Skip to Page Content

 
 

Faculty Assembly

         REPORT OF AD HOC DISABILITY COMMITTEE/FACULTY COUNCIL

                                                MAY 2004

 

GUIDING PRINCIPLES:

   Adopted by the Conference on Disability Issues in the Profession, Modern Language Association, March, 2004

  1. Acknowledge and seek to understand disability as a fundamental form of human diversity.
  2. Apply the principles of universal access to teaching and technology in all academic environments.
  3. Incorporate a Disability Studies (and Issues) perspective into courses across the curriculum.
  4. Recruit, Faculty, staff members and students with disabilities.
  5. Build Library collections, including non print sources, on Disability Studies.
  6. (Develop equity in the tenure and promotion processes for faculty and staff members with disabilities.)*** Ad Hoc Committee addition.

 

RECOMMENDED that this report be referred to and reviewed by the following committees during the 2004-2005 academic year with a response by March, 2005 to Faculty Council:

1.      Personnel Committee, Faculty Council

2.      President’s Diversity Advisory Committee (PDAC)

3.      Four Campus committee of Disability Service Directors

4.      Educational Policy and University Standards Committee, (EPUS), Faculty Council

 

 

We propose an integrated University of Colorado model that serves all campuses well with Recommendations in four areas:

I.                    ASSESSMENT OF CURRENT SITUATION

II.                 CLIMATE

III.               MANAGEMENT ISSUES

IV.              INSTRUCTIONAL CONCERNS

 

 

ASSESSMENT OF CURRENT SITUATION:

  1. Disability Services for Students appear to be functioning well. RECOMMENDATION: Disability Services offices and functions be expanded to include faculty and staff. Individual campuses may choose to join the currently established structure or establish separate offices.
  2. RECOMMENDATION. Individual campuses should maintain specific local campus committees that provide communication and interaction among ADA officers, Disability Services directors, Ombudspersons as well as representatives from student, staff and faculty assemblies.
  3. RECOMMENDATION.  A designated representative from the aforementioned committees should meet periodically with the Disability Services designated representative to the President’s Advisory Committee (PDAC).

 

 

CLIMATE

  1. RECOMMENDATION. The Regents of the University of Colorado should fully incorporate DISABILITY in all diversity statements and require that information on disability appear in all diversity planning, reporting and accountability measures.
  2. RECOMMENDATION. The University of Colorado climate on each campus should reflect an integrated triangular model consisting of: 1) the Americans for Disability {ADA} Act administrator; 2) the Disability Services Director {accommodations facilitator}; and the Ombudsperson {who should function confidentially in a consultative manner to resolve any conflict issues}.
  3. RECOMMENDATION.  Regular, scheduled training for faculty, staff and administrators on Disability Issues must be established. Department Chairs, Deans and Supervisors must be trained:
    1. Appropriate cultural competencies need to be fostered and nourished.
    2. TRAINING MANAGEMENT MODULES. Human resources Departments in collaboration with Disability services Directors should develop training modules/resources that function with both temporary and permanent, visible and nonvisible disabilities. (The Sexual harassment on line module could provide an excellent model.)

 

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

  1. RECOMMENDATION. The aforementioned representative campus committees should work with Facilities Management/Physical Plant directors on mobility issues, campus construction sites, etc.
    1. Individual campuses should have an accurate, current, on line map that indicates disability access, interrupted construction zones, restrooms, ramps, elevators, parking.
    2. DISABILITY DAYS. Ideally, campuses would regularly schedule days on which supervisors would roam campuses experiencing mobility and visually/auditorily challenged conditions firsthand.
  2. RECOMMENDATION. A system wide survey instrument should be developed which frames Disability Issues within a Diversity setting. Its needs assessment focus should include attitudinal data (climate) as well as contextualized needs (What do you need to function at your best?). Ideally this survey is an on line instrument.

 

MANAGEMENT ISSUES

  1. RECOMMENDATION. A central University of Colorado web site on Disability Issues should be developed as well as individual campus links.

 

           a. The web site should provide links to the above mentioned resources: ADA        officer/Disability Services Director/Ombudsperson as well as campus committee and PDAC membership.

    1. Key words for the search engine should include: accommodation, disability, handicapped, parking, Disability Studies.
    1.  The on campus and intracampus transportation needs of persons with temporary disabilities should be addressed and plans implemented to serve those needs.

 

  1. RECOMMENDATION. FACULTY HANDBOOK. The Educational Policy and University Standards Committee of the Faculty Council (EPUS) together with the Vice President for Academic Affairs Office should develop a policy statement on Disability to be published in the on line site of this document.

 

  1. RECOMMENDATION. PERSONNEL/EMPLOYMENT. Search pool diversity information should be expanded to advertise positions through diversity sites: www.deafdigest.org,  www.disabilityinfo.gov/emploment, www. uic.edu/org/sds/links (Society for Disability Studies).

 

  1. RECOMMENDATION   ACCOMODATION/MOBILITY.  Class schedules should be examined:
    1. The physically challenged often cannot cross campus with the current limited time between classes
    2. Faculty with disabilities should have priority access to classroom facilities which accommodate their needs.

 

 

COMMITTEE MEMBERS:

James Cohn, Disability Services, Boulder

Vicki Hilty, Director Personnel, Colorado Springs

Pam Laird, Chair, Personnel Committee, Faculty Council, Denver

Kathy Magilvy, Professor and Assistant Dean for Graduate Programs, UCHSC

John C. Miller, Chair, Ad Hoc Committee on Disability, Faculty Council, Colorado Springs

R L Widmann, Chair, Educational Policy and University Standards Committee, Faculty Council