Equal Access For Everyone
Disability Services Proposal
2
Equal Access For Everyone
Disability Services Proposal
Submitted to
Ms. Beatrice Awoniyi
Director of Disability Resources
Iowa State University
Ms. Kerry Dixon-Fox
Project Manager, Facilities Planning and Management
Iowa State University
Ms. Ginny Arthur
Associate Director of Residence Halls
Iowa State University
Prepared by
Cristina Saint-Blancard
Student, Mechanical Engineering
Abby Siemek
Student, Industrial Engineering
Nichole Wittry
Student, Electrical Engineering
April 14, 2005
3
April 14, 2005
221 Sheldon #6
Ames, IA 50013
Ms. Beatrice Awoniyi
Academic Success Center
1076 Student Services Building
Ames, IA 50010
Dear Ms. Awoniyi,
To the general public, the day-to-day issues facing students with mobility disabilities are
not well known. To any student with a disability, however, these issues (when not well
addressed) can greatly impede the most basic of daily functions. We have researched this
subject and written this proposal to try to alleviate some of these hardships that
accompany mobility disabilities.
Common problems faced by students with mobility disabilities include entrance into
buildings, handicap accessible bathrooms, appropriate seating in classrooms, residence
hall assignment locations, and emergency evacuation procedures. We understand the
Department of Disability Resources has programs already in place to address the needs of
students with mobility disabilities, but these problems still exist to some extent.
After researching the topic and conducting multiple interviews, we have developed some
solutions. We propose installing more automatic doors, updating the handicap
accessibility map, modifying classroom scheduling procedures, allowing students with
disabilities the option of first floor accommodations, and building upon the current
emergency procedures to include well-known shelter areas and better communication.
We hope this proposal is helpful. Feel free to contact Cristina Saint-Blancard at
515-451-4059 with any questions you may have.
Sincerely,
Cristina Saint-Blancard
Abby Siemek
Nichole Wittry
4
Table of Contents
Proposal Abstract………………………………………………….……..5
Campus Life Issues…………….....…….………….…..…….…..….…...6
Building Accessibility Issues…………….………………..…......6
Bathroom Accessibility Issues………………………………..….7
Seating Accessibility Issues………………………………..….....8
Campus Life Solutions…………………………………...………..…..…9
Building Accessibility Solutions……………………...……....….9
Bathroom and Seating Accessibility Solutions…………….…...10
Residential Life Issues………………………...……………………......11
Room Location Issues……………….……………………….…11
Emergency Procedure Issues……………….………………......11
Residential Life Solutions…………………………………………....…12
Room Location Solutions……………………………….……...12
Emergency Procedure Solutions…………………………...…...13
Costs………………………………………………………………….....14
Campus Accessibility Costs………………………………….....14
Residential Costs………………………………………………..14
Methods……………………………………………………………...….15
Students with Mobility Impairments……………………….…...15
Subject Matter Experts…………………………………….....…15
Online Resources…………………………………………….....15
Conclusion……………………………………………………………...16
Bibliography…………………………………………………………....17
Appendix A……………………………………………………….…….18
5
Proposal Abstract
Iowa State University prides itself on providing top-notch education to everyone from all
walks of life. Over forty-six students at Iowa State are affected by mobility disabilities, in
both the academic and residential environments.2 This number may seem small, but it
only reflects the number of students who have registered with the Department of
Disability Resources (many students choose not to register). While the Department of
Disability Resources provides many services and accommodations for these students,
there are many ways to improve. We are proposing some simple but effective solutions to
problems involving two main areas: classroom scheduling (taking campus accessibility
into account) and residential life. Classroom scheduling should consider building
accessibility, handicap bathroom availability, and seating accommodations. Residence
halls should provide first floor room assignments to mobility impaired students who wish
to have them, and also develop detailed safety procedures to address the limitations of
students with mobility impairments. These changes will improve convenience and add to
the safety and peace of mind of all mobility impaired students and the supervising staff at
Iowa State. Additionally, Iowa State’s image will be reinforced as that of a college which
cares greatly about its students.
6
Equal Access For Everyone
Disability Services Proposal
Campus Life Issues
Building Accessibility Issues
Many of us take entrance into buildings for granted, but some Iowa State students think
differently (see Graph 1 below). These students have experienced the helplessness and
ISU Students w ith Mobility Im pairm ents in 2004
Total num ber of registered students: 46
25
Students with wheelchairs
20
Number of students
20
Students using crutches,
canes or braces
15
11
11
Students with other types of
assisting devices
10
5
4
0
Students that don't use any
devices, but have mobility
problems
Graph 1: Mobility Impairment Statistics
inconvenience that accompany the inability to get through a door. Vivian d’Alelio
describes, “[Some] buildings don’t have automatic door openers at all and you have to
wait for someone to come and open the door for you, and that really sucks when you’re in
the cold.” 3 Adam Rix has his own frustration regarding entrances, especially the lack of
accessible ramps. 4 These sentiments regarding automatic doors and ramp locations are
very common on campus among students with mobility disabilities.
Currently, from the Iowa State homepage, one can access a map (see Map 1 on next page)
that shows which campus buildings have certain handicap access features, including
ramps, automatic doors, elevators and accessible parking. This map is an invaluable
resource for every student with a mobility impairment, whether that is a permanent
wheelchair or temporary crutches. However, through careful research, we have found this
7
inaccurate “other accessible door”
missing “accessible elevator”
Map 1: Online Accessibility Map
map not entirely correct. For example, the Union Drive Community Center has an
accessible elevator that is not shown on the map. Also, the map states that there is an
“other accessible door” on the northwest side of
Carver, but entering through this “accessible”
door requires ascending a 5 ½-inch step (see
Picture 1 at
right). Inaccuracies such as these
5 ½ inch step
cause frustration and inconvenience for
students who believe an accessible feature
exists when it does not.
Bathroom Accessibility Issues
Picture 1: “Accessible Door” with Step
Another key issue is the lack of accessible bathrooms. Most buildings only have one
handicap accessible bathroom for women and one for men, if any at all. Students who
have classes in buildings without adequate bathrooms can try to adjust their activities, but
8
when students have 3-hour labs, it is hard to avoid the need for a bathroom. Students
must go out to the elevator, get to the floor where the appropriate accessible bathroom is
located, get to the bathroom, and go back in the elevator and back to the classroom. The
time needed for this whole process obviously increases when the student must go outside
and over to another building to use the bathroom. This often causes students to miss
valuable class time, which is usually difficult to make up. Ashley Lerch comments on this
problem, “There are what I like to call ‘accessible’ bathrooms, meaning that they would
appear accessible to anybody who would look at them, but when a person like myself
would actually go into them to use them, it’s not. And so if I’m in a building that has one
of these ‘accessible’ bathrooms, I would have to leave and go to another building.” 5
Seating Accessibility Issues
When most students walk into a classroom, they usually just scan the room, select
whichever empty seat looks good that day and simply walk over and settle in for an hour.
However, when students with a mobility disability enter a classroom, they go through a
much more difficult process. In some
classrooms, there are what are referred to
as “designated wheelchair workstations”
to meet the needs of students with
disabilities* (see Picture 2 at right), and
one might think this is a fairly decent
solution. However, these areas are
frequently located toward the back of the
lecture hall, causing students to lose focus
wheelchair workstation
Picture 2: Wheelchair Workstation
and making it hard to see the board or hear
the professor. Also, many classrooms are not even equipped with these designated
wheelchair workstations, so students end up in the aisles. These seats are far from ideal
and leave students feeling like they are out of place or in the way. Vivian explains how
she feels about her experience when a teacher set up a low table for her that was in the
* Disabilities will refer to any mobility impairment.
9
back of the room: “It was hard for me to try to be with a group because I was pretty much
secluded from the class, or that’s how I felt - secluded from the class.” 3
Campus Life Solutions
Building Accessibility Solutions
The first solution, which will make a great impact on all students with mobility
impairments, will be to install automatic door openers (at least one) on each campus
building not currently thus equipped and to fix those that are installed but do not properly
work. These door openers (see Picture 3 below) allow people with disabilities to perform
the basic but simple function of entering through a doorway. As students on a large
campus, we all go through countless doorways every day, and it is not difficult to
imagine how frustrating it
must be to a student who
must wait for someone else to
assist with such a basic task.
motion sensors
However, most swing doors
(found all over Iowa State’s
campus) can easily be
converted to automatic doors;
additionally, the automatic
open doors
Picture 3: Automatic Door
door openers can be installed
quickly, usually requiring
less than a day’s labor.6 Their installation would be a great step toward improving Iowa
State’s accessibility, giving independence and confidence to students with disabilities.
This change will make the Iowa State experience more enjoyable for the currently
enrolled students with disabilities, and it will also appeal to students with disabilities who
are deciding which college to attend.
The second solution involves updating the handicap access map. Logically, if an outdated
map causes frustration and dissatisfaction among its users, an updated map with correct
features would result in satisfaction and contentment. Students depend on this map to feel
secure that they can get around and use campus resources without fearing they won’t be
10
able to find an accessible ramp or elevator. Additionally, this map should include
handicap accessible bathroom locations, so that students will know those locations ahead
of time. Every campus building and surrounding area should be examined for ramps,
automatic doors, elevators, accessible bathrooms and handicap parking, and these should
be included in an accurate map, as
shown at left in Map 2. This map can
be located online so it allows for
quick and easy updates when new
buildings or renovations can be
included. Following through on the
promise to update the map with
Map 2: Updated Campus Map Excerpt
every new building and renovation
would be beneficial to all involved.
The students who use the map would feel confident in its accuracy and be able to plan
their activities without hesitation or worry, and the University would continue to improve
its image by providing a better resource to students with disabilities.
Bathroom and Seating Accessibility Solutions
Although it may be difficult to understand the scope of the accessible bathroom problems
(many students do not feel comfortable discussing this private topic), they certainly need
to be addressed. Enhancing the classroom scheduling system will aid students with the
problems caused by inaccessible bathrooms and improper seating areas. Currently, Iowa
State allows students with disabilities to have early registering privileges, in theory so
that they may select rooms in buildings without accessibility problems. However, this
does not always work according to plan. A great many classes do not have determined
classrooms by the time students register, and some classes are not offered in multiple
buildings. Iowa State should schedule its classrooms earlier in the semester so that
students know this information when they register. Also, further action should be taken
when a class wanted by a student with a disability is only offered in one classroom (if the
room is not near any accessible bathrooms or does not have adequate seating for students
with disabilities). The class should be moved to an acceptable classroom so that all
students are welcome to take the course, and no student feels discouraged from taking the
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class simply because there may not be an accessible bathroom nearby. This change will
improve the lives of both present and future students with disabilities at Iowa State,
giving them the confidence and equality of being able to choose any class the rest of the
student body can choose. Also, this service will give Iowa State an edge in recruiting, as
many other colleges simply offer students early registration but no formal assistance
beyond that.
Residential Life Issues
Room Location Issues
Mobility impaired students who choose to live in the residence halls face additional
difficulties in their everyday lives. Only two of the residence halls on the Iowa State
campus (Eaton and Martin Halls) have been designed with mobility impaired students
specifically in mind, and not even these can fully accommodate them because areas like
the laundry facilities are out of their reach. Some dormitories have narrow hallways that
make it difficult to navigate in a wheelchair. Not every floor includes handicap
bathrooms outfitted with the proper stalls, showers, and automatic doors. The dorm
rooms themselves are not designed in a way that allows convenient movement, entering,
and exiting. The majority of residence halls are outfitted with centrally located elevators.
However, elevators do break from time to time and the service is not always timely.
Students who rely on the elevators for their mobility can be “stuck.” Higher education
with a disability is complicated enough without the extra stress and weariness that these
obstacles can provoke for mobility impaired students. As Ashley Lerch explains, “Having
issues where things are inaccessible can really bring any person down.” 5
Emergency Procedure Issues
Picture yourself in bed, asleep. It’s the middle of the night and the fire alarm goes off.
Most students dress quickly, test their doorknob for heat, and then exit down the stairs to
safety. What if you are mobility impaired and rely on the dormitory elevators for
movement? You would still dress quickly and test your doorknob for heat, but then what?
Elevators are disabled during fire emergencies. Evacuation in ANY emergency can be a
life or death situation if the elevators are broken or disabled. The current guidelines for
evacuation of non-ambulatory persons set forth by the Department of Residence Facilities
12
Management instructs that persons who “utilize a wheelchair or are unable to walk” (and
not located on the ground floor) should be helped to a smoke-free stairwell and left there
if there is not a way to safely carry them down the stairs. Further instructions say that
rescue personnel should be notified immediately of the location of the person or persons
left behind so they can assist those individuals (see Appendix A). This is not exactly a
comforting plan of action to students with mobility disabilities who rely on this “plan” for
their safety. Fire and smoke can spread quickly and overcome a person who is left behind
in these conditions, especially if rescue personnel are delayed in their evacuation process.
The communication of these emergency procedure guidelines to both the affected
students and personnel is lacking considerably. Mobility impaired students may not know
what to do in case of evacuation and may begin to panic, and residence hall personnel, if
not properly trained, may not know how best to help those impaired individuals. Cristina
Saint-Blancard (a member of our group) is a student staff member in Martin Hall, and she
was only told about the current recommended procedures when she asked her Hall
Director what to do in an emergency situation. Cristina states that this issue was never
brought up during staff training and that very few staff members even know a document
exists to describe the procedures for evacuating a non-ambulatory person.
Residential Life Solutions
Room Location Solutions
Residence hall difficulties for students with disabilities would be greatly diminished by
giving these students housing priority and the option of choosing rooms on the first floor
of their preferred residence hall. They would not be required to accept this
accommodation, but strongly encouraged. This accommodation should be allowed
regardless of the type of community found on that floor. For example, the first floor in
Martin Hall is restricted to students in the Honors Program and students like Vivian
d’Alelio are not allowed to live on that floor because she is not part of the program.
Beatrice Awoniyi explains, “When we talk about residence halls, it is very frustrating to
know that some people have preference not because of need, but because of convenience.
And that’s what I see happening with the residence halls having the Honors Program on
the first floor. It is convenient for them, rather than someone in a wheelchair having the
need for it.” 2 First floor accommodations for students with disabilities would facilitate
13
faster, easier, and safer evacuations in case of emergency. Also, broken elevators would
no longer be an encumbrance.
Emergency Procedure Solutions
Another solution for safer emergency procedures, besides first floor accommodations for
mobility impaired students, would be to introduce predetermined “Emergency Shelter”
locations on every residence hall floor. These emergency shelters would be near the exits
and frequent enough on the floors for quick access during emergencies. “Areas of refuge”
are cited in the current emergency procedures (Appendix A) but it is a vague reference, and
the areas are not marked in residence halls, nor are residents or staff informed of them (as
Cristina found out when she had to ask for procedure guidelines). Better procedures will
quickly result from introducing clearly designated shelter areas marked with signs (see
Picture 4 at
right) and educating residents, staff, and
emergency personnel about the use of the signs and
their locations. Mobility impaired students would
already be aware of the locations for these shelters
and would know to make their way to one in an
emergency in case no one is on hand to assist them.
Hall directors and community advisors would know
to alert rescue personnel as to where these
emergency shelters are. Rescue teams would not
Picture 4: Shelter Area sign
have to search for trapped students, but instead immediately go to the emergency shelters
for quick evacuation. Specific emergency procedure training needs to be implemented for
all residence hall personnel, especially those who have mobility impaired students on
their floors. These emergency procedures need to be communicated effectively to both
the students and residence hall personnel so everyone can keep a cool head and not panic.
Even when things do not go exactly as planned during an emergency procedure, those
who are well trained will be able to think quickly and revise plans in order to see to the
safety of all the residence hall students, including those with mobility impairments.
14
Costs
Campus Accessibility Costs
There are not many direct expenses for the solutions we have outlined in this proposal,
but the ones that are required provide a tremendous improvement. Automatic door
packages for public access start at about $750 per system.5 This includes everything
needed for setup and installation: door operator, closer, door strike, release, access
buttons, transformer and timer. There are quite a few buildings on campus that would
benefit from the installation of an automatic door, but the key buildings are Coover Hall,
Beyer Hall, and the Armory, as well as any other high-traffic campus buildings that do
not currently have automatic doors. Even if the University installs just one new automatic
door on campus, it is one more door that is accessible for those with mobility disabilities.
Updating Iowa State University’s handicap access map is an endeavor with the only cost
of time and effort (and possibly a student’s wages). With over 100+ buildings included
on the map, it could take weeks or even months to be able to verify and update the
information intended to be included in the handicap access map. Although this sounds
like a daunting task, it is well worth the effort. An inaccurate handicap access map
causes a world of frustration and inconvenience for those who depend upon it for their
daily lives. The time and effort is a small price to pay for a very valuable outcome.
Making slight enhancements to Iowa State University’s classroom scheduling system is
another improvement that can be achieved with minimal cost. After the campus handicap
accessibility map has been updated and verified, it would be a relatively simple task to
crosscheck that the assigned classrooms for mobility disabled students are in buildings
that meet their accessibility needs.
Residential Costs
Giving students with mobility disabilities the option of first floor residence hall
accommodations also comes with little to no monetary cost. Simply reassigning rooms in
order to reserve ground floor rooms for students with mobility disabilities loses no room
and board revenue. The only applicable cost for this adjustment would be the time it
would take for the organization, but the benefits would be more than worth it.
15
Introducing emergency shelter locations on every residence hall floor is a solution that
does have a direct cost. Refuge point signs would need to be purchased in order to
clearly mark these designated shelter areas. The price of one refuge point sign is $19.07. 7
Therefore, it would cost around $133.50 to fully outfit a residence hall such as Larch that
has seven floors (minus the cost of labor). All of the residence halls on campus would
need to be similarly outfitted with refuge point signs on every floor. These signs,
however, would go a long way toward the safety of all Iowa State University students,
not just the students with mobility disabilities.
Methods
We interviewed many students and experts on the subject of disability access and
consulted a number of internet sources. These resources are as follows:
Students with Mobility Impairments

Vivian d’Alelio lives in Martin Residence Hall and is a freshman in English.

Adam Rix lives in Eaton Residence Hall and is a senior in Anthropology.

Ashley Lerch lives off-campus and is a junior in Genetics.
Subject Matter Experts

Beatrice Awoniyi is the Director of Disability Resources at Iowa State University.
She has held this position for 4 years, but she has over 17 years of experience in
this area.

Kerry Dixon-Fox is a Project Manager with Facilities Planning and Management
at Iowa State University, and she has worked on building accessibility projects.

Veva Cheney is the Director of Disability Services at the University of NebraskaLincoln. She works with students with mobility disabilities every day.

Tara Miller is a Program Assistant for the Student Disability Services at the
University of Iowa.
Online Resources

The Gentleman Door Company provides a wide variety of automatic door
openers, from those designed for homes and elevators to those designed for
universities and retail.

Parrs Equipment for the Workplace has been featuring safety and security
products for residential and commercial properties for over 115 years.
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Conclusion
The Department of Disability Resources currently offers many valuable services to
students with mobility disabilities, but Iowa State has many ways to improve. These
changes include improving building accessibility by adding automatic doors, updating the
handicap accessible campus map, and addressing bathroom and seating accessibility by
adjusting the procedure for scheduling classrooms. Also, residential life for students with
mobility impairments would be much improved with guaranteed (but optional) first floor
room assignments, specially trained staff, and well-known shelter areas. These changes
are a great opportunity for Iowa State to improve its services to a large number of
students, and additionally enhance its image and assist with recruitment.
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Bibliography
1
Cover page picture. Disability and Handicap Info <www.muskingumlibrary.org/
general/disability.html>. 24 March 2005.
2
Awoniyi, Beatrice. Director of Disability Resources, Iowa State University. Interview
31 March 2005.
3
d’Alelio, Vivian. English student, Iowa State University. Interview 24 March 2005.
4
Rix, Adam. Anthropology student, Iowa State University. Interview 28 March 2005.
5
Lerch, Ashley. Genetics student, Iowa State University. Interview 31 March 2005.
6
Gentleman Door Automatic Door Openers <www.gentlemandoor.com/products.htm>.
30 March 2005.
7
Picture 4: Shelter Area sign. Parrs Equipment in the Workplace <http://www.parrs.co.
uk/product.asp?src=&c=&debug=&sessionID=&user=&currency=GBP&brand=0
&pf_id=T702&customer_id=PAA3022039605104KPKCFYEBQBZQQROX>.
29 March 2005.
8
The Americans with Disabilities Act <http://www.dso.iastate.edu/dept/asc/dr/dr_
handbook/ADA.htm>. 24 March 2005.
9
Pictures 1-3 courtesy of Abby Siemek.
18
Appendix A:
Department of Residence
Facilities Management Procedure
19
Department of Residence
Facilities Management Procedure
Date:
July 28, 2003
From:
Safety Coordinator
Subject:
Evacuation of non-ambulatory persons
Purpose:
To ensure that during a building emergency, persons with physical disabilities or
persons who use a wheelchair can evacuate the building or take refuge in a
designated area within the building.
Background:
Within our facilities, we have handicapped student rooms that are located on
floors other than the main floor. This creates a special need for those students
who are disabled or non-ambulatory to exit the building during an emergency. All
building occupants are instructed to evacuate the facility upon activation of the
alarm system. As non-ambulatory persons live and travel upwards in a building,
their ability to evacuate quickly, lessens with each ascending level. It is therefore
necessary to assist persons with disabilities during building evacuations. For
persons who utilize a wheelchair or are unable to walk to the closest exit, moving
horizontally to an “Area of Refuge” is recommended. Staff and students are asked
to assist persons with disabilities during building evacuations. Hall Directors and
Resident Assistants that have disabled or non-ambulatory students living within
their building and/or on their floor should designate persons to help assist during
an evacuation. Student room numbers and telephone numbers of disabled
residents should be provided to emergency rescue agencies by the Hall Director.
Each residence hall house has been instructed to identify a place to assemble
outside the building, so its residents can be accounted for, after an evacuation.
Action:
Use the following steps for evacuation of non-ambulatory or disabled persons
during emergencies:
Step 1 : Assist persons by helping them move to the nearest marked exit. IN CASE OF
FIRE, DO NOT USE THE ELEVATOR TO EVACUATE ! Elevators could be called
to the fire floor and when the doors open, expose you to the fire. In addition, elevator
shafts act like chimneys and expose occupants to dangerous levels of smoke and gases.
Step 2 : Most exits are encompassed within a stairwell. Stairwell landings will provide
temporary protection from fire and shall be considered an “Area of Refuge”. If the
person’s disability prevents you from helping them exit the building, leave them in the
stairwell. However, DO NOT leave them inside a stairwell that may have smoke in it.
Non-ambulatory persons may have respiratory complications and will need to be
removed from any smoke or fume threat immediately.
20
Step 3 : Upon exiting the building, immediately inform rescue personnel of the exact
location of the disabled person. Rescue personnel will check these areas first upon
notification.
Step 4 : For visually impaired persons, a staff member or designated person should act
as a “sighted guide” and offer an elbow to escort them out of the building. As you walk,
the guide should describe where you are and advise of any obstacles. When you have
exited the building, orient the person to where you are and ask if any further assistance is
needed.
Step 5 : Do not re-enter the building until the fire department has declared the building
safe.
Coordinate:
Residence Life, Facilities Operations, ISU Police, Environmental Health and Safety,
Ames Fire Department.
Signed: