Review and evaluate Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) program to encourage student participation in services and to promote efficacy of same.

Provide academic adjustments and auxiliary aids and services for purpose of promoting full and equal access on part of students with disabilities to educational programs and activities and student life.

Questionnaire administered at conclusion of Fall, 2012 and Spring, 2013 semesters, respectively, to gauge client satisfaction with various aspects of the Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD).


The relatively low response rate to the 2011-2012 surveys limited the usefulness of the data yielded by these instruments. In an effort to obtain a more representative sample of the students utilizing SSD services, the department will employ various methods for delivering the Program Evaluation Survey (e.g., mass e-mailings with reminders and in- house notebook computers for use on the part of respondents).  SSD will also develop additional survey items to elicit student impressions of the auxiliary aids and services provided by the department, including alternative textbook services and captioning/transcription of on-line media content. 
As a result of the aforementioned actions, SSD expects to obtain the following results from the 2012-2013 surveys:

1) The response rate to the Program Evaluation Survey will increase from the cumulative 7.6% rate observed in the 2011-2012 surveys to at least 35%.


2) At least 80% of respondents will rate their overall experience with SSD as "Good" or "Excellent."

3) At least 80% of respondents utilizing auxiliary aids and services provided by SSD will report that these services contributed to improvements in their academic performance.

1)      SSD observed an increase in the response rate to the Program Evaluation Survey from the 7.6% cumulative rate obtained in the 2011-2012 surveys to a cumulative rate of 12.4% in the 2012-2013 surveys.   This increase is attributed to the department’s use of pre- and reminder mass e-mailings to prospective respondents.  Despite the aforementioned increase, the department fell short of its objective of achieving a 35% response rate to the 2012-2013 surveys.

2)      83.6% of respondents to the 2012-2013 Program Evaluation Surveys rated their overall experience with SSD as either “good (17.9%)” or “excellent (65.7%).”   95.5% of respondents indicated that they would probably or definitely recommend SSD services to fellow SHSU students with disabilities.

3)     82.4% of respondents to the 2012-2013 Program Evaluation Surveys reported that the accommodations provided by SSD contributed to improvements in their academic performance.  With regard to auxiliary aids and services, 88.9% and 83.3% of respondents indicating usage of alternative textbook services and captioning/transcription services, respectively, credited these services with improvements in their course grades.  100% of respondents indicating their use of sign language interpreting services reported satisfaction with the quality of same.  87.5% of respondents endorsing use of the SSD Adaptive Technology Lab characterized the lab computers, adaptive software, and other technologies as adequate for their purposes.  It should be noted, however, that the aforementioned data regarding satisfaction with auxiliary aids and services reflect the views of relatively small samples of respondents to the 2012-2013 surveys.  Of these respondents, only 11.8% reported using the Adaptive Technology Lab, 13.2% endorsed use of alternative textbook services, and 8.8% indicated receipt of sign language interpreting and captioning/transcription services, respectively.  Only 10.3% of survey respondents reported an awareness of the adaptive technologies available at such campus venues as the Newton-Gresham Library, the Reading Center, and the general-use, computer labs.

The results of the 2012-2013 SSD Program Evaluation Surveys suggest that students are generally satisfied with the quality of SSD services and would recommend SSD to fellow SHSU students with disabilities.   As was the case with the 2011-2012 survey results, these findings should be interpreted with caution in that they reflect the views of a relatively small percentage of SSD clients.  Although the use of pre- and reminder mass mailings increased the survey response rate by 4.8%, relative to the 2011-2012 surveys, the rate obtained in 2012-2013 fell short of the departmental objective of 35%.  SSD will explore additional methods of increasing the survey response rate in the 2013-2014 academic year, including the use of notebook computers made available to SSD clients at the Counseling Center and/or the offer of appropriate incentives for completing the survey.  The purpose of these measures would be to yield a larger and more representative sampling of SSD clients than has been observed in previous surveys.

The 2012-2013 survey results further suggest that SSD services, including auxiliary aids and services, contribute to improved academic performance on the part of SSD clients.  New survey items included in the 2012-2013 Program Evaluation indicate that respondents utilizing alternative textbook services and captioning/transcription services credit these services with improvements in their course grades.  In addition, the survey results suggest that students are generally satisfied with the quality of auxiliary aids and services provided by SSD.  As was the case with the 2011-2012 results, however, the current data on these services reflect the views of relatively small percentages of SSD clients.  Moreover, the current results indicate a limited awareness on the part of SSD clients regarding the adaptive technologies available at the Counseling Center and other venues on the SHSU campus.  In light of these results, SSD will explore additional means of publicizing these services and technologies, encouraging their use, and collecting data regarding client satisfaction with same.  In pursuing these objectives, SSD will attempt to partner with various departments on campus, such as the Newton-Gresham Library, the Reading Center, and the campus bookstore, to facilitate orientations to adaptive technologies and alternative formats of instructional materials. 

Provide training in disability related topics to SHSU faculty and staff.

Promote awareness and understanding of disability-related issues on part of SHSU faculty and staff by means of training opportunities, such as outreach presentations, workshops, teleconferences, etc.

Questionnaires administered at conclusion of training opportunities to gauge extent of disability-related knowledge, insights, and/or skills gleaned by participants.

SSD will primarily target faculty members in outreach planning for the 2012-2013 academic year, as the presentations of 2011-2012 were focused on university staff. Anecdotal feedback from the academic departments has indicated a need for additional training in SSD policies and procedures, including testing procedures for accommodated exams, recommended methods of recruiting volunteer student note-takers, and alternative formats of instructional materials. SSD will offer training opportunities for academic departments in the aforementioned areas in 2012-2013.

Anecdotal feedback from the academic departments and participant responses to outreach program surveys in 2011-2012 indicated a pressing interest in students with emotional/behavioral disorders. To address this need, SSD will collaborate with other SHSU departments in 2012-2013 to conduct presentations for faculty and staff on such disorders.

As a result of the aforementioned programs, SSD expects to obtain the following results from participant surveys: 

1) At least 80% of faculty respondents participating in outreach programs addressing SSD policies and procedures will report increased awareness and understanding of said policies/procedures.

2) At least 80% of faculty and staff respondents participating in SSD-interdepartmental presentations on emotional/behavioral disorders will report a heightened understanding of the unique challenges faced by students with such disorders and enhanced knowledge of strategies for promoting effective interactions with such students.

1)      81.3% of the faculty respondents that attended SSD outreach presentations in 2013 indicated that they had a clearer understanding of SSD services, policies, procedures, and client populations as a result of said presentations.  Participant feedback on the program surveys for these events identified additional, disability-related topics of interest for future reference, including limits of confidentiality regarding a student’s impairment and accommodations for Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and high-stakes testing.

2)      100% of the faculty and staff respondents that attended a presentation on Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in veterans, jointly conducted by SSD, Vet Success on Campus, and the SHSU Veterans Resource Center, reported that they had a deeper understanding of the unique challenges faced by this population and a greater awareness of the support services available to same as a result of the presentation.   The respondents further indicated that the information they received in this presentation will enable them to interact more effectively with veterans impacted by PTSD.  Participant feedback on the program survey for this event identified additional, disability-related topics of interest for future reference, including depression, sensory impairments, and effective teaching methodologies for students with Learning Disorders and ADHD.

The results of the program surveys administered to SHSU faculty and staff members  that attended SSD outreach presentations in the 2012-2013 academic year  indicate that these presentations were highly effective in raising awareness and understanding of SSD policies and procedures and the unique challenges faced by students with emotional/behavioral impairments, such as PTSD.  In light of participant feedback from these presentations, SSD will develop additional programs in the coming year to address such topics of interest as students with psychological impairments (e.g., depression, Autism Spectrum Disorder, etc.), limits of confidentiality regarding student disability information, and/or effective teaching methodologies for students with Learning Disorders and ADHD.  In addition, SSD will offer outreach presentations to additional academic departments on campus in an effort to promote further awareness of departmental policies and procedures and institutional requirements under the ADA.  Finally, the department will attempt to collaborate with the academic colleges and other stakeholders on campus in facilitating the acquisition and use of accessible instructional platforms and materials.