Recruitment

Attracting individuals with disabilities is crucial to the broader goals of the university. Such recruitment provides a diverse array of talent and experiences and also perpetuates the kind of work advocated for in this report. By adding more disabled students to the university community, we would necessarily add more voices to help shape us into an institution that is truly inclusive, accessible, and welcoming. Accordingly, this sub-group provided recommendations intended to transform the university into an institution that actively and intentionally recruits and retains students with disabilities.

The findings of this Board—as documented in the various sub-group reports—indicate that there are many ways that this institution can improve the support, structures, and resources offered to disabled students. These circumstances necessarily impact the work the institution must do to attract and retain students with disabilities. As a gating matter, this sub-group found that the institutional gaps related to accessibility and disability make it difficult to recommend that the university intentionally target prospective disabled students at this time. Rather, an immediate priority would be to undertake academic, cultural, and institutional changes to improve student experiences and to communicate to disabled students that they are wanted, accepted, and supported. The sub-group found that only when these fundamental changes are made would it be appropriate to pursue strategies that recruit students by providing an honest overview of how the university can and cannot support disabled students.

Despite these concerns, the sub-group provided recommendations for ensuring that recruitment practices are accessible and inclusive, that resources are clearly communicated to prospective students, and that the university undertakes certain endeavors to make this institution more attractive to prospective students with disabilities.

Recommendations

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  • Ensure Recruitment Materials and Activities for Prospective Students are Accessible, Inclusive, and Accurate

    Status: Being Researched

    The university engages in myriad efforts to attract students, including online communications, on-campus activities and functions, and outreach. Many of these efforts do not address, let alone highlight, the kinds of resources or supports offered to students with disabilities. Moreover, many of the activities offered to prospective students are not necessarily accessible (e.g., a “fountain walk” where admitted students must step up into a raised fountain and traverse through a water feature). Where accessible activities are offered, they are typically given as an alternative to the “standard” which could communicate a sense of otherness or exclusion (e.g., the standard campus tour requires participants to traverse stairs or inaccessible routes, while the alternative accessible tour uses a different route and follows accessible routes). As a result, individuals with disabilities may not view the university as a welcoming or appropriate place for their enrollment.

    To address any gaps in recruitment materials and activities (e.g., tour guide routes and scripts, recruitment websites, communication strategies, etc.), a committee should be created to assess the university’s current practices and provide suggestions for increasing accessibility and disability inclusion. As an immediate consideration, it is recommended that all orientation activities and tours include detailed and accurate information about disability and accessibility. It is further recommended that the institution create a centralized repository of information pertinent to disabled students, staff, and faculty.

    See Recruitment Report, Recommendation 1, Appendix 5.

  • Communicate Available Scholarships to Students with Disabilities through SSD and Schools and Colleges

    Status: Yet to Be Addressed

    Currently, SSD has a list of scholarships that are specific to students with disabilities. However, this information must be disseminated more broadly, including with Schools and Colleges and the Office of Financial Aid (“OFA”). This can be achieved by creating one central, accessible resource containing relevant information about all available scholarships. This centralized resource should be clearly communicated to all Colleges and Schools, including their embedded recruitment and student support personnel.

    See Recruitment Report, Recommendation 2, Appendix 5.

  • Provide Equitable Access to Physical Fitness and Adaptive Sports for All Students with Disabilities

    Status: Yet to Be Addressed

    The university offers multiple fitness and sports facilities to its students; however, these facilities have inaccessible features, lack adaptive equipment, or lack personnel who can provide adaptive fitness coaching to disabled students. As with other issues identified in this report, this deficiency is a barrier to recruitment. Investing in an Adaptive Sports Program that provides specialized coaching for people with disabilities and facilitates the installation of adaptive equipment would not only provide training and support for elite athletes, but would also create a culture of support across campus for students, staff and faculty with disabilities. Therefore, it is recommended that the university commit to supporting an Adaptive Sports Program, including providing the necessary funding and resources to support its implementation.

    See Recruitment Report, Recommendation 3, Appendix 5. See also Culture Report, Recommendation 9, Appendix 7.