Embedded Files
All DSS are responsible for knowing the content on this website. Topics include DSS operations, university policies and organization information.
What informs Disability Services’ work?
What informs Disability Services’ work?
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): In accordance with ADA and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504, no qualified person will be denied access to, participation in, or the benefits of, any program or activity operated by the University because of disability.
Social Justice: Disability is an aspect of diversity, integral to our society and to the TWU community. All disabled students are valued members of the TWU community and should have equitable access to all curricular and co-curricular offerings of the university. DSS works to ensure that access is provided seamlessly, with minimal additional burden on the disabled student.
Universal Design: DSS promotes universal design, the idea that experiences should be usable by all people to the greatest extent possible, ideally without the need for individual adjustments. Identifying and removing barriers to access in the design process can result in an enhanced experience for all participants and reduce the need for individual accommodations.
Disability Studies: Disability Studies is a multi- and interdisciplinary academic field of inquiry that defines impairment as naturally occurring on the continuum of human difference. Experts in the field challenge the dated view of disability as an individual deficit or defect, emphasizing instead that individuals are disabled by their environments, not by their impairments.
What is Accessibility?
What is Accessibility?
Accessibility means that all TWU students can perceive, understand, navigate, interact and contribute to their experience at TWU, both on campus and online. If something is inaccessible, it means that the user is not able to perceive, understand, navigate, interact and contribute to whatever it is that they are trying to access. Access is a campus wide responsibility; Accommodation is for DSS.
Access, when considered from the beginning of content creation, purchasing, etc., is incredibly simple, and has nominal cost, if any.
Accommodation is where DSS will adapt or modify something to be usable by a student with a disability. Accommodation can be costly and typically requires coordination between the student and multiple staff members for the end result to be effective.
Applicable University Policies
Applicable University Policies
URP: 01.242 Academic Accommodations for Students
Main takeaways:
DSS determines all accommodations for disabled students
Faculty have 5 business days to implement all accommodations after accommodation notices are received
Students can file grievance through DSS or the Office of Civility
Main takeaways:
Defines the differences between service dogs, emotional support animals and program therapy animals
Establishes that ESAs must be approved through DSS
URP: 01.240 Campus Access for People with Disabilities
Main takeaways:
All academic accommodations are paid for by DSS
Anything else should be paid for by the hosting department if it is non-academic
DSS will coordinate all accommodations, regardless of who is paying for the accommodations
Organizational Structure of Disability Services
Organizational Structure of Disability Services
All links lead to the job descriptions in the shared drive
Technology Access Needed - Position Dependent
Technology Access Needed - Position Dependent
* applies only to certain positions
Pioneer Portal
Google Suite
*Various department shared drives:
DSS is the Best!
Assessment
Flex Plan
Communication Access
Notetaking
Testing
Operations
Office Chat Room(s)
*Email accounts
dss@twu.edu
testdss@twu.edu
deafaccess@twu.edu
alttextdss@twu.edu
notesdss@twu.edu
IASU - Institutions Attended Summary
XSPRO - Student Profile
CORM - Used for Priority Registration, org name: DSS
STSC - View student schedules
PHIN - used for annual state reporting
PERC - used if a student does not return equipment
SLED - used to create a list of students for Priority Registration
AASM - used to assign created list for Priority Registration
XDrive: Used for historical data only
Oracle/Phoenix:
*Canvas
myDSS
Proctor
*Coordinator
*Administrator
*Knowledge Base Editor
*Catalog Editing
*Access Text
*Handshake
*AHEAD
Professional Resources
Professional Resources
AHEAD: Association on Higher Education and Disability
Members can post on discussion boards to get feedback from other members regarding situations.
The discussions are searchable and full of wisdom.
Strongly recommend signing up for a daily digest of emails.
AHEAD hosts webinars and conferences throughout the year, full of learning opportunities.
Join the listserv by emailing listserv@listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu
DSSHE is a national email listserv with a searchable database.
Members can email the listserv to pose questions & get feedback from other subscribers regarding situations.
Strongly recommend signing up for a daily digest of emails.
NDC is a resource/research center focused on deaf outcomes in post-secondary settings.
Described and Captioned Media Program
The DCMP provides services designed to support and improve the academic achievement of students with disabilities. They partner with top educational and television content creators and distributors to make media accessible and available to these students.
They have a huge library of accessible videos that are free to the public.
Helpful for university-related need-to-know content.
Instructional Designers from Center for Faculty Success
Terisa O'Dowd is an accessibility instructional designer and a great ally for us!
Google has all the answers.
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