Student Disability Services started the spring semester with many new opportunities, technologies and easier access for students with disabilities. Accommodation letters going to professors can now be processed within 24 hours of the student’s request. The services and accommodations have expanded so students feel inclusive in every aspect of campus from the latest Video Relay Service (video phone) installed in the library to UbiDuo, a communication devise that uses face-to-face communication.
SDS also utilizes social media like Twitter and Facebook to update students with the latest opportunities. The office collaborated with Student Development and Enrollment Services IT on a Technology Fee Grant that installed AT4E (Accessible Technology For Everyone) in eight areas on the Orlando campus and nine regional campuses. The technology includes:
These technologies are offered at different locations around main campus such as: Curriculum Materials Center, Library, Mathematics Assistance and Learning Lab, Student Academic Resource Center Lab, and Student Union. In addition, SDS expanded these services to regional campuses. Access equals opportunity.
The Office of Student Involvement partnered with SDS to begin OSI Assist program that allows students to arrange for the service or accommodations for events. The process begins with OSIAssist@ucf.edu [1]. This email address and the OSI Assist program allows students to easily inform SDS of their needs and give them a chance to arrange for the services or accommodations needed for the student. Services can range from interpreters at a student organization meeting, making sure a van is accessible for a trip with a Volunteer UCF service project to close captioning a movie.
“As we consider the diversity of students on campus, it is time to take pause and consider students with disabilities and the new opportunities our community can establish to provide a more inclusive environment at UCF,” says Mark Gumble, assistant vice president SDES.
The mission of SDS is “to ensure that students with disabilities have equal access to participate in and benefit from educational opportunities within the UCF community.”