University of Colorado at Denver Left to right, Karen Rosenschein, Barry Ashworth, UCD student, and Katie Kohl, counselor UCD shares space with the Community College of Denver and the Metropolitan State College of Denver on a 127-acre urban campus. Like most campuses, it's an architectural hodgepodge, so the challenge has been to make the campus homogeneously accessible. Barry Ashworth, a Ph.D. candidate who has multiple sclerosis, says they've done a good job at it. "If you know how things work in one building," he says, "you can get around all the other buildings." UCD's Disabled Student Services, according to director Karen Rosenschein, isn't a one-stop-shop. "We want university departments to be responsible for their own accessibility," she says. The office does run a tutorial program, and works closely with faculty in an advisory capacity. It publishes twin Disability Resource Handbooks--one for students and another for staff--and the Disability Services Checklist, which assesses how well the entire system is doing on everything from snow removal to service dog relief areas to ADA grievance procedures. UCD earns high grades for coordinated inclusion. As a commuter campus, UCD has no residence halls. But this is Denver, remember, first-place winner of NM's December 1997 survey of disability-friendly cities, the home of ADAPT, Atlantis and creative advocacy. The city's buses are lift-equipped, and the paratransit service runs door-to-door every day. When on-campus construction is slated, the disability office notifies wheelchair-using students and helps them plan alternative routes. "It's an extremely proactive approach," says Ashworth. "They don't have to do that. They do it because they're a group of extremely caring people."

Florida State University, Tallahassee Greg Elden FSU, situated in the capital city of Tallahassee, gathers 16 colleges and schools on one sunny, 455-acre campus. Greg Elden, a C3-4 quad, was attracted by the university's strong business program, but praises its accessibility as well. "Automatic doors open most of the buildings," he says. "Everything is accessible, and if it isn't, they make it accessible." He credits the Student Disability Resource Center for that. "Everyone at SDRC goes the distance to help you. I've had good experiences with teachers here, too. When I took math and finance classes, we worked the problems out together." And instead of relying on volunteer classmates, SDRC pays notetakers to get the information in class. "That's really beneficial," says Elden, "because you get quality notes to study from." FSU is at the cutting edge of information-age education with the Johnson Adaptive Technology Lab and its pioneering partnership with Lexis-Nexis, which has resulted in Lexis-Nexis Universe. This research service puts more information at the fingertips of students than all the Internet Web sites combined, says Franklin Murphy, FSU's director of communications. Both FSU and the city of Tallahassee have made access a priority. Look for accessible exercise machines and aquatics programs, a 16-lane lift-equipped pool, wilderness adventure trips and a 73-acre lakefront recreational center with accessible overnight cabins. Elden says all city buses are accessible and the Dial-A-Ride vans are the best in the state. "They even have a cab company that's accessible," he adds.

University of California at Los Angeles Steven Ma Ten years ago, navigating UCLA on wheels was almost impossible. Today, only two structures out of hundreds remain inaccessible. Much of the positive change can be credited to the Office for Students with Disabilities, seen by some as a model program. OSD has collaborated with the Disabilities and Computing Program to teach new students how to make optimum use of the advanced technology available and to ensure that students with disabilities have equal access to all campus facilities. Accessible housing is now plentiful in UCLA residence halls--although there's still no school-sponsored PCA program--and off-campus in nearby university-owned apartments. UCLA houses the National Arts and Disability Center, a free resource for artists with disabilities and arts organizations. Olivia Raynor, the center's director, says its sizable database of artists and organizations is a powerful networking tool. "Artists tell me they want to know about their career path from a mainstream perspective," she says. "But they also want to know about it from an artist with a disability who's gone through the experience, so we put students in contact with others in their field." As a result of NADC's collaboration with OSD, it is now common to see respected performers with disabilities at the Armand Hammer Museum and major exhibitions of disability art on the walls of the Kerckhoff Art Gallery. Steven Ma, a quad with muscular dystrophy, offers a simple endorsement: "I'm amazed at how well the school accommodates wheelchair-users."

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Jenny Kettler UMTC, the largest of Minnesota's four campuses, is located in the heart of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The age of the campus makes parking and getting around a bit of a chore, but the breadth of the school's Disability Services just about evens things out. DS is a one-stop-shop for students with disabilities that goes far beyond the concept of mere "services." In addition to facilitating classroom and testing accommodations, converting materials to alternative formats, reviewing construction and renovation plans, and conducting physical access surveys, DS distributes quarterly newsletters, provides campus-wide training and consultation, and coordinates several federally funded grants targeted at increasing opportunities for students with disabilities. DS publishes the "Access For Students with Disabilities" guidebook--also available on the university's Web site--and a companion volume for faculty members. Other pluses are a Disability Leadership Training seminar, adaptive recreation programs and accessible exercise equipment. Currently, about 90 percent of UMTC's buildings are accessible, but not always through the front door. "Sometimes you have to go the long way around," says Jenny Kettler, a sophomore who uses crutches and a motorized scooter. "You have to be really creative. On the other hand, I've never had to make special arrangements for classroom accessibility. Everything seems to be set up. There are always tables for wheelchair-users in the big lecture halls." In Kettler's opinion, the main barrier to accessibility is snow. That's one problem DS may take longer to solve.

Wayne State University, Detroit Located in downtown Detroit, WSU is flat and easy to navigate, but its best resource may be Handicapper Educational Services. HES positions itself as an "advocating force for students with disabilities ... to improve ... participation in all university programs." But according to Sonya Brown, a C6 quad, HES helps in more personal ways. "They know my timing is off so they stay on top of things for me, like deadlines for financial aid and priority registration. They're a great group of people," she says. Brown lives off-campus and commutes via the city's Metrolift. Students who want to test the educational waters may find WSU's College of Lifelong Learning (CLL) a good alternative to on-campus study. That's where Brown started before applying to WSU. CLL has an open admissions policy and offers degree programs at off-campus locations. "Students can arrange independent study where they meet with the professor according to a schedule they work out together," says student adviser Frank Williams. Most off-campus classes are held at Oakland Center, a completely accessible building about 20 miles from WSU. Miriam Braunstein, a WSU journalism graduate who is now assistant editor of New Mobility, likes the can-do attitude at HES. "I couldn't have gotten through college without them," she says. "You say, 'This is my problem,' and they say, 'This is what has to get done.' They don't fall into the whole bureaucracy of filling out forms and waiting to see what happens. They fix the problem and you can go on."

Texas A&M University, College Station Sara Whitlock This enormous campus boasts state-of-the-art laboratories, research facilities and libraries, and a computing services center anchored by a Cray supercomputer and linked to terminals at all colleges and departments. Despite Texas A&M's impressive resources, its Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) has a modest mandate--mainly focusing on academic accommodations, counseling and adaptive equipment. But for Sara Whitlock, a 20-year-old sophomore with cerebral palsy, SSD has been indispensable. For example, she couldn't get into one key building because of a broken elevator. "SSD met with the physical plant department and was really behind me on that," she says. "I have total access to that building now." SSD doesn't offer tutoring or a PCA pool, but does advise students on advocacy, accessibility, on-campus housing, transportation and personal assistance services. The support can be informal: SSD counselor Donna Williams, for example, helped Whitlock write a PCA schedule, word her ad, and refine interview questions. Other SSD assistance is more structured: providing advice to Networks (the disabled students organization), organizing workshops and disability awareness activities, and publication of an accessibility guide. Seventy-five percent of all off-campus apartment complexes have accessible units, according to Williams, and two nearby complexes are designed exclusively for residents with disabilities. Despite the vast campus, Whitlock feels at home at Texas A&M. "It's like we're all one, and that's because of the university's strong traditions and sense of family. If you have a problem," Whitlock adds, "they help you find the best way to solve it."

 

 

Campus Physical Accessibility

Percentage Key---->	=0-19%	=20-39%	=40-59%	=60-79%	=80-100%	=not available
Percentage of dorms that have...						Transportation Options
College	Ramps	Elevators	Wide Bathrooms	Easily Opened Doors	Hilly terrain or other natural barriers to mobility	on-campus van/tram service	accessible public transit
U. of Illinois, Urbana- Champaign						YES	YES
Wayne State U., Detroit						NO	YES
Florida State U., Tallahassee						YES	YES
U. of Florida, Gainesville						YES	NO
Penn State U., University Park						YES	YES
U. of Vermont, Burlington						YES	YES
U. of Massachusetts, Dartmouth						YES	YES
Salisbury State U., Md.						YES	NO
Texas A&M U., College Station						YES	YES
College of New Jersey, Ewing						NO	YES
Central Michigan U., Mount Pleasant						YES	YES
U. of Michigan, Ann Arbor						YES	YES
U. of Wisconsin, Stevens Point						NO	YES
U. of Wisconsin, Madison						YES	YES
U. of Connecticut, Storrs						YES	YES
U. of Iowa, Iowa City						YES	YES
U. of Colorado, Boulder						NO	YES
U. of Colorado, Denver						YES	YES
Edinboro U. of Pennsylvania						YES	YES
Indiana U., Bloomington						YES	YES
U. of Delaware, Newark						YES	YES
U. of Washington, Seattle						YES	YES
U. of California, Berkeley						YES	YES
U. of California, San Diego						YES	YES
U. of California, Santa Cruz						YES	YES
U. of California, Los Angeles						YES	YES
U. of California, Santa Barbara						NO	YES
Humboldt State U., Calif.						YES	YES
Georgia Tech, Atlanta						YES	YES
State U. of New York, Binghamton						YES	YES
State U. of New York, Fredonia						YES	NO
U. of Minnesota, Twin Cities						YES	YES
U. of Montana, Butte						NO	YES

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