1. Program Mission/Purpose
1. Program Mission/Purpose:
All students who qualify as having a disabling condition under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, The Washington State Core Services Bill or the Americans with Disabilities Act, may request accommodation or assistance from the Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) program. The Purpose of the SSD program is to maintain compliance with state and federal regulations as well college policy number 5114.
It is the mission of the SSD program to insure that these mandates are followed and that all students have access to educational programs, campus services, and activities. SSD program staff are committed to providing students with exceptional individualized service. This commitment to student service and satisfaction is demonstrated by service standards which include; attending to students promptly and courteously, maintaining strict confidentiality, making sure that students are referred to appropriate resources as necessary and treating students with dignity, respect and kindness at all times.
Expected outcomes of the SSD Program
¨ Maintain full compliance with state and federal disability laws.
¨ Participate in the recruitment of a diverse student population.
¨ Increase student retention, progression and success.
¨ Increase campus awareness of disability issues and compliance responsibilities.
¨ Provide ongoing training opportunities for faculty and staff.
Expected outcomes accomplished through
¨ Enhancing educational opportunities for students with disabling conditions.
¨ Identifying and removing barriers that limit full participation in the educational process and campus activities.
¨ Maintaining regular direct contact with students receiving services.
¨ Serving the entire campus population including faculty, staff and administration in an educational capacity through individual consultation, small group presentations and informational workshops.
¨ Encouraging partnerships with the greater Puget Sound community to insure smooth transition for disabled students coming from high schools or community organizations.
¨ Increasing the availability of services to students in evening, week-end, and non-traditional class settings.
Strategic Plan
The SSD program is committed to supporting the college’s efforts to implement the Strategic Plan as outlined in the 2001 Annual Report. Especially focusing our efforts on the eight strategic directions identified in 1998.
¨ Striving for Excellence
¨ Teaching, Learning and Academic Excellence
¨ Diversity and Multiculturalism
¨ Learning and Work Environment
¨ Partnerships
¨ Technology
¨ Promotion
¨ Nontraditional Funding
The SSD Program actively supports the college’s institutional assessment and communication efforts and has integrated the Strategic Directions in developing program offerings. Examples of this effort are listed below.
Strategic Plan / Examples of SSD ServicesDirection Number One
Striving for ExcellenceVigorously pursue campus wide activities to secure Shorelines re-accreditation in 2002 by conducting a comprehensive institutional self study of all college programs, based on the accreditation standards of the Commission of Colleges of the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges.
(Direction number one cont.) / Evaluate annually the effectiveness and flexibility of procedures for requesting and receiving services.
Redesign those procedures as necessary to increase efficiency and ease of use for students.
Participate in college governance committees; ADA and other AD Hoc committees to participate in decisions affecting the college community.
Participate in the campus beautification project.
Developed and implemented new customer service standards, program values statement and goals for service improvement.
Implemented formal staff meeting and improved communication system for hourly and work study staff.
Developed a survey to measure student satisfaction with the SSD program.
Held regular meetings of the SSD Advisory Committee.
Received CIS training and developed Data Express reports to increase information on the demographic of students served by the SSD program.
Direction Number Two
Teaching, Learning and Academic Excellence
Shoreline community college will be known for the quality of its faculty and its commitment to rigorous academic standards. / Present workshops for faculty and staff on dealing with difficult students and stress management.
SSD and CIP program collaborate to offer a quarterly Adaptive Technology Open House for multi-cultural courses and for multi-cultural awareness week.
Meet with individual faculty to provide support for maintaining classroom integrity during the provision of reasonable accommodation.
Provide training workshops for faculty and staff on a variety of topics relating to education and disability.
Direction Number Three
Diversity and Multicultural
Shoreline Community College will continue to advocate awareness of, knowledge of, and appreciation for diversity. / Serve as a resource to multi-cultural instructors regarding disability and diversity.
SSD and CIP program collaborate to offer a quarterly Adaptive Technology Open House for multi-cultural courses.
SSD hosts campus tours for perspective students with disabilities from area high schools.
Program staff participate in the inclusion of the topic of disability during multi-cultural week.
Direction Number Four
Learning and Work Environment
Shoreline Community College will foster and promote a positive, safe and supportive learning and work environment / Led workshop on working with students with disabilities for opening weeks
Led workshop on Improving Customer Service for opening week 2001.
Is available to faculty and staff for professional development workshops and presentations on a variety of topics.
Direction Number Five
Partnerships
Shoreline Community College will develop closer ties with its diverse community and foster stronger partnerships with business, education, government, industry and labor. / Served as an internship site for students in the WWU human services program.
Work with area high schools to facilitate successful transition of students to SCC.
Work with community organizations to assist client entrance into the post-secondary system.
Member of the Washington Association of Educators and Disability (WAPED).
Member of Association of Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD).
Worked with ADA committee to partner with students to provide an elevator in the 5000 building for students.
Work in partnership; with other state and local agencies including DVR, DSHS, CSB, DOE, OSPI and other assorted acronyms.
Work with King County to provide the Community Integration program for students with Cerebral Palsy.
Make a quarterly evening presentations to prospective high school students and parents on the differences in disability accommodations between high school and college; In partnership with Lake Washington Professional Technical College.
Direction Number Six
Technology
Shoreline Community College will challenge students, faculty and staff to evaluate and adopt appropriate technologies for learning and supporting college cooperation. / Added a station for scanning books onto disk/alternative text.
Upgraded computers to allow staff to utilize Student Development Center scheduling system.
Upgraded PC in testing room to allow SSD students to access college network system for
accommodated tests in technology courses.
Trained staff to use and train students on voice recognition technology.
Examine industry trends in educational and adaptive technology.
Evaluate disabled student technology
needs on campus each year.
Provide adaptive technology as needed.
Work with VP of Technology to insure access for all students.
Direction Number Seven
PromotionShoreline Community College will increase community awareness of and participation in its educational offerings, services and programs. / Participate in area education fairs and informational forums.
Recruit students with disabilities at Puget Sound area high schools.
Present information regarding the SSD program at regular parent information workshops sponsored by area high schools.
Collaborate with Private Industry Counsel at regional meetings.
Participate in informational workshops with DVR, DSHS, Puget Sound ESD and other community organizations as requested.
Participate in City of Shoreline Parade.
Direction Number Eight
Nontraditional FundingShoreline Community College will expand non-traditional funding sources for its programs and offerings. / Review RFPs for opportunities to increase SSD services and funding.
Compete each year for the SBCTC grant for direct services to students with disabilities.
Apply for additional SBCTC grant money from the supplemental pool each quarter.
2. Students/Clients Served by Program:
During the 2000-2001 academic school year the SSD program served:
¨ Students in need of disability accommodation, advocacy, and referrals.
¨ Faculty, staff and administrators in need of consultation regarding issues related to disability accommodation, requirements under the ADA/Section 504, or referral for learning disability assessment.
¨ High school counselors, transition coordinators and parents who are assisting students with disabilities transitioning from high school to college.
¨ Potential students, by individual appointment, through high school visits and by hosting group tours of the Shoreline campus.
¨ Community service providers, coordinators and case managers seeking appropriate placement for their clients, i.e. DVR, Social Security, DSHS, L&I.
¨ Prospective students with disabilities interested in attending Shoreline Community College and attempting to formulate educational plans.
Students served by SSD from 1997 to 2001 by disability category
The State Board of Community and Technical Colleges has standardized the categories of disability for reporting purposes. Codes for each student who identifies or requests services are now entered into the SMS system. This is a change from the prior reporting efforts. The eight categories are:
1. Deaf/Hard of Hearing
2. Mobility
3. Speech/language
4. Learning Disability
5. Blind/Visual
6. Chronic/Acute Health
7. Neuro/Nervous System
8. Psychological/Emotional
The percentage, by category, of students served by the SSD program for the 2000-2001 academic years is shown below.
The type and severity of disability has changed in some interesting and significant ways during the last two years.
Learning disability remains the most frequently identified disability among students requesting services. However that group and the group of students reporting chronic or acute health issues has decreased.
The number of students identifying as having a mobility impairment, visual, hearing or speech disability has remained very stable.
Students reporting emotional/mental illness or neurological disabilities continues to rise and is the second largest identified disability.
Additionally 38% of all the students requesting services qualified as having more than one disabling condition. This is an increase from the assessment done in 1998.
Category / 97-98 / 98-99 / 99-00 / 00-01Deaf/Hard Hearing
/ 4% / 2.5 % / 5% / 4%Mobility / 1.5% / 2 % / 1% / 1.5%
Speech/Language / 0.5% / 1 % / 0.5% / 0.5%
Learning Disability / 54% / 47 % / 41.5% / 41%
Blind/Visual / 3% / 2.5 % / 3% / 4%
Chronic/Acute Health / 18% / 13 % / 12% / 13%
Neuro/Nervous system / 4% / 5 % / 9% / 10%
Psychological/emotional / 15% / 27 % / 28% / 26%
3. Criteria and Methods for Measuring Program Effectiveness:
Unlike other college programs, SSD is responsible to state and federal regulations in addition to college policy. With that in mind, the following criteria must be considered in measuring program effectiveness.
Number of individuals served
Accommodations provided
Timeliness of service provision
Student progression
Student satisfaction with services
Faculty and staff satisfaction with SSD services and program
General campus feedback
Fiscal efficiency in meeting legal requirements
Since the inception of the formal program assessment process the SSD program has worked to quantify the number of students and kind of student seen, provide examples of accommodations and quantify the number of services provided. Quantification of these records, in part, serves to help measure the effectiveness of the program.
During this report period, one anecdotal indicator of effectiveness is the outcome of a complaint filed against the college and the SSD program by a student. When the Office of Civil Rights investigated this complaint they reviewed the policies and procedures of the SSD program and found SSD to be providing appropriate services and the college in compliance with state and federal regulations.
In 1999, the SSD program developed a measuring tool specifically for measuring student satisfaction. This tool was not used, however, because the logistics and ethics of asking students to fill out the survey while currently being served are being re-evaluated. This survey specifically addressed current student satisfaction. When the additional issues are resolved the data collected will be considered in assessing program effectiveness.
4. Enrollment/Staffing Trends:
Enrollment has slowed since 1995 though it continues to rise. The number of students served by the SSD program has increased from 192 during the 1995-96 academic year to 427 during the 1999-2000 academic year and 413 for 2000-2001.
Of those students served during the 99-2000 and the 2000-2001 school years the number of males decreased and the number of females increased.
The number of FTE’s generated by students in the SSD program has increased alone with the increase in enrollment. Average FTE’s for the two year period of this report rose slightly. SSD is still experiencing a percentage increase in head count that is greater than the percentage increase in FTEs, though this may not be different than what the general student population is experiencing.
Fall quarter generated the most FTE’s followed by Winter, and Spring with Summer quarter being the lightest quarter for both enrollment and FTE count. FTE count by quarter for the last four years is shown below.
Testing accommodation and note taking services are the most frequently requested accommodations. Requests for these services have continued to increase at a higher rate than enrollment.