Last May, a group of Dartmouth students, frustrated with the College's Student Accessibility Services Office, presented a report to the Office of Institutional Diversity and Equity advising that revisions be made to the College's accessibility policy ("Accessibility Services lacking, students say," June 2). These students argued in favor of increasing funding for Accessibility Services and improving guidelines for professors on how to best accommodate students. Their goal was to ensure that students with disabilities were granted equal access to all facets of the Dartmouth experience.
Since then, some changes have been made: The College has improved the Accessibility Services web site in an effort to make information readily available for students with disabilities, and faculty have been notified of their responsibility to comply with authorized accommodations.
While these alterations have led students with physical disabilities to express satisfaction with the College's progress, students with learning disabilities remain frustrated ("Accessibility is still a concern," Oct. 29).
In interviews with The Dartmouth this week, students continued to criticize Accessibility Services for failing to reach out to students with learning disabilities. Some of those interviewed said they were not made aware they had to actively seek support from Accessibility Services, and others said that Accessibility Services did not adequately assess the quality of the accommodations given.
While we understand why acting Dean of the College Sylvia Spears has said that students may have to take on more responsibility for their disabilities in college than they were required to in high school, we also believe that it is the role of Accessibility Services to help ease this transition.
Last June, Accessibility Services director Ward Newmeyer admitted that his office did not have enough resources to engage in increased outreach to students with disabilities. Even in the face of the College's current budget constraints, however, small steps can be made to ensure students' needs are addressed.
Accessibility Services should expand its efforts to monitor the success of student accommodations, facilitate communication between students and professors and inform students with disabilities of the resources available to them. If the ultimate goal is for students to monitor their own progress, there must be a greater effort to make this expectation clear.
In an interview last June, a transfer student in the Class of 2010 told The Dartmouth that he would hesitate to encourage a prospective student with a disability to attend Dartmouth. At an institution that prides itself on the strength of its undergraduate education and the vitality of its community, it is imperative that all current and potential students be able to enjoy the full benefits of both.
