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yt INNOVATION ABSTRACTS i2:7

© 20e i ]
a Published by the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Develapment

With support from the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and Sid W. Richardson Foundation

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FACULTY INVOLVEMENT: THE KEY TO SUPPORT SERVICES
SUCCESS FOR THE DISABLED STUDENT

The Center for Educational Services for the Handicapped at El Paso Community College provides a
variety of support services to disabled students—tutoring, notetaking, signing, interpreting, writing, reading,
financial aid assistance, counselling, help with registration, career workshops, provision of and instruction in
the use of adaptive equipment, and computer-assisted instruction. In this age of service delivery specificity,
this comprehensive multifunctional program is an exception.

In order to provide the best possible service to disabled students, it is imperative that the Center
accomplishes the following: publicizes, recommends, and implements tutorial strategies in a timely manner;
establishes communication among student, instructor, and tutor to identify class requirements and to involve
the instructor in the support service plan—whether it involves tutoring only or the entire range of support
services. The Center for Educational Services is designed to enhance student success, but it is careful to avoid
infringing upon student privacy or denying students the right to make individual decisions about how they wish
to receive services.

The Initial Contact
When a student comes to the Center for Educational Services for the Handicapped, he/she meets with a
© counselor and receives a student handbook which details program services and policies. After consultation
with the counselor and identification of special needs and responsibilities, the student signs an agreement to
accept the appropriately named support services.

Classroom Observation

The support service staff person then goes to each of the students’ classes to collect pertinent information
regarding his/her academic needs. Prior to the first observation, the instructor is given a flier which explains
the observer's role.

The observer is there to watch the student’s reactions in class and to determine his ability to participate in
class work, making these observations as unobtrusively as possible. Observer and instructor are involved in
the design of an appropriate tutoring plan; the plan is then given to the tutor. (At times, faculty will
question the instructional adaptations that must be made for the student, so the system must be sensitive to
the role of the instructor and create as little interference with regular activities as possible.)

The Tutoring Plan

The tutoring plan includes this basic information: the student’s name, class, class time, room, instructor's
name, instructor's office and extension numbers, the tutor’s name, and the tutoring time. This information
is provided to facilitate tutor/instructor communication. The plan further identifies tutoring goals, materials
that will be used, and tutoring procedures. The observer gives a copy of the plan to the tutor and to the
instructor.

Consultations with instructors are continued on a "needs" basis only, initiated by the tutor or the
developmental education instructor for the Center or the classroom instructor. For example, an instructor
may contact Handicapped Services for help with evaluating the appropriateness of a specific test for a
disabled student.

Evaluations

© At mid-term, student checklists are sent to instructors. These checklists offer instructors an opportunity
(1) to evaluate the support service staff in their classrooms, (2) to report major academic needs of disabled

students heretofore unidentified and/or served by the Center, and (3) to report the additional needs of those

students already availing themselves of the Center’s services. At the end of the each semester, students |

 

 

 

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AO} Community College Leadership Program, The University of Texas at Austin, EDB 348, Austin, Texas 78712 8