2008 Faculty Survey Results Accommodative Services Office Compiled by: Laurie Bethka, Learning Resource Specialist “Take pride in how far you have come, have faith in how far you can go” author unknown

The Accommodative Services Office at Clinton Community College views service to faculty as an integral part of our mission. We play an important role in educating faculty about the college’s legal obligations to students with disabilities. We further serve as a resource to assist faculty with understanding the impact of a student’s disability and to aid them in accommodating student needs. For this reason, we periodically survey the faculty, as well as our students, to determine their satisfaction with the services we provide and to offer them an opportunity to express their concerns or put forth suggestions. The last faculty survey was administered in In April 2008, an updated survey was sent to the faculty council via the college system. Additionally, hard copies were placed in the individual mailboxes of adjunct faculty as many of them do not regularly utilize their college accounts. Eighteen (approximately 36%) of full time faculty responded. Two had less than two years of service. Five had 2-5 years of service. Two had 5-10 years of service. Seven had more than 10 years of service. Two did not answer this question. Nineteen adjuncts (approximately 38%) responded. One had less than two years of service. Five had 2-5 years of service. Seven had 5-10 years of service. Four had more than ten years and two did not answer that question. Six (approximately 33%) of full-time non-teaching faculty participated. One had less than two years of service and five had been employed at the college for 5-10 years. The overall response rate was 36%; this about a 14% increase over the response rate for the 2003 survey The survey is divided into two sections. The intent of the first section is to assess the faculty’s attitude and level of general knowledge about accommodating students with disabilities. The second section is directed toward determining satisfaction with the college’s Accommodative Services Office. The results were as follows:

General Knowledge FT = full time teaching faculty NTF = non-teaching faculty ADJ = adjunct faculty 1. Do you believe you have a basic knowledge of the college’s legal obligation to student with disabilities? YesNoNot Sure FT 17 (94%) 0 1 NTF 5 (83%) 0 1 ADJ 17 (89%) 1 1 Comments: “I am very aware of legal issues in school prior to college.” (ADJ) “I was there when PL was passed as well as Section 504.” (ADJ) “That we provide them with the resources deemed necessary their disability.” (ADJ) “Somewhat, by very general.” (FT) 2. Do you believe you have a basic understanding of faculty legal obligations to students with disabilities? Yes No Not sure FT 14 (82%) no response NTF 5 (83%) 0 1 ADJ 16 (84%) 1 2 Comments: “Do as disability services requests.” (ADJ)

3. Do you feel comfortable including students with disabilities in your classes? Yes No No experience FT 17 (100%) 0 1 NTF 6 (100%) 0 0 ADJ 16 (94%) 1 2 Comments: “Actually depends on the nature of the disability; some are okay with accommodations. Some do not have the tools to function in the subject matter; this is a disservice to other students and a major burden to the instructor.” (ADJ) “Sometimes they take up more of class time and instructor resources than any other student. Not fair to students.” (ADJ) “Always, in fact sometimes I need to persuade students to utilize services.”(ADJ) “They are often hard-working and very motivated.” (FT) “ It is difficult to give pop quizzes when students require extra time. I don’t want to draw attention to them by having them leave.” (FT) 4. Do you have a general understanding of the college policies and procedures students must follow in order to obtain accommodations? YesNo Not sure FT 15 (83%) 2 1 NTF 6 (100%) 0 0 ADJ 14 (73%) 3 2 Comments: “I understand that students must be sent to your office and that they should bring me a form to sign.” (ADJ 5.Have you received a copy of “Faculty Guidelines for Accommodating Students with Disabilities”? YesNo Not sure FT 8 (44%) 1 9 NTF 3 (50%) 0 3 ADJ 10 (52%) 2 7 Comments: “Would I have received this as a returning adjunct 5 years ago”? (ADJ) “Should this be part of adjunct instructor handbook CD we are given each semester”?? (ADJ) “I can’t remember if I was given anything. An annual reminder would be good.” (ADJ) “I don’t think so, but I may have a while ago and I no longer know where it is”. (FT)

6. Are you aware of the faculty information link on the Accommodative Services Office webpage? YesNo FT 5 (27%)13 NTF 3 (50%) 3 ADJ 6 (31%) 13 Comments: “I’m embarrassed to say no-need to advertise this”. (ADJ) “Am now”. (ADJ) “Now I am – it is nice.” (FT) “Well, now I am”. (FT) “I am now- thanks”! 7. Do you include in your syllabus a statement regarding the availability of services for students with disabilities? YesNoNot applicable FT 16 (89%) 2 0 NTF 5 (100%) 0 1 ADJ 15 (79%) 4 0 Comments: “No. I do discuss it during the first class in which I review the syllabus”. (ADJ) “Can you send out appropriate language all can include in syllabi?” (ADJ) “And I announce in class.” (FT) 8. Do you know where the Accommodative Services Office is located? Yes No FT 18 (100%) 0 NTF 6 (100%) 0 ADJ 15 (79%) 4 Comments: “You used to be by the library. I’m not sure where you are now.” (ADJ)

Department Evaluation 1. How often have you interacted with the Accommodative Services Office during the past two academic years? Not at all 1-5 times 6-10 times 10+ times FT no response NTF ADJ Do you feel that the current college procedures students must follow in order obtain accommodations are reasonable? Yes No Not sure FT 17 (100%) no response NTF 5 (100%) 0 1 ADJ 10 (56%) no response Comments: “ I have sent students to accommodative disability testing but they have stated resistance.” (ADJ) “The part I am aware of seems quite reasonable. I don’t know if there is more to it.” (ADJ) 3. Are you comfortable discussing your concerns about student accommodations with the Learning Resource Specialist? Yes NoNo experience FT 16 (100%) 0 11 no response NTF 6 (100%) 0 0 ADJ 14 (93%) 1 4 Comments: “Laurie is always available with suggestions and information. I often ask her for advice or feedback.” (NTF) “I have no concerns at this time. You all do a great job!” (ADJ)

4. Do you feel that your questions or input are welcomed at the Accommodative Services Office? Yes No No experience FT 16 (100%) no response NTF 6 (100%) 0 0 ADJ 13 (93%) 1 5 Comments: “Most often.” (FT) “Some accommodations are intrusive and not in the overall best interest of the student.” (FT) 5. Are you comfortable with test security for students testing with Accommodative Services? Yes No No experience FT 15 ((94%) no response NTF 6 (100%) 0 0 ADJ 16 (100%) 0 3 Comments: “I have some concerns.” (FT) “I have only had one student in the past four years that used testing accommodation needs.” (ADJ) “Should this be part of adjunct instructor handbook CD we are give each semester?” (ADJ) 6. Have you received courteous treatment when contacting the Accommodative Services Office? Yes No No experience FT 17 (100%) no response NTF 6 (100%) 0 0 ADJ 14 (93%) 1 4 Comments: “The staff is great! Very helpful and accommodating.” (FT) “Civil without being welcoming or forthcoming.” (ADJ) “Always pleasant and helpful.” (FT) 7. How would you rate the availability of the Learning Resource Specialist? very good good fair poor no experience FT 13 2 (100%) no response NTF 5 0 (100%) ADJ 10 2 (100%) Comments: “Not enough interaction to be familiar with availability.” (ADJ) “Can’t rate. I mostly teach outside administrative hours.” (ADJ) “But needs another assistant.” (FT)

Suggestion for Improving Services “More staff.” (FT) “None, the staff are knowledgeable, patient, and available” (FT) “Move to first floor.” (FT) “One thing – hard for evening students who work during the day to be able to make appointments for your services (e.g., extended test time) currently not possible in the evening.” (FT) “I would like to be able to the test, when possible. For example: The student signs up for the test Monday morning at 8:00 a.m. and I don’t have the test completed Friday before leaving campus and I am not on campus until 10:00 Monday mornings.” (FT) “Keep it up!” (NTF) “The Learning Resource Specialist should have a full-time assistant or two. That would make her more available to students and faculty.” (NTF) “Workshop to acquaint those who need to know or need to review legal college services.” (ADJ) “Helping us to alert students as how to obtain testing or services for potential disabilities.” (ADJ) “I believe that several students in my classes in the past few years have needed more service—a tutor, a note-taker, etc. The do not seem to be an option.” (ADJ) “ No improvement to the services recommended except some way to accommodate evening students who work during the day so cannot come in for extended time, readers, etc. before 4:00 p.m. Otherwise, you are providing excellent service. I especially like (and sometimes need) the reminders to send tests over! All in all, you’re doing a great job”

Summary Results of this survey indicate that the faculty at Clinton Community College has a positive, supportive attitude toward students with disabilities. The majority feel they have a genral understanding of the legal obligations of the college as well as their own obligations to these students. They also feel secure about their knowledge regarding the college’s policies and procedures that students must follow in order to obtain services. The percentage of positive responses from adjuncts with regard to legal obligations and college procedures is notably lower. This is not surprising as more than half of the adjunct respondents have been here fewer than five years; several have never been in contact with the Accommodative Service Office. This is probably because many adjuncts are on campus in the late afternoon or evening after regular hours of operation. Also, many have jobs outside of the area of education and may have little need to be aware of laws pertaining to disability. Others teach at the high school level and may not be aware of the differences between the applications of the law at the high school level vs. the post-secondary level. Finally, the majority of the college’s students with disabilities request academic advisement through this office. Generally, we try to place our students with faculty we know well who have a history of success with teaching struggling students. We also try to avoid placing students in lengthy evening classes as many of our students have difficulty with attention, mental fatigue, etc. and need shorter classes that meet more frequently. The 2003 survey reflected the same disconnect between this office and our adjunct faculty. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to find a workable time for adjunct faculty to meet for an in- service. They would have to attend voluntarily as meeting attendance is not included in their contract. In the past, we have tried to bridge this gap by participating in the orientation sessions for new full-time and adjunct faculty. This past year, with personnel changes in the Human Resources and the Continuing Education Office, this did not occur. Results of the survey indicate that we should reinstate participation in these orientations and/or investigate other means of improving communication with our adjunct faculty. A high number of all three respondent groups did not believe they had received a copy of the faculty guidelines. However, unless they were new last year, most of the faculty probably did receive them at some point. Initially, guidelines were given to division coordinators to distribute. Later, guidelines were distributed through college mailboxes or through the Continuing Education Office (for adjuncts). The Learning Resource Specialist requested a time slot during new employee orientations and provided copies of the guidelines to participants. Additionally, guidelines were reissued at professional development training as part of an advisement binder. It would appear that in many cases the guidelines have been forgotten or misplaced over the years.

Few respondents are aware of our webpage. With the exception of orientation sessions, we have not promoted the webpage since it was initiated. The link is included in the guidelines but, as just discussed, most of the faculty no longer have their copies. The guidelines and the webpage address many of the questions or concerns raised in the survey. We need to make them more available and promote them. Faculty (as they did in 2003) rated the Accommodative Services Office favorably. 100% of the full-time faculty feels that the policies and procedures we have established for obtaining accommodations are reasonable. Only one respondent had concerns about test security. (This was somewhat surprising considering the proctoring limitations of this office.) The faculty reports that they are usually able to contact the Learning Resource Specialist when necessary. They also indicate and that the staff is approachable, courteous and open to their input. The most frequently appearing suggestion for improvement had to do with the availability of services for evening students. Staffing and a low number of students taking evening classes are primary reasons that we do not have evening hours. Also, the length of evening classes frequently allows the instructor to give extra time if the student needs it. If evening students need services, we ask the instructor to permit the student to take the exam earlier that day or the next day during our hours of operation. Some responders feel that more staffing is needed. The Accommodative Service Office has been working short a full-time staff member for a year. This limits the time spent with students and faculty, makes it difficult to proctor exams, and sometimes interrupts reading and scribing accommodations. Though our ratings in this area are high, we have periodically needed to rely on members of the Tutoring Center who have generously come to our assistance whenever they could do so. Though our staff makes a concerted effort to flex our schedules in order to assist faculty and students, there is not enough coverage given the number of students we assist every semester. PowerPoint by: Mary Armstrong Summary continued