SSD Annual Report
Director’s Message
It is hard to believe another year has passed and a new academic year is just around the corner. The 2011-12 academic year has been one of increasing growth in the Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) office. At year’s end, we had over four percent of the entire student population of the Ann Arbor campus registered with our office. This year, SSD registered over 500 new students and as of June 30th, we had a total of 1,831 students who are receiving services. I want to commend all of the SSD staff for their hard work and diligence. As director, I am very proud to be associated with each of them. During the past academic year, SSD has successfully advocated for over 40,000 academic accommodations (conservative estimate). At a time when the number of students registering continues to climb and we continue to be resource challenged; the SSD staff continues to make sure that students are, as always, priority #1!
It has also been a year of transition and self-reflection. The SSD office has seen the retirement of two long time employees. Donna Hansen, the office manager who had been with the office for over 20 years retired in February. In addition, Sam Goodin, who had been director of SSD for 17 years and then was promoted to Assistant Dean of Students, retired in June after serving the University community for 20 years. Even after his promotion Sam was still deeply involved with SSD. Both of these individuals had a profound and lasting impact on the SSD office, contributing to the stature that it has today. Sam was a strong mentor who introduced me to the field of disability services. His professional guidance on matters regarding student disability issues will be greatly missed. I also want to commend two other staff members, who shall remain nameless. Both of them had to face adversity of differing natures, one personal, the other health related. As difficult as these times were for both of these staff members, they continued to successfully serve the office and their contribution and sacrifice are noted and appreciated. I am also very happy to report that both of them are fine and moving in positive directions!
With regards to self-reflection, the office has done a series of evaluations. One was the Dennison survey of the cultural climate of the office and the other was a 360-degree assessment using our international organization’s (Association of Higher Education and Disabilities-AHEAD) assessment instrument. Students, faculty, staff and SSD personnel were all asked to fill out a survey. In both cases the results were very positive, but as always, there is room for improvement. The next year will be used to incorporate what we learned about the office to further improve the way we operate.
Over the past year, there have been several new, exciting contributions to our development effort. First, the Adam Miller Fund continues to grow and I want to thank the Miller Family for their continuing support. Whenever we need something and there is nowhere else to turn, the Millers have always been there for both the office and students. One of the new areas that the Millers support is funding for student veterans. Additionally, the Samet family has made a $5,000 contribution toward the development of a mentoring program, and Susan Webb made a contribution of $7,333 to be used for students with ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorders and all Mental Health conditions. Finally, our anonymous donor of the FACT fund has made a commitment to finance the fund for another three years. That gift is for $25,000 for the next three academic years. The FACT fund purchases needed technology and tutoring services for students with specific learning disabilities. I want to thank all of our donors for helping the office to expand and improve the work we do. During the next academic year SSD is planning its first fundraising initiative to reach out to alumni, friends and allies of the office.
The upcoming 2012-13 academic year is already shaping up to be another exciting and historic year.
As always, thank you for reading our report.
Sincerely,
Stuart S Segal, Ph.D.
Director, Services for Students with Disabilities
Mission Statement
The mission of the Office of Services for Students with Disabilities is to support the University’s commitment to equity and diversity by providing support services and academic accommodations to students with disabilities.
We share information, promote awareness of disability issues, and provide support of a decentralized system of access for students within the University community.
Contents
- Overview of Activity
- Accomplishments
- Services
- Collaboration
- Development
- Goals
- Staff Contributions
- Kudos
Staff
4 professional staff who each have an expertise in particular disability areas
1.5 Academic Coach. Half-time academic coach will have an 8-month appointment.
1 administrative staff
1 staff devoted to closed captioning of media
Overview of Activity
Growth in 2011-2012
By the numbers…
Since 2007, SSD has witnessed a 100% increase in the number of students it serves. SSD now services 4% of the entire student body, including undergraduate, graduates, and professional students.
During the academic year 2011-12 the SSD office registered over 5oo new students. This is the largest number of students to ever register in this time period.
500 also represents the combined number of students the office served during the first 20 years of its operation.
(Bar chart of Students Registered with SSD 2007-12 showing 854 students registered in 2007-8, 911 in 2008-9, 1237 in 2009-10, 1354 in 2010-11, and 1831 in 2011-12)
Breakdown by Disability Academic Year 2011-12
- Learning Disabilities, Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI), AD/HD, Autistic Spectrum, etc.: 903 students, 49.4 percent
- Mental Health Conditions, 438 students, 23.9 percent
- Chronic Health Conditions, 233 students, 12.7 percent
- Mobility Impairments, 28 students, 1.4 percent
- Visual Impairments, 49 students, 2.7 percent
- Deaf/Hard of Hearing, 28 students, 1.3 percent
- Dual Disabilities, 119 students, 6.5 percent
- Temporary Disabilities, 31 students, 1.7 percent
Some students have more than one disability; Numbers do not add to 100%)
Students with Learning Disabilities (LD) make up the largest portion of disabilities at nearly 50% while Mental Health (23.9%) and Chronic Health Conditions (12.4%) combined add up to about 35 %.
Accomplishments
Self-Evaluations
The SSD office achieved very positive results on the Dennison Climate Survey. We also completed a self-study using the Association of Higher Education and Disabilities (AHEAD) self-assessment instrument. This is a 360-degree evaluation surveying students, staff, administrators and faculty regarding the SSD office. The results of both these surveys can be found in the Appendix of this report.
Staff Reconfigurations
This past spring, following the retirement of a long-time staff member, SSD was able to reconfigure the staff position to handle budget cuts and increase direct services to students by hiring a part time academic coach.
Building Alumni Database
As of the end of June, SSD has successfully added another 600 names to the Development database for a total of approximately 4,600 names.
Newsletters & Website
SSD started a newsletter and has published three issues. In addition, we rolled out a new website with more interactive features.
New Milestone for Students Registered
SSD registered 565 new students in the academic years of 2011-12. This is the highest number of students in SSD’s history.
Modern Language Aptitude Test (MLAT) Testing
SSD continues to play a critical role in LSA’s foreign language waiver process, with both a presence on the Academic Standards Board and by administering the testing of students petitioning the College. The office offered five testing dates for the MLAT throughout the academic year, testing over 60 students.
Welcome Wednesdays
On February 8th, SSD sponsored a Welcome Wednesday at the UM Alumni Center to promote the services SSD offers to UM students. This year, 2,057 students attended. This is the 9th largest number in attendance out of 93 Welcome Wednesdays the Alumni Center has hosted thus far.
Services
Academic Accommodations 2011-12
SSD continues to provide note takers, video captioning, CART services and interpreters for its deaf/hard of hearing students. Below are the types of accommodations broken down by academic semester.
|
Accommodation |
Summer 2011 |
Fall 2011 |
Winter 2012 |
Spring 2012 |
Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Note-taking services (hours) |
27 |
1,365 |
1,381 |
101 |
2,901 |
|
CART services (hours) |
70 |
980 |
1,260 |
70 |
2,380 |
|
Interpreting (hours) |
77 |
323 |
37 |
87 |
924 |
|
Transcripts (number) |
0 |
33 |
10 |
0 |
43 |
|
Video Media Captioned (Number) |
19 |
66 |
48 |
9 |
142 |
In addition, SSD continues to put books into alternative formats for students with visual and/or reading disabilities. We have scanned over 63,000 pages of text and captioned 142 videos in the past year.
Other accommodations provided by our office are time and a half for exams, quiet locations for test taking, laptops for in-class exams, as well as setting up interpreters for campus events (graduations, campus tours, etc.).
|
Accommodation |
Fy 2011-12 |
|---|---|
|
Scanning books (pages) |
63,000 |
|
Time and Half for in-class exams (per Student) |
1,365 |
|
Separate/quiet location for exams (per student) |
737 |
|
Extension of due dates on short notice (per Student) |
226 |
|
Interpreting (events) |
134 |
|
Class notes (Lectures) |
130 |
|
Laptop for in-class exams (number) |
119 |
|
Double time for in-class exams (per student) |
82 |
|
Audio tape class/lectures (Number) |
45 |
|
Calculator for exams/assignments (number) |
13 |
Collaboration
The UM Community and Beyond
This past year, SSD has worked on expanding partnerships with divisional and academic units, as well as national institutions. Within the University, we specifically focused on increasing our connection with both LSA and the Athletic Department, and within the Division to do more programming with DSA Tech Services, CGIS, and TAC.
SSD Partnerships with…
UM Academic Units
SSD director and staff have given talks to several departments within LSA, including Romance Languages and History, Rackham, College of Engineering, The Office of New Student Programs, CRLT and Greek Life.
UM Athletic department
SSD has arranged a partnership with the department of athletics to provide screening for all incoming freshmen student athletes. SSD received $7,000 for this service and this money is being used to provide professional development opportunities to staff.
National Institutions
SSD director and staff have given several presentations at local and statewide meetings and have been asked to consult with other post-secondary institutions across the state. The director helped to write the national documentation guidelines for mental health disabilities for Educational Testing Service.
New Website Design
With DSA Tech Services, SSD revamped its website to reflect new UM DSA branding initiative and incorporate flatter, more attractive layout and design
Knox Center Adaptive Technology
SSD partnered with ITS to promote and disseminate information about the Knox Center and other assistive technology resources
Testing Accommodation Center (TAC)
SSD created a system to provide TAC with SSD documentation regarding students who request testing accommodations
Study Abroad Information
SSD collaborated with the Center for Global & Intercultural Studies (CGIS) and two students to create a study abroad section on the SSD website
SSD Publications and Social Media
SSD started a newsletter aimed at reaching out to alumni, students, friends and allies of SSD. Three editions have been printed so far. The Winter 2012 edition is online: http://ssd.umich.edu/tags/winter-2012-newsletter
Created a Facebook page: University of Michigan Services for Students with Disabilities. Like Us! :)
Development
Sources of Support 2011-12
The Division of Student Affairs (DSA) and SSD continue their efforts to expand funding opportunities for students with disabilities. The five funds that SSD has created (Technology, Tutoring, Scholarship, Social Networking and Support) can be found on the SSD website, ssd.umich.edu, on the Giving Opportunities page under the Funding and Financial Assistance topic hub or by clicking the Giving Online button. In the past year, we have received new and continuing sources of support from:
- The Samet family gave $5,000 for the start of a mentor program.
- The Fact Fund renewed its commitment to give $75,000 (over three years) towards the purchase of technology for students with learning disabilities.
- Susan Webb donated $7,333 and additional gifts adding up to approximately $4,000 to be used for students with ADHD, autism spectrum disorders, and all mental health conditions.
SSD Funding as of June 30, 2012
|
Fund/scholarship |
Purpose |
Available funds |
|---|---|---|
|
ADAM MILLER MEMORIAL FUND |
For students with physical disabilities: mobility, hearing, vision |
Supported by private donations |
|
KRISTI SPRECHER MEMORIAL FUND |
For students with chronic health conditions |
$2,800.00 |
|
SSD Gift Fund |
Gifts from foundations and individuals |
$7,700.00 |
|
PROJECTED BOOKS |
Scanned text / misc. purposes - typically visual impairments |
$4,000.00 |
|
FACT Fund |
For purchase of technology equipment – one time $1,000 limit per student |
$49,000.00 |
|
Samet Family |
Mentorship program |
$5,000.00 |
|
Susan Webb |
For tutoring or purchase of adaptive equipment for students with ADHD, autism spectrum disorders and all mental health conditions. One time $400 limit. |
$6,500.00 |
|
Greenbaum Scholarship |
Any registered student, non-specific purpose |
$1,950.00 |
|
Nematzdeh Fund |
Development - one time $200 limit |
$1,500.00 |
|
Ridley Scholarship |
Chronic health/visual, hearing, or mobility impairment can pay up to 7 students with a $2,000 cap per student given in fall term only |
$10,000.00 |
|
Burt Black Scholarship |
Learning disability/mobility impairment approval – one award annually in the fall term |
$1,000.00 |
Goals
Moving Forward 2012-13
- Establish a Student Advisory Board
- Develop peer mentoring program
- Develop and carry out a fundraising initiative
- Create a tutorial list in conjunction with GE
- Create a working group to better coordinate services for students on the Autistic spectrum
- Develop a referral list consisting of both University and community providers to assist students who are looking for psychological testing or psychotherapy services.
- Add a resource page to our website for students with mobility impairments, providing suggestions about how to obtain certain services that are not part of the SSD’s mission and/or programming.
- Update and improve verification forms regarding ADHD and mental health conditions in order to get the data the office needs to make a better determination of a student’s level of impairment.
Staff Contributions
Committee Assignments, Major Presentations, Professional Development Activities Conducted/Attended, Projects
Stuart Segal, Director
Committee Assignments
Council on Disability Concerns, Campus Mind Works, Health Advisory Team, Critical Incidents Team, ADA Fund Committee, Diversity Council, Planning Committee of the Conference of Depression in College Students, Planning and Advisory Board of University Testing Center, LSA Academic Standards Board-Foreign Language Waiver Committee, Autism Spectrum Work Group, Council for Graduate Student Disabilities Issues, Inter-Group Relations (IGR) Advisory Board
Major Presentations
- Presentation to Literature Science and Arts (LS&A) new academic advisors
- Presentation to LS&A regarding disabilities as part of their professional development series
- Consulted with Athletic Department Regarding High Risk Students
- Presentation to M-STEM students at the College of Engineering
- Presentation to the Post Docs in the Department of Psychiatry
- Presentation made to a group of social work faculty and students from Japan
- Presentation made to the staff of LSA for their professional development seminars
- Presentations made to the staff and academic advisors of Baker Colleges of Michigan
- Presentation to Michigan Advising Corp as part of their summer training institute
- Speaker at the Michael Gold National Conference on ADHD
- Moderated a discussion at the Veterans Student Conference
- Speaker at the training workshops with all University Departments regarding implementing the new GEO contract regarding disability issues.
- Speaker at the General Council’s meeting
- Speaker at the Mental Health Forum at the College of Engineering
Professional Development Activities Conducted
- Editorial Board of Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD)
- Educational Testing Service (ETS) Committee for Reviewing Documentation for Mental Health Conditions
- Graduate Management Admission Council Consultant on Disability issues
- Served on the Professional Advisory Board of the MI- LDA
- Emeritus member of the Board of Governors for the Detroit Learning Center- a nonprofit that provides free intensive tutoring to children with reading disabilities
- Presentation made to College of Engineering “pipeline” program aimed at high school students to get them interested in careers in engineering
Professional Development Activities Attended
- Attended the MI-AHEAD Conference
- Attended the 24th Advances in Psychiatry Conference
- Attended numerous talks at the Center for Growth and Human Development (CGHD) Brown Bag Conferences
- Attended numerous talks at the Department of Psychiatry’s Grand Rounds Conference
- Attended the 15th Annual Conference of the ETS Review Panel for Testing Accommodations
- Attended the College Student and Depression Conference
- Attended DSA Professional Development opportunities
- Attended a conference on case management and critical incidents
- Attended activities and talks during Invest in Abilities Week
Maureen Candy, Office Supervisor
Committee Assignments
2010 Wellness Champion for SSD/Annual meet and greet Greeter, Active U Participant, Disability Working Group for Grad Students, BAHRT (Business and Human Resource Team)
Major Presentations
- New Staff Orientation Representative
- Campus Information Day Volunteer
- DSA front desk fill-in for DOS, CAPS, and OVPSA
- Welcome Wednesday Volunteer
- Professional Development Conferences Attended
- Work/Life Conference (Annual)
- Web Now Access Updates
- Procurement Services Forums
- DSA Assistant Meetings Lunch and Learn: Detroit Culture Bus Trip
- Computer Security Training
- Training in Budget and Finances for job promotion to Administrative Assistant Senior
Projects
- Helped revise the SSD Website
- Scan SSD Student Files to be Stored on Image Now
- Buy and Install/Upgrade New Computers for Office/Student Use
- Put office computers on the main IT database
- ADHD Awareness Day Presentation marketing and financials
- Maintain storage area for accessible equipment for registered SSD students
- Jessie Ridley Scholarship facilitator for Candidates and Board Members
- Maintain Facebook page for SSD
- Coordinated Tutoring project with funding from SSD source
- Helped set up and Coordinate Hathi Trust users to access the digital library
- Member of BIRT (Building Incident Response Team) for our building
Virginia Grubaugh, Academic Coach
Committee Assignments
Council for Disability Concerns, Council for Graduate Students with Disability Issues (CGSDI) Group, Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) Workgroup, Social Work Diversity/Disability Committee, M-Justice, OSCR, Academic Support Web Site Team
Major Presentations
- Michigan Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (M-STEM) Presentation & Fair
- Engineering Advisors – Successful Coaching of At Risk Students
- Center for Research on Learning and Teaching – consultant on disability work presentations
- Tokai University Social Work Student Training Program
- SSD training for New Student Orientation Leaders
- Multiple Presentations for New Cohort of Dental Students
- Psychology Department Academic Advisors
- Moving Forward with Asperger’s – A Transition to College Workshop to inform Washtenaw County students and parents about successful adjustment to college for students on the autism spectrum
Professional Development Activities Attended and Memberships
- Continuing Advanced Coach Training – toward Advanced Coach Certification (International Coaching Federation - ICF)
Supervisor Trainings
- DSA Appraisal Training
- ACO (ADHD Coaches Organization) Membership
- Autism Spectrum Disorder Training
Projects
- Developed a part time Academic Coach position and supervision given to coach hired
- U-M Academic Support Services Web Project – A major developer and ongoing shaper of this campus-wide resource; Main responder to web-site inquiries
- ACCESS Mentoring – Began project development for a mentoring program for students with disabilities at the U-M
- Developing Mentor Training for ACCESS Mentors
- Ongoing development of Academic Skills Training for workshops
- Content development for Academic Coaching presence on SSD website
Alfred Kellam, Coordinator, Psychologist
Major Presentations
- New Faculty Orientation
- Community High School, "Life After High School" (CEDO), Special Resources Presentation
- Development Conference Panel, Summer Engineering Institute
- Welcome Wednesday, Alumni Center
- Office of New Student Programs, Orientation Training
- Professional Development Conferences Attended
- Depression Center, Annual Depression Conference
- Dr. Daniel Siegal, How Psycho Therapy Works, New York, NY
- New England Educational Institute, Clinical Psychopharmacology, Santa Fe, NM
- Amaricon Psychological Association Annual Convention, Washington, D.C.
- University of Michigan Depression Center Conference, Motion-Emotion Interaction in Brain and Behavior
- UM ADHD Awareness Week, ADHD and the Cyber Junkie, Kevin Roberts
Daniel Measel, Coordinator, Blind, Mobility, and Chronic Health Conditions
Committee Assignments
Tuition Reimbursement Insurance committee, Veterans Day planning committee, Field Supervisor for Social Work student
Professional Development Conferences Attended
- MI-AHEAD Conference
Mary Reilly, Captioned Media Specialist
Committee Assignments
Council for Disability Concerns, DSA Social Media Group, Web Access Working Group (WAWG)
Professional Development Conferences Attended
- MI-AHEAD Conference
- DSA Professional Development Conference
- ADACO Disability Studies Mini-Conference
- Google, Adobe Share Their Video Accessibility Strategies (webinar)
- HDR: Take Charge of Your Career: Discover Your Strengths
Projects
- Designed and published three editions of SSD newsletter
- Update and maintain content on SSD website
- Provided video captioning for Business and Finance “It Starts With You” workshop
Jill Rice, Coordinator, Deaf/Hard of Hearing
Committee Assignments
Council for Disability Concerns, Sponsor of HISO
Major Presentations
- Residential Staff Training
- Parents of new students
- Welcome Wednesday
- Belleville Schools
- Tokai University students
- Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity
Professional Development Activities Attended and Memberships
- Licensed to work in the State of Michigan
- Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf
- Michigan Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf
- Ohio Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf
- Resilience Navigating the Complexities of Change OHIO Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) (1.7 CEU)
- Cochlear Ear Implant presentation
- Data Steward Training for Gift Development
- Long Island TERP EXPO (.27 CEU’s)
- Depression Center Conference (.9 CEU’s)
- DART Training Development Community Training (classroom)
- DART Training Donor Intent (online)
- Commanding Presence/ Exceptional Customer Experience (.7 CEU)
- Online training ERecruit Resumes and Dispositions
- Online training Hiring Student Temp Employees
Kudos
Recognition of Services Provided
Stuart Segal was nominated for the Work/Life Champion Award for Supervisors and has received many thank you letters from students and parents for assistance.
Maureen Candy received thank you letters from students and parents for help and assistance as well as Wellness Champion Recognition thank you letter.
Alfred Kellam received many kudos from students and parents.
Virginia Grubaugh received numerous acknowledgements and expressions of gratitude from students and parents, including gifts and donations specifically given for the focus and excellence of services rendered.
Jill Rice received a certificate of appreciation for five years of service and the following letters of gratitude for services provided.
“On behalf of the Global Scholars Program please accept our sincere appreciation for all your efforts in making the ‘Disability Culture: An Ingenious Way to Live’ event a great Success.” –Global Scholars Program
“Two years ago we agreed as a Division to make sure and record our work with students in the University Alumni Database. I am grateful to hear that you are doing outstanding work to make this happen. Thank you for your time and willingness to make sure our work is reflected for the lifetime of these former students!” – E. Royster Harper
"Thank you for your congratulations on my graduation - it is so hard to believe how fast these four years have flown by, and I have truly loved every minute of it. I just wanted to send an email your way thanking you for your beautiful graduation gift! I absolutely love it, and it will definitely be put to good use for my first job out of college. I also wanted to thank you for everything that you have done for me during my years at Michigan. I couldn’t have done it without you, and you were such an amazing source of support over these past four years. You were a big part of my decision to commit to Michigan, and my college experience was enormously heightened because of your kindness, dedication, and generosity. Any future student of yours is extremely fortunate to have you by their side, as I know that I was. Thank you again Jill, and I promise I will drop by to visit the next time I visit Michigan!" – Letter from Brooke Suskin, Class of 2012
