Fall 2015 EditionAlumni & Friends Magazine
OHIO honors the Americans With Disabilities Act
OHIO’s commitment to the cause of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) goes back decades.
By Carey L. Busch, BS ’97, MED ’00, assistant dean for student accessibility at OHIO | November 20, 2015
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OHIO honors ADA
Here are other milestones in OHIO’s mindfulness for people with disabilities.
- The Office for Affirmative Action first provided services to students and employees with disabilities in 1991.
- The University issued its first policy on the matter in 1992 to recognize the spirit and letter of the ADA.
- Campus Area Transportation Cutting Across Boundaries (CATCAB), shuttling individuals with mobility limitations for free within a one-mile driving radius of Baker University Center, began in 2000.
- The Shostack Adaptive Equipment Room in the Learning Commons of Alden Library opened in the mid-2000s for patrons with visual impairments or learning disabilities.
- Student Accessibility Services and the Office for Equal Opportunity and Accessibility were established in 2008 as two independent entities, the former addressing students, the latter campus and employee accommodations.
- Galbreath Memorial Chapel reopened in 2013 following $1.2 million renovations that included the addition of an elevator and restroom upgrades to improve accessibility.
- OHIO’s redesign of its online front door in 2014 also met Internet accessibility standards.
Darrell Purdy (left), assistant director for the Office of Institutional Equity at OHIO, discusses accessibility issues, with Kaitlyn Finneran, a staff interpreter from the Deaf Services Center in Worthington, Ohio, signing in ASL, at the University’s ADA25 kickoff event on Oct. 6. The month of activities included workshops, performances, and lectures. Photo by Emily Matthews, BSVC ’18.
ADA by the numbers at OHIO
Approximately 22miles of ADA accessible sidewalks on the Athens Campus.
81employees with disabilities on all campuses receive accommodations through the Office for Equal Opportunity and Accessibility.
130students use free assistive technology such as Livescribe smartpens, Kurzweil software, Dragon Naturally Speaking speech-recognition software, and Read&Write Gold literacy support software (100 on the Athens Campus and 30 on regional campuses).
146ADA parking spaces on the Athens Campus (out of 6,400 total spaces).
200ADA accessible building entrances on the Athens Campus (out of 248 total buildings).
Up to 225people with disabilities earn degrees at OHIO annually from approximately 8,100 degrees conferred.
340note takers per year (200 on the Athens Campus and 140 on regional campuses).
475requests filled for books in alternate format across all campuses each academic year.
970ADA students on the Athens Campus in 2014-15, more than double the 443 registered in 2000-01, in the earliest data available.
1,359ADA students on all OHIO campuses in 2014-15, versus 543 registered in 2000-01, in the earliest data available.
More than 5,400letters of notification provided for students with disabilities to present to faculty each year (4,000 on the Athens Campus, 1,400 on regional campuses).
