Connecticut Colleges and Handicap Accessibility

Under the ADA, college campuses and universities must provide students with a disability services office that contains educational resources and the proper handicap accessibility options. Connecticut Colleges and Universities, specifically CCSU, WCSU, SCSU, ECSU, and Uconn, have done a lot to make their campuses more accessible to students, but some still have a long way to go.

Most of the CSU System's disability services goals are the same. "Our principal responsibility is to provide services and supports that promote educational equity for students with disabilities," SCSU's Disability Resource Center.
"The Office of Student Disability Services has been charged by the University to provide students, faculty, and staff with assistance and information on issues of access and full participation for persons with disabilities at Central Connecticut State University," CCSU Disability Services mission statement.

Although Central and Southern sound similar in their mission, Eastern and Western seem to take a more personable approach to help those with special needs.
"We foster a welcoming environment of mutual respect that treats all people as individuals in a courteous, friendly, fair, helpful, and respectful manner. We strive to identify and remove barriers that prevent individuals with disabilities from being full and equal participants in the university experience," says AccessAbility Services representative, Laurel Obstgarten.
**To the right is Laurel (3rd in back row) and other staff at Western** (WCSU Website)

For anyone with a physical mobility issue, one of the biggest concerns on a college campus is handicap accessibility.


As far as CCSU is concerned, there are ramps throughout the campus to help students get to class and elevators in each building, but from a personal standpoint, I believe disability access needs to be looked at and reworked. I am afraid of some of the academic and dorm building elevators because they need to renovated. I often refuse to take the elevator and prefer to take the stairs, but for students who cannot do that, I suggest CCSU Disability Services look into this issue.
Southern, Western, and Uconn seem to all be very accessible. Uconn even being one of the top universities in the country for their handicap accessibility and disability resources.
"It is very handicap accessible," says SCSU Disability Resource Center Director Deborah Fairchild. "We pride ourselves on that. Every building has an accessible entrance and elevator."
"As of right now, all buildings have handicap accessible entrances, and working elevators. We have worked with the Facilities department by developing a new curb cut outside of the Science Building so that wheelchairs can move easier," adds Obstgarten. "We are also working with that department to ensure that all bathrooms are handicap accessible. Students with mobility impairments that are registered with our office are also granted the accommodation that if an elevator breaks, the class is asked to move to an accessible floor. We have a student/faculty group called the Accessibility Committee that meets to discuss any changes that need to be made to the campus."

On top of having a great disability services center Uconn is taking their services above and beyond the CSU schools with their Beyond Access Program

Beyond Access can be broken down into three separate programs:

--SEAD (Strategic Education for students with Autusim spectrum Disorder)
--FAST (Focused Academic Skills Training)
--TASE (Technologies for Academic Skills Enrichment)

The overall program goes above and beyond "typical" disability service duties, and I would highly recommend you check it out. Once again, if you have a disability a lot goes in to picking the right school for you. It is hard to know which campuses will be most handicap accessible and/or fit your personal needs, but it is important to look into the Top 10 most accessible universities in the country.

Disability Laws and Your Education

In today's world, it is hard to imagine a disabled person not being able to access the educational resources or having the educational opportunities they need to succeed. In previous posts, I discussed the ample amount of accommodations and resources one can receive upon venturing into higher education, but disabled people have not always been as lucky or accepted as you and I.

Historically, people with disabilities, physical or mental, were often thought of as dregs of society. Many "able-bodied" people felt those with disabilities could not be functioning members of society, hold a job, or even be capable of getting an education.

Prior to 1970, disabled people had little to no rights! It was not until the passage of the Rehabilitation Act in 1973 that the disabled were recognized as regular people, able to live stimulating and fulfilling lives.


Under the Rehabilitation Act, the government recognized that:

--there were a number of Americans with disabilities
--the number would always be increasing
--a disability is a natural part of life for many humans and their rights should be diminished because of it

The Act provided people with disabilities with many opportunities such as:
--living independently
--the ability to pursue a career
--integrate themselves in all aspects of society

Before the Rehabilitation Act was instated, few college and universities were accessible, both literally and figuratively, to the disabled. If they did have access to higher education, they were often segregated attending schools that only educated individuals with certain disabilities. Gallaudet University and Rochester Institute of Technology targeted only hearing impaired or deaf students. Today, both universities service both deaf and non-deaf students.





With the Civil Rights and Womens Rights Movements in full swing, many disabled people felt it was their turn for rights. This led to the passage of the Rehabilitation Act, which gave disabled people equal access to colleges and universities, but the act did have its flaws. The Act provided the disabled with program accessibility, but did not mandate handicap accessibility.


In 1990, President George Bush Sr. passed the Americans with Disabilities Act, which "prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, State and local government, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunications" (ADA.gov).

Under Title II Section 504, all public and almost all private colleges and universities are required to be program accessible and handicap accessible. If a building or course materials are not readily handicap accessible to the student, the university may have to relocate classes or provide other alternatives for the student. As of 1992, buildings on public and private campuses must meet certain accessibility guidelines, thanks to ADA.

Overall, the disability rights movement has come a long way since 1973 and has provided you and I with access to education and other resources we need to live independent successful lives. With the ADA's 20th anniversary coming up in 2010, a documentary and stage production entitled "Invisible Voices" is being put out to convey the struggles and triumphs of those involved in the disability rights movement.