Career Program Proposal

Running head: PREPARING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES FOR SUCCESS

“DiscoverU” Preparing Our Students with Disabilities for Success McKenna Koewler Wright State University

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Tab Organization Target Population and Current Issue

Tab A

Political Agendas

Tab B

Presentation of Program

Tab C

Reasoning of Program: Barriers and Methods to Overcome

Tab D

Program Preparation and Objectives

Tab E

Program Agenda

Tab F

Program Preparation and Marketing Methods

Tab G

Evaluation of Program

Tab H

References

Tab I

Appendix A – Application Materials

Tab J

Appendix B – Marketing Material

Tab K

Appendix C – Day 1

Tab L

Appendix D – Day 2

Tab M

Appendix E – Day 3

Tab N

Appendix F – Day 4

Tab O

Appendix G- Day 5

Tab P Tab Q

PREPARING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES FOR SUCCESS

Target Population and Current Issue The percentage of students with disabilities who are registered at a higher education institution have not shown a large increase over the past ten years. In the 2007 – 2008 academic year (August to May), 10.9% of all students had registered with some type of disability. “Students with disabilities are those who reported that they had one of more of the following conditions: a specific learning disability, visual impairment, hard of hearing, deafness, a speech impairment, an orthopedic impairment, or a health impairment” (NCES, 2016). During the 2011 – 2012 academic year, the percentage of students who reported a disability increased two tenths of a percent, reaching 11.1%. Despite the increase of opportunity for student with disabilities, higher education has not seen an increase in enrollment for this particular demographic. Nearly one out of every five people in the United States of America have a registered disability; that is 56.8 million people and 19% of our entire population (U.S. Census, 2010). Nearly 20.64 million people were registered to attend an undergraduate institution in 2012. Applying statistics provided by The National Center for Education Statistics, only 2.28 million of those students were registered with some form of a disability. Keeping in mind, college attendance heavily depends on the type of disabilities, but studies have proven students with disabilities are less likely to further their education after high school than their fully-abled peers. The idea of this program is to implement a transition process to assist students and their families in a successful transition to their chosen higher education institution. Transitioning from high school to college presents students with disabilities an obstacle of becoming independent. A solution to address this common issue is the development of a program tailored to students with disabilities in becoming independent.

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Implications Two acts are supported by the Office of Civil Rights, (1) The Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and (2) The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; both acts were developed to prevent the discrimination of any person with a disability. The Rehabilitation Act of 1972, section 504, was the first legislature to prevent discrimination against individuals with disabilities. “…no qualified individual with a disability in the United States shall be excluded from, denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under" any program or activity that either receives Federal financial assistance or is conducted by any Executive agency or the United States Postal Service.” The Americans with Disabilities Act became a law in 1990 in efforts to supplement The Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section published the following as the description of The Americans with Disability Act (ADA). “The ADA prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, State and local government, public accommodations, commercial facilities, transportation, and telecommunications. It also applies to the United States Congress.” Ohio Department of Health and Opportunities for Ohioans with disabilities have developed multiple programs to assist individuals with disabilities to succeed; some of these programs include student to work transition, Ohio Disability and Health Program, and education people without a registered disability operate their everyday life. The state of Ohio has been working with individuals with disabilities to provide assistance with the transition from school to work in addition to making the abled world more accessible to their needs. Higher education institutions have also been taking this into consideration. With the small increase of enrollment of students with disabilities, college campuses are finding ways to make small changes to their campus to become more accessible such as automatic doors, convenient ramps, and upgrading classroom technology.

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The program will address the more common obstacles students with disabilities face when entering college; gaining independence, social skills, and life skills. During the one-week program, students will become acclimated to their college campus which will provide them with a sense of belonging. The implementation of the peer program within DiscoverU will increase the connectivity the students share with their campus resulting in a higher chance of the student proceeding to graduation. The completion of their degree not only benefits the student and the institution, but Ohio as well.

PREPARING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES FOR SUCCESS

Presentation of Program After conducting research on the needs of students with disabilities a reoccurring transition complication is becoming independent. A week-long program, “DiscoverU,” was developed to offers assistance with the transition from high school to college for students with disabilities. All students, not only students with disabilities, have relied on their guardians for support such as providing meals, laundry, and cleaning services. DiscoverU is a week-long program designed to assist students with disabilities learn avenues to become independent. Session topics include how to navigate campus, how to do laundry, plan meals and many more topics. The cost of the event will include a meal plan, housing, and program tuition. The housing option will include a two-bed dorm room with community restrooms and showers. The meal plan option will cover three meals per day and three snacks; there will be an option to load money on their temporary card to make additional purchases. Two-weeks prior to the start date of the program, participants will be grouped together according to similar interest and abilities and be assigned a mentor that will assist the student through the program and continue through the students first academic year. The mentors will be upper classmen who have been successful in their major and who are also registered with The Office of Disability Services. Studies have shown, peer relationships have a higher level of impact on the students versus a staff member as a mentor. This relationship has an even greater impact when the student and mentor have similarities. In addition to the peer mentors, the residential assistants will have a huge impact as well. The residential assistants will be prepared for students to move in one week prior to the start of the start of the academic year. The role for these students is to participate in supplemental

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activities and conduct small group workshops and events to facilitate the cultivation of relationships with students outside their assigned group. There are many barriers to overcome when planning a program for students with disabilities such as participation and attendance, cost, accessibility and many more. The most common stressor would be attendance. The students who would be participating in this program would be the first class to experience, so they have no success rates to compare to; which is why the evaluation of this piece is critical. Cost is another potential barrier that must be overcome. Due to the number of accommodations and program leaders needed the cost could be higher than a typical program would be. Accessibility plays into the cost barrier, but it also could create an even larger barrier if your campus does not have a compatible space that is large enough to accommodate your audience.

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Reasoning of Program: Implications for Practitioners Student Affairs Practitioners often encounter students with disabilities and struggle to find the right resources to help the student become more independent. Most professionals refer them to obtain a personal medical assistant, which does not encourage the student to become independent. The practitioners will receive the program information and be offered the opportunity to come observe to educate themselves on how they can become proactive in their students with disabilities lives. Residence Life and Housing will have a large effect on these students, the students this staff hires to become residential assistants will complete an intensive training focusing on ways to promote and encourage independence among students with all abilities. The trainings will provide residential staff with methods on how to address these issues when a student with disabilities needs assistance of someone to speak with. Educators at the institution will see an impact from the program as well. They will notice their students with disabilities becoming more proactive in the classroom, rather than being reactive as previous years have shown. Educators should incorporate a universal design to their classroom, which will be recommended by The Office of Disability Services. This will help students develop a sense of belonging to their campus, positively affecting the success rates of the students.

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Program Preparation In order to adequately prepare for this program, residential assistants and leadership mentors will need to go through an interviewing and training process. The training process will take place throughout the summer and help the student become comfortable and more knowledgeable when working with students with disabilities. Ideally, The Office of Disability Services and Residence Life and Housing will form a connection to provide the program with responsible and trained residential assistances. The resident assistants will be expected to conduct a daily group activity at their time of choice to promote the cultivation of relationships between peers. The leadership mentors will be expected to participate in all activities with their group of mentees and stay in the residential halls with the corresponding residential assistant. Program Objectives At the end of this program students will: 1) Be able to identify their strengths and learn how to improve their weaknesses 2) Increase their knowledge and become acclimated to their campus recognizing the oncampus supplemental resources that are offered 3) Develop independent living skills and be able to complete normal day tasks with the necessary assistance to become more independent 4) Cultivate relationships and develop social skills that will assist in their acclimation onto a college campus

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Program Agenda

Sunday, August 19th – Move in Day! Having students move in one-day early will provide them with the time they need to get settled in and prepare for the upcoming week of activities. Time Frame 9:00 am - 4:00 pm 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm 9:00 pm – 12:00 am

Activity Students will be moving in Group Dinner/Networking Dance

Description (if needed)

Monday, August 20th – Navigating Your Campus This topic will assist with the student’s acclimation to their college campus. It will bring awareness of services offered on campus and how students should go about accessing those services, all while promoting the enhancement of social skills. Time Frame 8:00 - 9:00 am 9:00 am - 9:30 am 9:30 am - 10:00 am 10:30 am - 11:30 pm 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm 6:00 pm 9:00 pm

Activity Check In/Breakfast Buffet/Networking Welcome, Office of Disability Services Director Ice-Breaker Session One Lunch Campus Tours and Snack Breaks Session One Activity Recap of Navigating Your Campus Dinner Night-Time Scavenger Hunt

Description (if needed)

Campus Resources

Drawing a Map of Campus

This activity will reinforce the campus layout for students

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Tuesday, August 21st - You Can’t Spell Success Without (yo)U! This topic promotes the enhancement of the student’s self-awareness. Throughout the day the student will become aware of their disability and the impact is has had on their life. They will learn to understand and appreciate theirs and other’s experiences. Time Frame 8:00 - 9:00 am 9:00 am - 9:30 am 10:00 am - 11:00 am 11:00 am - 12:00 pm

Activity Check In/Breakfast Buffet/Networking Ice-Breaker Session Two Session Two Activity

12:00 pm - 1:00 pm 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Lunch Time Session Three

2:00 pm - 2:30 pm 2:30 pm - 3:00 pm 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm 4:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Session Three Activity Snack/Break Session Four Session Four Activity

9:00 pm

Movie Night!

Description (if needed)

Understanding Yourself Map of your life (birth to now); note the obstacles you faced and how you overcame them. Personal & Environmental Hygiene: A Healthy You Laundry Activity

Conflict Resolution time and activity to be determined by residential assistant Movie on the Lawn

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Wednesday, August 22nd - How to College: Academics Time Frame 8:00 am - 9:00 am 9:00 am - 9:30 am 9:30 pm – 10:30 am 10:30 am – 11:00 am 11:00 am – 12:00 pm 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm

Activity Breakfast Ice-Breaker Session Five Session Five Activity Lunch Time Session Six Session Six Activity

2:30 pm - 3:00 pm 4:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Snack/Break Supplemental Activity

8:00 pm – 11:00 pm

Game Night

Description (if needed)

Preparing for Class Planning Out Your Day Navigating the classroom Mapping Out Your Route and Time: Using the map drawn from the previous day - map out the time it will take you to get from Point A to Point B; can go back through a time yourself moving from one building to another time and activity to be determined by residential assistant Residential Assistants will have a variety of board games and interactive games residents can participate in

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August 23rd - How to College: Student Involvement Time Frame 8:00 am - 9:00 am 9:00 am - 9:30 am 9:30 am – 10:30 am 10:30 am – 11:30 am 11:30 am – 1:00 pm 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm

Activity Breakfast Ice-Breaker Session Seven Session Seven Activity Lunch Session Eight Session Eight Activity

2:30 pm - 3:00 pm 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Snack/Break Mingling Hour

4:00 pm – 9:00 pm

Supplemental Activity

9:00 pm

Student Organization Party

Time Frame 8:00 am - 9:00 am 9:00 am - 9:30 am 9:30 am – 10:30 am 10:30 am – 11:30 am 11:30 am – 1:00 pm 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm 2:30 pm - 3:00 pm 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Description (if needed)

Student Leader Panel Explanation/Tour of OrgSync Organizations on Campus What do you want to do on campus? Create a to-do list on how to get there. Participants will have the opportunity to mingle with student leaders and ask questions time and activity to be determined by residential assistant A representative from student organizations will come out for food and fun to get to know prospective members.

August 24th – Finding the Balance Activity Description (if needed) Breakfast Ice-Breaker Session Nine Time Management Session Nine Activity Students will determine their weekly schedule and create a poster to hang in their room Lunch Session Ten Dealing with Stress Session Ten Activity Students will explore different ways of coping with stress Snack/Break Wrap Up ODS will thank participants and conclude the program

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Marketing Methods Multiple methods will be used to market this program to first-year students with disabilities, current students, and residential assistants. The first-year students with disabilities will have a yes or no question on their application asking if they would be interested in participating in “DiscoverU” for a low cost to prepare for their first-year of college. This question will direct the student to our website with more details once their application is complete. This question will let The Office of Disability Services know who is interested, the student will then a letter in the mail with more information. The letter will be address to the student and their family to educate their guardians of the opportunity. To recruit current students, emails will be sent out periodically throughout the fall and spring semester in order to have time to complete the interviewing and hiring processes. The residential assistants will receive word through their weekly meetings, as well as flyers. The flyers will be handed out to all residential students. A mass email will be delivered to the entire campus letting them be aware of the opportunity for upcoming students, they will be allowed to make recommendations of potential student leaders as well.

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Evaluative Methods The evaluation of the program will be a four-year long process with bits of information in between. Prior to the start of the program, information on attendance and graduation rates of students with disabilities will be recorded to have statistics to compare after the completion of the program. Before the program begins students will be asked to fill out a form with basic information asking them to rank their level of social skills and independent skills. This evaluation will be recorded and stored. The same evaluation will be sent out to the participants at the beginning and end of every semester until they graduate. Using this method will provide important statistics of the success rates of the implemented program. During the program, students will be evaluating each session individually. They will evaluate the information that was taught, the level of skills they obtained, and their feelings on the level of importance of the topics. This will help the program developers to modify sessions to fit the needs and wants of our students.

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References Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, Pub. L. No. 101-336, 104 Stat. 328 (1990). Retrieved on March 5, 2018 from https://adata.org/learn-about-ada Civic Impulse. (2018). H.R. 8070 – 93rd Congress: Rehabilitation Act. Retrieved on March 5, 2018 from https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/93/hr8070 Develop Good Habits: A Better Life One Habit At A Time. (2017). Retrieved on March 17, 2018 from https://www.developgoodhabits.com/dealing-with-stress/ Duncan, A., & Ali, R. (2011). Students with Disabilities Preparing for Postsecondary Education: Know Your Rights and Responsibilities. Retrieved on March 5, 2018 from https://www2.ed.gov/print/about/offices/list/ocr/transition.html Grasgreen, A. (2014). Dropping the Ball on Disabilities. Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved on February 28, 2018 from https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2014/04/02/studentsdisabilities-frustrated-ignorance-and-lack-services Griffin, M.M., Wendel, K.F., Day, T.L., & McMillan, E.D. (2016). Developing Peer Supports for College Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, Vol 29 N3, p 263 – 296. Retrieved on March 5, 2018 from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1123801 Hamblet, E.L. (2014). Nine Strategies to Improve College Transition Planning for Students With Disabilities. Teaching Exceptional Children, Vol 46, Issue 3, p 53 – 59. Retrieved March 5, 2018 from http://www.ctdinstitute.org/sites/default/files/file_attachments/2014Nine StrategiestoImproveCollegeTransitionforSWD.pdf Masterson, K. (2008). 10 Tips For College Students With Disabilities. National Public Radio. Retrieved on March 5, 2018, from https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId =94728312 Statista. (2018). U.S. College Enrollment Statistics for Public and Private Colleges and Projections Up To 2026. Retrieved on March 5, 2018, from https://www.statista.com/ statistics/183995/us-college-enrollment-and-projections-in-public-and-privateinstitutions/ The George Washington University & The HEALTH Resource Center at the National Youth Transition Center. Summer Pre-College Programs for Students with Disabilities. Retrieved on February 28, 2018 from https://www.heath.gwu.edu/files/downloads /summer_pre_college_programs_for_students_with_disabilities.pdf U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2016). Digest of Education Statistics, 2015 (2016-014) Chapter 3. Retrieved on March 5, 2018, from https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=60

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Vaccaro, A., Daly-Cano, M., & Newman, B.M. (2015). A Sense of Belonging Among College Students With Disabilities: An Emergent Theoretical Model. Project Muse, Vol 56. Retrieved on March 5, 2018, from https://muse.jhu.edu/article/597267

https://www.examples.com/business/volunteer-application.html https://www2.cortland.edu/dotAsset/52397af5-3a78-47bb-a0e5-5a12d62a7754.pdf

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PREPARING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES FOR SUCCESS Appendix A – Mentor Application Materials

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PREPARING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES FOR SUCCESS Appendix B – Marketing Materials

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PREPARING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES FOR SUCCESS Appendix C - Monday, August 20th Materials

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PREPARING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES FOR SUCCESS Appendix D – Tuesday, August 21st Materials

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PREPARING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES FOR SUCCESS Appendix E – Wednesday, August 22nd Materials

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PREPARING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES FOR SUCCESS Appendix F – Thursday, August 23rd Materials What organizations do I want to join?

What are 3 things I can do to join?

Things I must do daily once I join

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PREPARING STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES FOR SUCCESS Appendix G – Friday, August 24th Materials

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