that it can ignore the history of the disability rights movement and that there is still work to

be done as despite the progress made since the Americans with Disabilities Amendments Act of

2008 students with disabilities are still underrepresented in higher education campuses

(Madaus, 2011). As the University of Minnesota is a public university it receives government

funding and thus receives funding under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

(ADA) (Job Accommodation Network, n.d.). Due to receiving government funding, I feel that the

University of Minnesota is forced to portray students with disabilities positively due to the

pressure of state funding. Overall, the University of Minnesota attempts to be “hip” and “cool”

with its portrayal of disability using items such as videos of a deaf rapper who signs and seated

yoga for people with mobility disabilities (University of Minnesota, 2020). The University of

Minnesota’s website does not mention learning disabilities directly but does mention testing

accommodations that could be applied to students with learning disabilities such as extended

test-taking time.
 The Disability Resource Center at the University of Minnesota is more deeply integrated

with the campus community than most other ODS on other higher education campuses. This is

due to the office offering services to more than just students but faculty and staff as well. The

office offers drop-in hours for a student to address urgent concerns regarding accommodations

or stigma (University of Minnesota, 2020). For faculty and staff with disabilities, there is a sub-

office of the DRC known as "UReturn" which specializes in the workplace versus academic

accommodations. Both segments of the office require documentation and maintain

confidentiality with said documentation to provide the proper services. The office appears to be

very accessible to students and employees of the university due to offering the previously

mentioned drop-in hours. A critique of the website of the University of Minnesota's DRC

regarding accessibility is that the address of the office is not on the main page of the site. This

lack of focus on directions is worrisome especially for students with learning disabilities that

affect reading.

The policy that stands out the most among other offices of disability services is the

services offered to employees and faculty as well as students indicating a commitment to

disability services on a campus-wide level. This is largely unique as most offices of disability

services serve only students. This can greatly reduce the stigma of having a disability on a

higher education campus. This aspect still might not help students with learning disabilities as

they may feel that they are “stupid” (Lightner, 2012) or have some sense of imposter

syndrome. Overall, I feel that the Disability Resource Center at the University of Minnesota has

almost won the battle against stigma. According to the DRC’s website, testing time

accommodations are the most common accommodation that is offered for students by the
office (University of Minnesota, 2020). This is great for students with learning disabilities as by

stating that the accommodation is common stigma can be greatly reduced and more students

are likely to pursue accommodations. Since the University of Minnesota’s DRC also offers

service to staff and faculty, my impression of the office is positive due to the uniqueness of the

“UReturn” program as a way of offering services and reducing stigma at the same time.

The second higher education institution’s Office of Disability Services being looked at is

The Ohio State University. Known as Student Life Disability Services (SLDS) the office’s

philosophy is "creating an accessible educational experience for students with disabilities"

(Ohio State University, 2020). While this seems like a typical philosophy for an ODS, Ohio State

is unique as according to their website 1 in 5 undergraduate students on their campus have a

disability (Ohio State, 2020). The "About Us" page for the office has a (captioned) video at the

top of the page that encourages all students with disabilities to apply for accommodations. The

video specifically mentions learning disabilities as a category. A key point in the video is that it

displays students with disabilities as what they are, students. It indicates that even if you have a

disability you are still held to the same standard socially and academically as non-disabled

students. It seems that Ohio State views disability as a socially constructed phenomenon and

aspect of identity (Strauss and Sales, 2010). This approach portrays students with disabilities

(especially neurodiverse students) positively most likely due to how common they are on the

campus.

The SLDS appears to be very accessible to students with call-in hours being offered on

weekdays. Ohio State faculty can also consult with SLDS to be able to provide better

accommodations for students through direct consultation services offered through the office.
(Ohio State, 2020). This direct consultation stands out as a key feature of the office due to the

high population of students with disabilities on the campus. A suggestion for improvement

would be to create a committee of faculty to advise the office on the current needs of students.

This could be combined with faculty learning about academic coaching (Mitchell and Gansemer-

Topf, 2016) to better help students with disabilities succeed due to their being a sizeable

population on the campus. The ability for students to contact the office easily by phone rather

than needing to make an appointment in-person is also very useful as some students with

disabilities may not feel confident or comfortable going into the physical location. The Ohio

State Universities Office of Disability Services is in a unique situation due to it having a higher

population of students with disabilities than many other higher education institutions.

Compared to the University of Minnesota's DRC the SLDS seems much more student-focused.

While my overall impression of the office is positive, I feel there is room for more faculty and

staff engagement. The DRC at the University of Minnesota offers services to faculty and staff

and I feel that this could benefit an institution as large as Ohio State. By offering services to

more campus populations the SLDS could be a greater force at preventing stigma on the Ohio

State campus.

The last higher education campus Office of Disability Services being looked at is my alma

mater, Syracuse University, known as the Center for Disability Resources (CDR). The philosophy

of the office is to embrace diversity and disability as an aspect of diversity. Syracuse's CDR

portrays students with a disability as a diverse group with diverse talents which can be

amplified due to disability. A critique I have of this view is that it can be view as ableist because

it views disability as "special." This can go against the social justice perspective (Loewen and
Pollard, 2010). By viewing disability as a difference rather than seeing it as part of humanity,

problems can be created with stigma and bias. Bias can go both ways against and for students

with disabilities. This is despite the office showcasing students with disabilities as good self-

advocates. The website for the CDR makes very little reference to specific disabilities but rather

views disability as a category of identity. Identity is important for a student with disabilities to

seek accommodations as identifying as having a disability can motivate a student to pursue

getting help if they are struggling academically or socially.

Compared to the previous two offices, the CDR seems less connected to campus. This

may be due to the University being private rather than public indicating that students may be

less likely to disclose disability due to the university having a smaller population of students

with disabilities. The office is easy for faculty and students to reach due to convenient

placement on campus. Located in the same complex as the School of Education makes the

office fairly easy to find. A unique feature of the Office that may be due to the University being

privately funded is the use of a pre-semester orientation for freshman students with disabilities

called "Access 'Cuse” (Syracuse, University, 2020). Access ‘Cuse can help notify students of the

existence of the office before they even start classes. This is a great way to get the word out for

students who need accommodations to seek them. Access ‘Cuse particularly stands out

because of the stigma and bias experienced by students with disabilities on higher education

campuses. By signaling that they are a population stigma and bias can be reduced. Overall my

view of the CDR is mixed. This is due to how it views disability as an enhancement. While this

isn’t necessarily a bad thing it can be interpreted as ableist rhetoric. I due view Access ‘Cuse

though as being a step in the right direction for the university.

 I have learned from researching these offices that ODSs vary drastically in terms of how

they are run and what their purpose is. While they all provide accommodations for students it is

a matter of how and who they provide accommodations for. I expected to learn that most

colleges have similar numbers of students with disabilities but the private versus public schism

is apparent. This has created a philosophy for me that private university offices can be

improved such as Syracuse Universities CDR by following the models used by public universities.

I still feel that higher education institutions should rely on the social model of disability to

enhance their campuses accessibility and I feel that offices of disability services should be at the

center of this.

References

Gil, L. A. (2007). Bridging the Transition Gap From High School to College Preparing Students
With Disabilities for a Successful Postsecondary Experience. Teaching Exceptional
Children, 40(2), 12-15

Job Accommodation Network. (n.d.). The Americans with Disabilities Act: A Brief Overview.
Retrieved October 07, 2020, from https://askjan.org/articles/The-Americans-with-
Disabilities-Act-A-Brief-Overview.cfm

Lightner, K. L., Kipps-Vaughan, D., Schulte, T., & Trice, A. D. (2012). Reasons university students
with learning disabilities wait to seek disability services.  Journal of Postsecondary
Education and Disability, 25(2), 145-159.

Loewen, G., Pollard, W. (2010). The social justice perspective. Journal of Postsecondary

Education and Disability, 23(1), 5-18.

Madaus, J. W. (2011). The history of disability services in higher education. New Directions for
Higher Education, 2011(154), 5-15.

Mitchell, J. J., & Gansemer-Topf, A. M. (2016). Academic coaching and self-regulation:

Promoting the success of students with disabilities. Journal of Postsecondary Education
and Disability, 29(3), 249-249.
Ohio State University. (2020). Disability Services. Retrieved October 09, 2020, from
https://slds.osu.edu/

Strauss, A. L., & Sales, A. (2010). Bridging the gap between disability studies and disability
services in higher education: A model center on disability. Journal of Postsecondary
Education and Disability, 23(1), 79-84.

Syracuse University. (2020). The Center for Disability Resources. Retrieved October 10, 2020,
from https://disabilityresources.syr.edu/

University of Minnesota. (2020). Disability Resource Center. Retrieved October 08, 2020, from
https://disability.umn.edu/