The commitment to accessibility serves as a catalyst for developing and implementing practices that prevent barriers and can better allow for inclusive participation with the world around us. Unfortunately, the importance of accessibility does not always equate with commitment and compliance. While there has been a slow-moving effort to increase accessibility, the global pandemic and several key social justice movements have spotlighted inaccessible content and systems.
The New Accessibility in Higher Education guides the reader through the various areas of higher education, detailing how barriers to access were identified and how accessibility was reimagined and improved through the perspectives of faculty, administrators, and students. The book considers the multidimensionality of accessibility and how postsecondary scholars and practitioners must reconsider how accessibility in postsecondary education is understood and achieved. It argues that higher education can no longer ignore issues of accessibility nor revert to previous, antiquated, and discriminatory policies that do not support the success of disabled students. The book not only spotlights what occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic and other recent key events but, instead, but also provides a roadmap for the continued integration of more accessible strategies within modern higher education.
The New Accessibility in Higher Education explores the role and presence of accessibility within the higher education environment. The text considers the multidimensionality of accessibility and how individuals connected to the higher education environment (students, faculty, administrators, community stakeholders, researchers, and policymakers) must reconsider how accessibility in postsecondary education is understood and achieved.
Foreword
Nancy J. Evans
Preface
Katherine C. Aquino & Adam R. Lalor
Section I: Accessibility in Higher Education - Then, Now, In the Future
Chapter 1
National Events and Social Movements: Challenges and Opportunities for
Disability Access, Inclusion, and Justice in Higher Education
Wendy Harbour, Joseph Madaus & Shariese Katrell-Abdullah
Chapter 2
The Current Status of Accessibility in American Higher Education
Stephanie Cawthon, Ryan Mata, Desiree Lama & Lily Alvarez
Chapter 3
The Potential of Universal Design to Promote Accessibility and Inclusion for
Disabled Students
Sheryl Burgstahler
Section II: Shifting Accessibility Infrastructure in Postsecondary Education
Chapter 4
Increased Recognition of Disability Resources Offices
Kirsten Behling, Kaela Parks & Charnessa Warren
Chapter 5
Greater Visibility and New Disclosures of Disabled Students
Katherine C. Aquino & Emily Helft
Chapter 6
Enrolling and Retaining Disabled Students
Kurt F. Geisinger & Sarah Hammami
Section III: Conceptual Models Supportive of Disabled Students
Chapter 7
The Intersectionality of Accessibility
Ryan Miller, Rachel Friedensen, Annemarie Vaccaro & Ezekiel Kimball
Chapter 8
Addressing Accessibility Through a Social Justice Lens
Edlyn Peńa
Chapter 9
Transforming Institutions of Higher Education Into Equity-Centered Learning
Organizations to Promote the Whole Selves of Disabled Students
Chang-kyu Kwon & Emily Tarconish
Chapter 10
Creating Disability-inclusive Campuses: Development and Implications of a
Revised Interactionist Model of Disability
Ellen Broido
Chapter 11
Sense of Belonging Within an Accessible Environment
Annemarie Vaccaro, Adam Moore, Barbara M. Newman, Phil Newman & Ezekiel
Kimball
Section IV: Emerging Practices Resulting from Turning Points
Chapter 12
Rethinking Administrative Functions with Greater Disability Awareness
Adam R. Lalor
Chapter 13
Supporting Disabled Learners Through the Variations Planning Tool and
Universal Design: Enabling, Mitigating, and Disabling Instructional
Practices
Erin M. Scanlon, Emily Tarconish, Allison Lombardi & Jacquelyn J. Chini
Chapter 14
Where Do We Go From Here?
Adam R. Lalor & Katherine C. Aquino
Katherine C. Aquino is an associate professor in the Department of Administrative and Instructional Leadership and Associate Dean for Innovation and Partnerships in The School of Education at St. John's University. She currently serves as editorial board member for the Journal of College Student Development and the Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability. She received a B.S. in Psychology, MA in School Psychology, and a PhD in Higher Education Leadership, Management, and Policy. Katherine's research focuses on disability and accessibility within the organizational environment.
Adam R. Lalor, is Vice President for Neurodiversity Research and Training at Landmark College. With nearly 20 years of experience in higher education administration, his research focuses on the transition of students with disabilities to and within higher education. Dr. Lalor is a frequent speaker at national conferences and has an extensive publication record. He has served in leadership
positions within the Association on Higher Education and Disability, the Learning Disabilities Association of America, and the National Center for Learning Disabilities. He received his doctoral degree in Educational Psychology from the Neag School of Education at the University of Connecticut.
