1. 7/19/2018
Working to Change the Campus Climate: Research and Recommendations from the NCCSD
Sally Scott and Wendy S. Harbour
NASPA Conference, Los Angeles, CA
March 11, 2019
© NCCSD, Slides may be used with permission of the NCCSD.
Scott & Harbour AHEAD Equity & Excellence Conference

2. Student Focus Group Research
7/19/2018
AGENDA
Why Focus on Campus Climate and Disability?
Student Focus Group Research
Overview of the study
What factors influence the climate for students with disabilities?
Implications and Recommendations
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3. Defining “Campus Climate”
7/19/2018
Defining “Campus Climate”
“…attitudes, behaviors, and standards of faculty, staff, administrators and students concerning the level of respect for individual needs, abilities and potential”
- University of California Office of the President, 2014, n.p.
A sense of “friendliness” for students
Evans, Broido, Brown and Wilke, 2017, p. 254
Campus climate affects how it feels for individuals to be on a campus and to interact with other campus community members.
- University of St. Thomas, n.d.
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4. 7/19/2018
Why Does this Matter?
Campus climate for one group affects all students’ development
Individual experiences affect student retention and academic performance
Students cannot participate in campus if they do not have basic safety, belonging, and access needs met
Campus climate affects faculty and staff, including those with disabilities
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5. NCCSD Student Focus Group Research
7/19/2018
NCCSD Student Focus Group Research
Part of a larger needs assessment project
7 focus groups of college students with disabilities
6 different campuses
4 regions of the country (VA, CA, MN, NY)
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6. What are the experiences of students with disabilities
7/19/2018
Research Questions
What are the experiences of students with disabilities
in accessing and participating in higher education? And does this impact campus climate?
Barriers
Supports
Recommendations
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7. Host Campuses for the Focus Groups
7/19/2018
Host Campuses for the Focus Groups
Institutional demographics
Public/private
Institutional types: 2-yr, 4-yr
Regions: South, West, Midwest, North
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8. Focus Group Participants
7/19/2018
Focus Group Participants
Number of students = 46
Graduate/undergraduate
Race/ethnicity
Gender
Disability
DEMOGRAPHICS
Graduate students (18) Undergraduate students (26)
GROUPS: 4 undergraduate groups, 2 graduate groups, 1 mixed
RACE: largely white, but Asian (7) Black(4), Hispanic(4)
GENDER: 29 F, 12 M, 3 identified as transgender
AGE: mostly 18-25, some in their 30’s and 40’s
*two students chose not to complete the demographic form
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9. *20 students disclosed 2 or more disabilities
7/19/2018
DISCLOSED DX: Top 4 groups ADHD (17) Mental health (11), Physical/mobility (11), LD (11)
*20 students disclosed 2 or more disabilities
7/19/2018
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10. 7/19/2018
Common Barriers
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11. Working with the Disability Resource Office
7/19/2018
- Unaware of office and services
- Difficulty navigating procedures
- Inadequate accommodations
- Lacking support for self-advocacy skills and disclosure skills
Working with the Disability Resource Office
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12. Classroom and Instructional Environment
7/19/2018
Student comments focused on faculty:
- Uninformed faculty
- Instructor pushback
-Non-responsive instructors
Classroom and Instructional Environment
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13. Gaps in Basic Access and Supports
7/19/2018
Gaps in Basic Access and Supports
Physical Access
Campus buildings, structures & spaces, housing, parking, community transportation
Campus Services
Counseling services, career development offices, library, teaching and learning centers
Electronic Information
Web pages
Course management systems
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14. Managing a Disability on Campus
7/19/2018
Managing a Disability on Campus
Added work of navigating campus procedures and barriers
Negative interactions with peers
Stigma of disability
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15. Negative interactions with peers
7/19/2018
Experiences with Nondisabled Peers
“There's definitely times…when somebody, like, knows I have extra time, or like taking my exam at the DRC, and I get like a funny look or like somebody's, ‘Oh, you have extra time? Like that's F'ing BS,’ or whatever.
The one I get all the time is, ‘Oh, you have priority registration? That's bullshit.’
Negative interactions with peers
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16. 7/19/2018
“I agree with wanting to speak up, but also I don't want to feel like the odd person out and have it affect being a student here or have a teacher look at me as less because I don't think like everyone else.”
Stigma of disability
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17. Added work of navigating campus
7/19/2018
Added work of navigating campus “
“These [conversations about access] have been going on… since the ADA came into place [in 1990] and still I can't go into a class trusting that all of my energy is just going to be put into being a good student. It's going to be about having to tweak and educate and everything else and that takes away -- I mean I don't mind doing it. I'm an advocate, but it's wearing and it is quite draining sometimes. I had to drop two classes last semester due to accessibility things.”
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18. How Do We Improve the Climate on Campus?
7/19/2018
How Do We Improve the Climate on Campus?
Supports Identified by Students
Disability resource office
Disability community
Faculty
Self-determination
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19. Recommendation 1 Evaluate Existing Disability Practices
7/19/2018
Recommendation 1 Evaluate Existing Disability Practices
Assess disability services and supports
Assess campus accessibility
Use campus climate surveys
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20. 7/19/2018
Develop faculty and staff training programs
Include disability in student orientation programming
Create multiple centers of disability expertise on campus
Recommendation 2 Create Diverse Ways for Campus Community to Get Information about Disability
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21. Recommendation 3 Support Campus-Wide Engagement with Disability
7/19/2018
Create opportunities for disability community and engagement
Include faculty and staff with disabilities in recruitment and retention efforts
Streamline funding mechanisms for accommodations
Encourage inclusive pedagogies
Recommendation 3 Support Campus-Wide Engagement with Disability
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Scott & Harbour AHEAD Equity & Excellence Conference

22. Recommendations for Research
7/19/2018
Recommendations for Research
More large-scale data on students with disabilities and shared definitions of disability in large-scale research (see NCCSD research brief by Avellone & Scott, 2017)
Research on effects of interventions on campus climate, economics of disability and higher education, and effects of interventions
Better understanding of legal considerations around privacy and medical records, and how they affect collaboration
Greater involvement of students and faculty with disabilities in research about higher education
Requirements for accessible research
3/11/19
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Scott & Harbour AHEAD Equity & Excellence Conference

23. NCCSD Research Briefs: Campus Climate www.NCCSDonline.org
7/19/2018
NCCSD Research Briefs:
Campus Climate
(Look under “Research”)
Coming in Spring 2019:
Access and Participation in Higher Education: Perspectives of College Students with Disabilities
3/11/19
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Scott & Harbour AHEAD Equity & Excellence Conference

24. Special thanks to the NCCSD team who contributed to this research
7/19/2018
Richard Allegra, NCCSD
Lauren Avellone, Virginia Commonwealth University
Hetsie Vetch, Syracuse University
Daniel Greenberg, University of Minnesota
All the research participants and the disability resource professionals who helped us find student participants
Special thanks to the NCCSD team who contributed to this research
3/11/19
Scott & Harbour NASPA
Scott & Harbour AHEAD Equity & Excellence Conference

25. Comments and Implications
7/19/2018
Comments and Implications
What themes or comments resonated with you? What are the implications for your campus?
3/11/19
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26. National Center for College Students with Disabilities (NCCSD)
7/19/2018
Contact Us
National Center for College Students with Disabilities (NCCSD)
and NCCSDClearinghouse.org Toll-Free
Sally Scott
cell
Wendy S. Harbour
VP Texts Only
3/11/19
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27. Questions or Comments? 7/19/2018
3/11/19
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