<<< CONTENTS>>>
- What a Month!! A Personal Message from
Author/Editor Jane Jarrow
- Institutional Politics -- "The
Game is Afoot!"
- One More Time -- Financial Aid and Reduced
Courseload
- The Best From DAIS: Now Under
Lock and Key!
- Visit the DAIS Homepage and
Find...
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
<<< WHAT A MONTH!! A PERSONAL MESSAGE
FROM AUTHOR/EDITOR JANE JARROW >>>
This newsletter is late in reaching you for a number of reasons. Last week
marked the launch of DAIS' first foray into online education. The response
was overwhelming. There are 121 people currently involved in the lessons and
listserv exchanges that constitute the 8 week course on "Technical Standards,
Eligibility Criteria, and the ADA." Launching this new project took on a life
of its own, and has me behind in many other areas, but the enthusiastic response
to this very first offering has already spurred thinking about future topics
that might be effectively presented in this format. Stay tuned...
Meantime, as some of you may have heard, I have assumed a new part-time
position as Director of Disability Policy and Education for the Council for
Opportunity in Education (formerly the National Council on Educational Opportunity
Associations). I will be spending roughly five days a month in Washington
at COE headquarters, providing technical assistance, delivering training to
support personnel working with students with disabilities, and exploring grant
opportunities for involvement of TRIO personnel with this population. While
the first few months are likely to be hectic as we explore the possibilities
of this new position, eventually I hope that this consistent focus (and steady
income!) will allow me time to pursue DAIS projects more aggressively during
my non-committed hours.
The primary reason to delay this January newsletter, however, was to be able
to announce the availability of yet another new resource from DAIS. The DAIS
website now includes a password-protected area. Individuals who choose to
"subscribe" to the DAIS website will receive access to the private files stored
there, as well as receiving reduced prices for other resources and educational
opportunities from DAIS. See the description, at the end of this newsletter,
under the heading of " The Best From DAIS: Now Available Under Lock and Key!"
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
<<< INSTITUTIONAL POLITICS
-- "THE GAME IS AFOOT" >>>
Lately, I have been hearing a lot of stories from DSS providers in political
trouble on their campuses. The one common thread in their stories is that
they are all bewildered as to how they got in this position. They are all
dedicated service providers who have thrown themselves into student services,
who work long hours and stay up late nights worrying about how best to fulfill
their responsibilities to their institutions AND to the students they serve.
They have been relentless in their pursuit of what they understand to be the
right and proper thing to do in their assigned role, and in almost every circumstance
my personal assessment is that they ARE right in what they are attempting
to do. And they are all facing major battles within their institutions!
** I visited one campus whose DSS director had been in her position for
more than a decade. During that time she had stubbornly insisted on pushing
the university to do what it SHOULD have done, whether those decisions were
popular or not. The institution HAD done everything right, as far as I could
tell. And they were so annoyed at having been pushed so hard for so long that
every time the DSS Director walked through the door they automatically said,
"No!" out of reflex;
** I worked with a service provider who went through appropriate channels,
to his Dean, to ask for assistance in dealing with a faculty member who was
doing and saying things to students with disabilities that could clearly have
brought the institution into legal jeopardy. It turned out that the Dean was
an old buddy of the faculty member in question. Instead of trying to make
the faculty member understand the ramifications of his actions, the Dean let
him know that the DSS provider had "singled him out as a problem" and the
service provider made a dangerous enemy as a result;
** I spoke with a service provider who had been on board for about 18 months.
She had run into problems with a faculty member from the Psych department
(who had been at the institution 22 years!) who believed that the process
of determining accommodations should be done by a committee (with Guess Who
in charge) rather than by the service provider who, CLEARLY (!), was less
experienced in understanding the ramifications of the documentation or the
impact disability on higher education;
** I heard from a service provider who was under attack from all sides within
his institution because the administration had recognized the importance and
appropriateness of providing quality support services to students with disabilities.
Several years ago when the institution was ready to take its first steps in
this direction, no one wanted anything to do with the population. The individual
who stepped forward and agreed to take on the responsibility has done a credible
job of building a quality support program within the institution and, recognizing
that, has received both recognition and significant increases in budget and
authority from the higher administration. Those around him are green with
envy at what they see as the increased power given to the service provider,
and they snipe at him at every turn.
What do these people have in common? They are good (great!) disability service
providers -- and that's not enough! Several years ago, my friend and colleague,
Warren King, offered his "take" on academic politics through a monograph put
out by AHEAD called, "You Gotta Know the Rules!. (Note: The booklet is still
available through AHEAD and I personally think it ought to be required reading
for DSS personnel!) The first and most important rule states, "IT'S ALL A
GAME, BUT MOST PEOPLE DON'T KNOW IT!" Truer words were never spoken. I have
come in contact with too many DSS providers and/or administrators who believe
that if they focus their attention on developing policies and procedures that
are legally compliant and philosophically sound, students with disabilities
-- and their programs -- will thrive. It's not enough! The game is being played
out all around you, like it or not. If you fail to realize that, you are in
for some nasty surprises. If you choose to remove yourself from the fray,
you are likely to find that your issues, and your effectiveness on behalf
of the population you serve, will remain on the sidelines of the institutional
agenda, as well.
Are there specific steps that those concerned with disability issues can/should
take to get into the game? I think there are. For example:
++ Figure out who holds the power at your institution and make sure to cultivate
a good working relationship with those individuals. The age old question among
disability service providers is always, "Where is it best for my program to
be housed administratively? Academic Affairs? Student Affairs? Human Resources?"
The answer is simple... whenever possible, you want your program to be housed
and/or in some way associated with whatever administrator or unit holds the
most power and respect within the institution.
++ Identify key players within the institutional structure who can champion
your program -- and you! -- should you come under attack from someone who
is more powerful within the system than you are. One of the reasons that I
think I have been successful in doing inservice training with faculty on so
many campuses over the years is because I have a Ph.D. I was a faculty member
at THE Ohio State University before I became involved in disability services.
Almost the only time I every USE my title/degree is when I am having someone
introduce me to a gathering of faculty. In that case, being DR. Jarrow makes
a difference. It shouldn't, but it does. In most institutions of higher education,
while resources may be divided in an equitable fashion, prestige is not. Faculty
are generally higher up on the food chain than staff -- even staff with letters
after their names. Find yourself some allies among the faculty and keep them
in the loop of your triumphs and your troubles so that they are prepared to
speak on your behalf as needed.
++ Fight for good publicity as much as you fight off bad publicity. On a
recent campus visit, the Director of Disability Services proudly reported
that the office had served more than 400 students a year for the past several
years and rarely had a complaint. Her disgruntled supervisor told me that
"there seem to be one or two complaints EVERY YEAR about the services offered
from that office." Lots of campuses have disability awareness activities throughout
the school year. In most cases, those activities stress the viability of students
with disabilities, rather than the success of the DSS office. If the only
time the upper administration kno
ws you are there is when a complaint surfaces in relation to your office,
you have a MAJOR public relations problem! ++ Don't build your program at
the expense of another -- don't compete, cooperate! The DSS component at your
institution is unlike most (all?) other areas of student services. While the
office purportedly exists to serve/support students, it also fulfills a legal
mandate for the institution. The institution can choose to cut back on counseling
or advising services, or dismantle the International Students program, or
cut personnel from Financial Aids. But the institution cannot choose to do
any less than what is legally required in support of equal opportunity for
students with disabilities. While you need to constantly remind the administration
of that point, you want to make sure that your continued funding and (if appropriate)
growth does not come at the expense -- literally -- of other programs housed
in the same administrative unit. If you need a new counselor in the DSS office
to handle increasing numbers of students, but the Academic Advising office
has been waiting for 2 years to have a new position approved, be careful that
money that would otherwise have gone to Academic Advising isn't diverted to
your needs. Work WITH the folks in Academic Advising and with your shared
supervisor to have the institution meet its mandate to students with disabilities
by supplying additional money to your unit, rather than requiring that it
make do with money previously assigned.
Over the years I have heard too many service providers proudly declare,
"I refuse to play games. I am always straight-forward in my dealings, I say
what needs to be said, and I don't let myself get drawn into the politics
of the institution." I think that is counter-productive. The game is afoot
all around you. In refusing to play, you do not insulate your program -- you
isolate your program (and in so doing, the impact that you may have on behalf
of your students). This is not a competitive sport -- it is a game of strategy
and planning. Learn to play it well and everybody wins!
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
<<< ONE MORE TIME -- FINANCIAL
AID AND REDUCED COURSE LOAD >>>
I have received three separate inquiries and watched discussion on two different
listservs in the past month regarding the issue of reduced course load for
students with disabilities and how it impacts on their eligibility for financial
aid -- and other things! So, for the record, let's review once more.
Federal financial aid guidelines (Pell Grants) establish 12 credit hours
per term as the minimal necessary courseload for a student -- ANY student
-- to receive a full stipend. The actual wording says something to the effect
that "in order to be considered a full-time student for receiving federal
aid..." This establishes the requirement for courseload for receiving federal
financial assistance and there is nothing the financial aid officers at your
institution can do to alter that requirement. Students taking less than 12
hours can receive a pro-rated stipend, but without 12 hours of coursework,
students (even those with disabilities) are not eligible to receive a full
Pell stipend.
ON THE OTHER HAND, the determination of full-time status at your institution
is determined BY your institution -- no one else. Many institutions have chosen
to consider 12 hours of coursework to be full time, since that is the guideline
suggested by financial aid restrictions, but that is a CHOICE made by the
institution. The institution has full control over internal academic decisions,
including who will be considered a full-time student. If it is a decision
the institution made, it is a decision that institution can choose to modify
-- and the institution must be prepared to make modifications to policies
if doing so is necessary in order to avoid discrimination against persons
with disabilities. For this reason, it is fully within the institution's purview
to grant (institutional) full-time status to students with disabilities who
are taking less than the typical full-time load if their disabilities impose
limitations which make it logical/necessary to extend the length of time for
their academic program. Such institutional designation will allow the student
with a disability taking less than the typical number of hours all the rights
and privileges available to other full-time students at the institution (living
in the residence hall, participation in co-curricular activities, coverage
for insurance, and so on), but STILL does not get them over the hurdle regarding
federal financial aid. Note, too, that many states taken the wording for their
state financial aid eligibility from the federal guidelines, and thus demand
12 hours (rather than "full-time") in order to receive full support.
As an aside, if you would like to see an excellent policy for how to make
determinations of a disability-related need for reduced course load, take
a look at the sample graciously provided by Scott Lissner of Longwood College,
posted at http://www.janejarrow.com/study.
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
<<<The Best From DAIS:
Now Under Lock and Key!>>>
Ever wished you could remember which edition of the DAIS Newsletter carried
that great article on access to technology? Did you ever see a reference on
the listserv to something I wrote on making the Deans List -- but didn't know
which publication to look in? Have you ever wondered whether the information
contained in the booklet published by DAIS specifically for folks in Residence
and Dining would be useful on YOUR campus? Now you can have instant access
to all that information and more -- for a price!!!
DAIS is pleased to announce the debut of its Locked Files, available online
for subscribers to the DAIS website (http://www.janejarrow.com) will have
access to all the publications from DAIS over the last three years, online
in a "search-able" format, ready for downloading (PDF files) to any computer.
The areas of the website you are used to visiting (the Kitchen, Study, TV
Room, and so on) will remain open and available to all who are interested.
But those who choose to take advantage of the new subscription arrangement
will receive a password that will allow them to access the "locked file cabinet"
in the DAIS Home Office. Inside you will find:
(1) the DAIS Newsletter, Volumes I and II (twelve issues each)
(2) the complete text of "Higher Education and the ADA: Issues and Perspectives,"
and
(3) the complete text of "ADA for Nondisability Student Service Personnel:
What Does It Mean for Me???"
New publications from DAIS will be added to the locked files as they become
available, including an upcoming series of essays on DSS topics adapted from
postings to the DSSHE-L. Would you like to have bound copies of the books
you are reading online, in order to have something tangible for your bookshelf?
The books will be available at reduced rates to subscribers. Interested in
taking an online course from DAIS? Subscribers to the Locked Files will receive
a discount on course registration fees. Ready to renew your subscription to
the DAIS Newsletter? Subscribers will receive a 10% discount on their subscription
fee.
The Locked Files already contain more than $200 worth of print copy, without
any consideration of the discounted prices for other offerings from DAIS.
In order to attract interest to this new concept of resource delivery, AN
INTRODUCTORY RATE OF $75 for one year of access is being offered for the first
six months. In August, the subscription rate will be raised to $125 -- SO
SIGN UP TODAY! Visit the Home Office at the DAIS website (http://www.janejarrow.com/homeoffice/index.html)
for more information about how to subscribe!
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
<<< VISIT THE DAIS HOMEPAGE
AND FIND... >>>
* This month's offering in The Administrator's Corner is an article from
the February, 1998, DAIS Newsletter entitled, "The Oldest Motive is **IN**
the Books: How Money Influences Decision Making." (http://www.janejarrow.com/dinroom)
* In the Faculty Corner, look for a provocative article from the January,
1998 Newsletter entitled, "Does This Disability 'Substantially Limit?'" (http://www.janejarrow.com/dinroom)
DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT...
Information about the newest resource from DAIS, the Locked Files. Visit
http://www.janejarrow.com/homeoffice/index.html and find out how you can subscribe
to the DAIS website and receive the considerable benefits available at a bargain
price!
+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+
