ARC Annual Report 2011-2012
1
California State University, Chico
Division of Student Affairs
Accessibility Resource Center Annual Report 2011-2012
In July 2011, Disability Support Services changed its name to Accessibility Resource Center (ARC) to reflect
new and broader responsibilities. Effective July 2011, ARC assumed University-wide responsibility for the
implementation of the ADA, including managing accessibility and reasonable accommodation requests from
staff and faculty, and visitors to the campus. As such, the ARC has published revised mission and goals,
reflected below.
I. Departmental Mission Statement
Chico State believes in providing access to its diverse student, employee, and community populations. The
Accessibility Resource Center works with staff, faculty, students, administrators, and community members to
ensure that all aspects of campus life— learning, working, and living— are universally accessible. We
promote and facilitate awareness and access through accommodations, training, and partnerships.
Department Goals:
 University Access: Advocate responsibly for an accessible learning and working environment by coordinating
reasonable accommodations, promoting universal design for learning, and by removing informational, physical
and attitudinal barriers. (CSU Chico Strategic Priority 1 and 2; Division of Student Affairs Goal 1; Academic
Affairs Plan Goal 2)
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Disability Management: Promote self-advocacy and self-determination, while reinforcing personal
responsibility necessary for students and employees with disabilities to fully participate in an inclusive
campus and attain their educational and employment goals. (CSU Chico Strategic Priority 1 and 2;
Division of Student Affairs Goal 1; Academic Affairs Plan Goal 2)
Education and Outreach: Provide leadership to the University community, including students, staff
and faculty, to enhance awareness of the needs and capabilities of students and employees with
disabilities.(CSU Chico Strategic Priority 2 and 4; Division of Student Affairs Goal 1;Academic Affairs
Plan Goal 2)
Program Evaluation: Engage in systematic program assessment strategies that are designed to
support, enhance and improve services to students and employees with disabilities. (CSU Chico
Strategic Priority 1and 2; Division of Student Affairs Goal 1; Academic Affairs Plan Goal 2)
Recruitment, Retention, Satisfaction, Graduation: Students with disabilities face multiple barriers to academic
access, which impact retention, satisfaction and graduation. These goals are developed to enable ARC to
ARC Annual Report 2011-2012
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reduce barriers to services and student success, promote academic partnerships to further enhance student
learning and retention, and promote universal design for learning to promote and enhance equal access and
accommodation.
II. Departmental Accomplishments -A Highlight
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) -Significant progress in institutional compliance
 Managed transition from Disability Support Services to Accessibility Resource Center (ARC)
 Revised ARC Mission and goals
 Developed ADA Manual for employees (staff and faculty)
 Developed and implemented distribution of “University ADA Notice”
 Conducted two annually required “ADA Refresher” workshops
 Developed “Personal Responsibility for Emergency Preparedness” for staff and faculty
 Secured link: “Report Accessibility Issue” on most CSU Chico web pages
 Developed Admission appeal process for applicants with disabilities
 Initiated ADA Self Evaluation and Transition Plan (ADA Committee project)
 Revised parking policies to reflect:
o Requirement that visitors with disabilities park without paying fee
o Process to allow students with disabilities to apply for a parking fee waiver
o Requirement to allow persons who ride motorcycles, who have ADA placard, to park in vehicle
spots
Alternate Media/Assistive Technology Services
 Hired Alternate Media/Assistive Technology Coordinator who:
 Managed opening of Alternate Media/Assistive Technology Services Office in SSC 320
 Made significant improvements with efficient and accurate conversion of instructional materials (see
program assessment)
 Developed an entirely accessible Early Start Math program
 Implemented assistive technology assessments for all students
 Moved all Kurzweil to virtual licenses allowing access to software from any computer
 Developed Kurzweil testing protocol for students significantly reducing the need for readers
Accessible Technology Initiative
 Initiated ATI faculty liaison project with College of Behavioral and Social Sciences (BSS)
 Conducted Significant outreach to faculty, staff and students via workshops and awareness events
ARC Annual Report 2011-2012
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Workability IV Contract (WAIV)
 Awarded about $80K Workability IV Contract from State of California (General Services) Department
of Rehabilitation (DOR)
 Developed formal partnership between DOR, Chico State Career Center, and ARC
 Developed curriculum for WAIV
Disability Awareness/Outreach
Campus climate issues remain a priority for ARC and our work to improve campus climate is essential to
improve access and a welcoming community for students with disabilities. We continue to exert
considerable effort to reach various campus constituents. The following is a summary of the types of
awareness activities we participated in, planned and implemented this year:
 15 classroom presentations
Classroom presentations include basic disability awareness covering the primary
disability categories served by ARC, overview of the services that ARC provides, The
Americans with Disabilities Act, Rehabilitation Act and examples of instructional
strategies and classroom accommodations.
 4 workshops for staff/faculty
Workshops included basic disability awareness, specific instructional strategies per
disability and functional limitations, Universal Design for Learning, legal
responsibilities, accessible instructional materials, and Accessible Technology Initiative
priorities.
 Disability Awareness Month
Matt Glowacki- Comedian with a disability
ADA Open Forum
Movie Night in the Residence Halls
 Wellness Fair
Prevention of Traumatic Brain Injury (wear your helmet) and prevention of noise
induced hearing loss (use earplugs!)
 4 Student employee workshops
Basic disability awareness, how to interact with persons with disabilities, customer
service issues, strategies for working with students with disabilities
 2 CELT workshops
Welcoming Veterans to Chico State, encouraging Vets to use ARC
Disability Awareness and Accommodations
 Presentation to Academic Senate
Accessible Technology Initiative, creating accessible instructional materials
 Presentation to Council of Academic Deans
Admissions appeal policy for students with disabilities
 Presentation to President’s Council
Benefits of Be-Well program
 Veterans Conference
 Sign Language Class- year long class offered to staff and faculty
ARC Annual Report 2011-2012
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III. Changes in Policies and Procedures
The Office of Civil Rights recommends clearly written and communicated policies regarding how to access
academic adjustments and services for students with disabilities; and suggests that the lack of clear policies
is the most common cause for complaints to the Office of Civil Rights. Therefore, ARC continues to audit its
policies, procedures and guidelines as new guidance regarding the implementation of Section 504 and the
ADA emerges.
The following policy statements, procedures and business practices were developed and/or revised this year:
 Emergency/Personal Responsibility Statement for all PWD
 ARC brochure
 ADA/Reasonable Accommodation Handbook
 Exam Administration Manual
 Student Case Management Manual
 Process for managing requests for disability documentation
IV. Resources Summary
Base Allocation
Base Augment for Personnel (ATI/ADA)
Work Study
Disability Awareness Month
Commencement transfer (to staff commencement)
RCE Billing
CERF
509,785.00
64,000.00
26,081.00
2,500.00
252.00
375.00
97,013.11
Total Income
765,014.11
Program Expenses
641,635.00
Professional Staff
Salaries
525,177.00
Salary Costs for Direct Services (students, employees, public)
63,268.54
Educational Assistants (In/ out of
class)
Alternate Text Production
Exam Proctors/Cart Driver
16,787.45
12,373.25
34,108.42
Operating Expenses
BOTTOM LINE
53,189.57
123,379.11
ARC Annual Report 2011-2012
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Human Resources:
Hiring:
 Holly Hunt was hired as a new ARC Advisor in October 2011. Holly is a Certified Rehabilitation
Counselor and holds a MS in Rehabilitation Counseling. She brings tremendous expertise and
energy to ARC.
 Jeremy Olguin was hired as the new Alternate Media/Assistive Technology Coordinator in July
2011. Jeremy has an enormous expertise in the area of alternate media.
ARC Professional Development:
 Emerging Trends in Higher Education and Disability
 Autism Spectrum Disorders-Medical, Educational and Social Perspectives
 Temple Grandin Presentations
 University Staff Development Professional Development (Fall and Spring)
 Suicide Prevention Training- Enloe Hospital
 Veterans Conference
 Emerging Technology webinar provided by WebAIM (E-readers)
 ATI Professional Development webinars (Access Text)
 PAUSE
 504 and ADA Newsletters
 New professional development books
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My Life in Pictures-Temple Grandin
Animals Make Us Human-Temple Grandin
Cognitive Behavioral Treatment of Students with Behavioral Disorders
Best Practices for Serving Students with Psychiatric Disabilities-AHEAD
ARC Committee Representation:
 ATI Leadership Council (Chancellor’s office) – Parsons
 ATI Steering Committee –Parsons, Olguin, Evans
 Instructional Materials (IMAP) – Evans (Chair), Olguin
 Procurement Accessibility – Parsons
 Web Accessibility –Evans
 University Technology Advisory Committee- Olguin
 Emergency Management Committee –Parsons, Boyes (Floor Evacuation Coordinator/SSC)
 Commencement Committee-Corder
 Americans with Disabilities Act Committee –Parsons (Chair), Evans (Vice Chair)
 Campus Climate Committee –Alexander
 Health and Safety Committee –Evans (Chair)
 Web Content Committee –Hunt
 Behavioral Assessment Team (BAT) – Parsons, Hunt
 VEST (Veterans Education Support Team) – Boyes, Corder
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
Health and Wellness Committee- Corder
ARC Office Liaisons/Special Assignments:
 Admissions Office Liaison- Hunt
 Housing Accessibility Liaison- Hunt
 Butte College Transition Connection - Corder
 Workability IV Contract Coordinator- Hunt
 Technology and Learning Program- Olguin
 Assistive Technology Center- Olguin
Facilities/Equipment:
 Computer refresh (2) for ARC Director and Testing
 Upgraded Kurzweil software licenses
 IPAD purchase for Alternate Media Services and Director
Space issues:
 ARC has acquired additional space located in Student Services Center room 320. This space now
houses the Alternate Media Services Program, including the Coordinator and production space.
Additionally, the space has afforded ARC much needed additional testing space furnished with testing
carrels.
V. Program Evaluation of Past Year
The following addresses progress on program objectives established in 2010-2011 Annual Report
1. Manage the transition from Disability Support Services to Accessibility Resource Center.
See Section II. This objective has been successfully completed and will be discontinued.
2. Prepare for and manage ADA audit.
CSU Chico has not been contacted for an ADA audit as originally thought; however, we are using the
shared audit document to help guide our program evaluation priorities for 2012-2013. This objective
will be discontinued.
3. Strengthen ATI Project Management, outreach and reporting activities
This year, ARC Director appointed Lauri Evans as the IMAP Chair in order to focus more attention on
the overall program management of ATI. Ms. Evans has done a tremendous job at managing the
largest component of the ATI, making strategic and intentional progress. Additionally, the ATI
steering committee met as planned this year to maintain oversight of our campus progress,
challenges and goals. ARC Director has been working on a Chancellor’s office workgroup to develop a
system wide ATI Plan template, which will be released in June 2012. At this time, ARC Director/ATI
Program Manager will work with ATI priority team Chairs to develop a campus ATI strategic plan.
More work needs to be done in terms of “reporting out” to the campus community, in particular to the
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senior management and the Academic Senate. ARC faculty survey noted that just over 50% of faculty
acknowledged being familiar with the ATI. Clearly, more work needs to be done in terms of
communication and awareness. Ms. Evans is working with the Academic Senate Chair to coordinate
reporting in Fall 2012. The ATI strategic plan will be used as “reporting out” to the senior
management and campus community. This program objective will be continued.
4. Develop a workshop designed to affect student learning outcomes
Workshop curriculum has been developed targeting student learning outcomes. A series of three
workshops are scheduled for Fall 2012. This program objective will be discontinued.
Ongoing Assessment Efforts
Demographic Reporting:
Students:
 697 Students Served Fall 2011
 756 Students Served Spring 2012
 The majority of students report:
o Learning Disabilities
o Chronic Health Conditions
o Mental Health diagnosis
 About 10% of ARC students are also Educational Opportunity Program students
 About 20% of ARC students utilized that Student Learning Center AY 2011-2012
 ARC students do not proportionally reflect students who are Hispanic and Asian
 2% -College of Agriculture
 27 % -College of Behavior and Social Sciences
 15% -College of Business
 21% -College of Communication and Education
 10% -College of Engineering/Computer Science and Construction Management
 12% -College of Humanities and Fine Arts
 11% -College of Natural Sciences
 1% -Graduate Studies
 2% -Undergraduate/undeclared
Employees
 17 employees receive reasonable accommodations approved by the ARC
Academic Performance Reporting:
 35% of ARC students earned greater than 3.0 GPA (Spring 2012)
 21% of ARC students earned lower than 2.0 GPA (Spring 2012)
 6 year graduation rate for native freshman (Fall 2002-Fall 2004) – 49.9% (compared to 50.9% for all students)
 6 year persistence rate for native freshman (Fall 2002- Fall 2004) – 59.9 (compared to 58.8% for all students)
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 6 year graduation rate for transfer students (Fall 2002-Fall 2004) – 71.4% (compared to 71.2 % for all students)
 6 year persistence rate for transfer students (Fall 2002- Fall 2004) – 74.5 (compared to 73% for all students)
Explanation of Demographic Reporting for Students:
Since the new ARC Director has been completing the Annual Report, she has noticed inconsistencies in
demographic information reported by Institutional Research via ERSS data in PeopleSoft to Chancellor’s
Office and data that is available in Insight using the same PeopleSoft data screens. A continued effort to
work with IRES Data Warehouse/PeopleSoft administrators to resolve the inconsistencies remains a
challenge. This year, however, it seems that the IRES staff have located a “job” problem that essentially
drops ARC students out of the ERSS data collection. Therefore, numbers of students with disabilities
reported to the Chancellor’s Office is approximately 240 less than ARC actually services. Additionally, we are
working with the People Soft administrators to broaden reporting categories so that “other” can be broken
out in a reasonable way so that better reporting can occur. New reporting categories include: ADD/ADHD,
Psychological and Medical/Health. We expect that 2011-2012 reporting will better reflect demographic
information. With any luck, and much perseverance, we hope to resolve the data conflicts of actual number
of students served, as well as, that, which reports the disabilities and accommodations. The reporting
provided is the best reflection/estimation using multiple data sources.
Services Usage Summary:
Accommodation Summary
2006-2007
2007-2008
2008-2009
# Of tests administered
1321
1589
2293
20092010
2343
80
198
202
247
20102011
2193
20112012
2549
271
277
# Of texts converted into
alternate format
# Of other instructional
material converted into
accessible format
# Of Educational Assistant
hours in classroom
# Of hours of interpreting
720
1001
1541
1464
1404
2356
1240
1824
1886.5
1426
1372
1790*
# Of cart rides
1000
1688
2588
1351
1078
2074*
570
* Reflects student, employee and public usage
Student Access Survey
ARC administered a 35 item web based Quality of Services Survey via Student Voice. The following is a
summary of results.
Satisfaction:
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90% of students report being satisfied with ARC services overall
94% of students report feeling welcome in the ARC office
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95% of students report satisfaction with the timeliness of services
86% of students report satisfaction with the general guidance offered by ARC advisors
80% of students report satisfaction with the timeliness of alternate media production
88% of students report that they would recommend Chico State
90% of students report that ARC services has resulted in them being a more effective student
Quality of Services:
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82% of students report that the quality of mobility services is very good-excellent
87% of students report that the quality of exam services is very good-excellent
74% of students report satisfaction with note taker services is very good-excellent
65% of students report satisfaction with educational assistants is very good-excellent
87% of students report the quality/ accuracy of materials converted into alternate media is very goodexcellent
84% of students report that CSU Chico offers an equal education to students with disabilities
Campus Climate:
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68% of students report that the general attitude of students without disabilities toward students with
disabilities is very good-excellent
71% of students report that faculty are responsive and provide appropriate accommodations
Learning Outcomes:
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73% of students report that they are aware of their Civil Rights-the Americans with Disabilities Act
63% of students report that they are comfortable with self advocacy with instructors
87% of students report that they understand what accommodations they need to be successful
Comments from students….
“Hi Charlene, Thank you again for seeing me. I really appreciated how well you took care of me and made
everything very clear. I like that you have experience, it makes me feel good to come see you. Your smile and
tone was inviting, and made me feel comfortable working with you. Looking forward to your help in getting
my goals accomplished.”
“Thank you for yesterday. I am very excited to be at Chico in the fall. I even let a few tears out on the way
back to the car out of gratitude, about just how wonderful it is to move on. It was nice that ARC and you
were so warm, helpful and welcoming to me with my first exposure to the campus. Thank You…”
“Holly, I would like to thank you for the time and efforts spent on my behalf during our recent visit to Chico
State. I have taken away from this experience how warm, friendly and willing to assist me in my quest for a
successful educational opportunity that you have been.”
Faculty Survey
ARC administered a 17 item web based Survey via Student Voice which focused on faculty awareness of the
Accessible Technology Initiative. The following is a summary of results.
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Accessible Technology Initiative:
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53% of respondents report knowledge of the ATI
71% of respondents report that they post a disability/accessibility statement on their syllabus
36% of faculty report that they have attended a TLP training on accessible instructional materials
17% of respondents report the use of a course pack
80% of respondents report they post their instructional materials on the learning managements system
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67% of respondents report understanding their responsibilities under ADA
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Comments from staff and faculty…
“Sandy: Holly is great. She is a breath of fresh air, brings in a new perspective, and is always willing to find
the answer if she doesn’t know…she’ll even try and round up the boss if that will help! P.S. I love her sense of
humor too…”
“Hi Debbie, Thank you very much for your response and for working to improve the procedures. I very much
appreciate the work your office does!”
“Debbie, You are wonderful. I am impressed. Thanks for working the situation.”
“Sandy- just wanted to say thank you and congratulate you on a successful finals administration. Your staff is
great and professional. I know it’s a big job and your staff handle it with confidence and ease.”
ADA Training Survey
The ADA requires that institutions/ADA Coordinators provide annual and periodic “refresher” training on the
ADA.
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Approximately 20 MPPs and 25 staff/faculty attended two trainings
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Internal Audit
Each Year, ARC staff conduct a self study of a particular area in order to evaluate effectiveness and explore
unmet needs and to consider if there are services and/or activities that are obsolete.
This year, we conducted a self-assessment of personnel and of services specifically designed to meet
increasing needs of students with mental health disabilities. We asked ourselves these questions:
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What services do students with mental health disabilities need to be successful?
Are we maximizing new expertise acquired from newly hired advisors?
We also hired an intern to explore other campus across the nation to determine what services were being
offered to this population of students. We purchased and shared the AHEAD Best Practices for Serving
Students with Psychiatric Disabilities, and we conducted an informal survey of ARC students with psychiatric
disabilities regarding the types of services that we aren’t providing that they consider necessary for them to
be successful.
Based on our self-exploration, we have developed a plan to build a service delivery option for students with
psychiatric disabilities next academic year. We’ve selected a graduate student intern to help develop our
program.
Also, we conducted an audit of all student files with regard to disability documentation. Our audit results
demonstrated the need to revise or formalize our office process for following up on outdated documentation
and documentation accepted on an interim approval basis. Those processes have been revised and
formalized.
VII. Analysis
After considering assessment opportunities, as well as demographic trends, the following is offered as
discussion and analysis of issues and services that require strategic and intentional consideration in the next
academic/fiscal year.
Service Delivery
Gains in satisfaction and quality of services in the specific areas that have been included in the electronic
services request portal confirm that students appreciate the efficiency and confidentiality that the electronic
request system provides, especially in the area of note taking. Two years ago, 24% of students reported that
note taking services were excellent or good. This year, 74% of students report satisfaction with the quality of
note-taking services. ARC believes that there are still students who are choosing not to use note taking
services because they are unaware of the new, confidential system to obtain a note taker. We will continue
to advertise the new system and encourage students to utilize it. Additionally, 82% of students report
satisfaction with mobility services on campus, as compared to 63% last year. Again, a gain in efficient and
independent management of cart rides has led to greater satisfaction of services.
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Alternate Media/Assistive Technology
This year, the entire Alternate Media/Assistive Technology program has been re-vamped by Jeremy Olguin.
His efforts, along with his crew of well-trained student staff, are reflected in survey results, efficiency reports
and antidotal comments from students. This year, 80% of students report satisfaction with the timeliness of
alternate media production (compared to 56% last year) and 87% (compared to 54% last year) of students
report the quality/ accuracy of materials converted into alternate media is very good excellent. In the past, it
took several weeks to months to get students their instructional material; this year, the average conversion
to delivery to student time was 3.4 days. No student, who made a request for materials before school
started, started the semester without their instructional materials. Those students, who made requests after
school, waited on the average 3.4 days for material. In one year, this service program has gone from one of
great vulnerability and concern to an effective, efficient program!
Comment from Long time alternate text user…
“I just wanted you to know how amazing alt media has been this semester. Not only are the documents
grade A+ quality, the turn around is unbelievable. My head no longer wants to explode as I am following a
document. In past years, it has always taken intense focus and concentration to filter out the volumes of
extraneous information, present in in the highest quality converted materials for graduate school. I have just
always thought that was how it had to be reading alternate text. Though Jeremy has seemingly made
relatively small changes in how documents are formatted, the professional quality has made an enormous
difference in how it eases learning and comprehension. Now, my brain hardly realizes that it is not reading an
actual book. It almost makes me wish I were starting grad school instead of ending it. I envy future students
who will benefit personally and academically from Jeremy Olguin's expertise and professionalism. As a blind
person, this really makes me want to cry. Few parts of the learning experience are equal for blind and nonblind students. “
Educational Assistance:
Only 65% of students report satisfaction with educational assistants is very good to excellent. I think that we
can do better than this. Educational Assistants are in and out of class academic assistants, including lab
assistants and research assistants. As such, we need to provide a high quality of service. Next year, we will
internally audit our hiring and training process, and implement a student evaluation mechanism so that
student users of assistants can feel comfortable to report issues or concerns as they arise.
Campus Climate:
There are still significant issues with how students report faculty treats them. Anecdotal information from
students, as well as survey data continues to show that work needs to be done to improve campus climate.
We will continue planning outreach activities, such as awareness month, our newsletter, one-on-one
consultation with faculty, and presentations to academic groups and departments.
ARC will continue to use Insight Reporting of student distribution to help prioritize which academic
departments will receive an invitation for workshops. This year, ARC will target the College of
Communication and Education (21% of ARC students) and the College of Business (10% of ARC students).
ARC Annual Report 2011-2012
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Additionally, faculty survey results confirm that more attention needs to be given to educating faculty on
how to determine the essential elements of their courses, understanding what is “reasonable” about
accommodations, and how to obtain support when providing services to students with disabilities becomes
difficult or confusing. In addition to face to face workshops offered, ARC will provide email reminders of the
web based support that is available, as well as, developing a Frequently Asked Questions based on faculty
survey results.
VI.
Program Objectives for next academic year
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Develop training for student leaders on planning welcoming and accessible events on campus
Offer a series of brown bag lunches on various disability issues
Develop service to specifically support students with psychiatric disabilities
Coordinate implementation of ADA Self Assessment/Transition Plan
Develop ATI Strategic Plan
ADDENDUM
Accessibility Resource Center – Diversity Action Plan
../ASSESSMENT/DAP-ARC April 2012.docx
Report Prepared by Sandy Parsons, ARC Director/ADA Coordinator