Disabilities Advisory Committee DAC

1
Disabilities Advisory Committee (DAC)

• Illinois Board of Higher Education
• Board Meeting
• December 4, 2007

2
Antecedents to the DAC

• Underrepresented Groups report to Governor
  General Assembly
• Annual report with plans/strategies for
  increasing participation and advancement of
  minorities, women and students with disabilities
• Pivotal leadership of Mr. James Kaplan, former
  IBHE chair
• Gateway to Success Rethinking Access and
  Diversity for a New Century
• A seminal study submitted in August 2001

3
Creation of the DAC

• Committee organized in February 2004
• Charged to advise IBHE on policy matters
  serving students with disabilities effectively
• Membership - disability providers and experts
  from universities and community colleges and a
  rep of students and ISBE. IBHE liaison assigned.
• Working on recruiting rep of independent inst.

4
IBHE Grant Support - History

• Funds allocated total approximately 1.0 million
  since FY 2003
• Examples of projects funded
• Conference on Accommodative Teaching and
  Assistive Technology
• Transition support programs
• Training for meeting needs of multicultural,
  visually impaired students
• Promotion of web accessibility (ongoing)
• Systematic data collection/metrics on students
  with disabilities (ongoing)

5
Disabilities Advisory CommitteeCurrent Goals
Outcomes

• Promoting better data collection and reporting on
  students with disabilities
• Collaborated in the modification of the Shared
  Enrollment and Graduation data base to track
  students with disabilities
• Working on development of disability metrics data
  collection systems/surveys
• Funding for Disability Service operations,
  especially high cost time intensive services
• Collaborated with the ICCB on the Student Success
  grant

6
Disabilities Advisory CommitteeCurrent Goals
Outcomes

• Promoting increased web accessibility
• Collaborated in training, information
  dissemination and advocacy throughout state
• Recommending new reporting standards for
  Underrepresented Groups report (see handout)
• Capacity building for Disability Service
  providers
• Collaborated with Interagency Coordinating
  Council and disabilityworks
• Collaborated with IBHE and ICCB on issues related
  to serving students with cognitive and
  developmental disabilities

7
Future Plans

• Web Accessibility (HECA grant project)
• Recommending adoption by IBHE of the proposed web
  accessibility reporting requirements created by
  an Illinois consortium of colleges
• http//www.cita.uiuc.edu/collaborate/illinois/docs
  /ibhe-web-reports.html (see handout also)
• IBHE HECA Disability Metrics project
  anticipates recommending new data collection as
  part of Underrepresented Groups report annual
  admin report registered students report
  provide tools/manual for other tracking of
  entering students, alumni
• Implementation of the states new IT
  Accessibility Act

8
Current members of the DAC

• Tom Thompson, Chair Harper College
• Brad Hedrick, UIUC
• Sue Ouellette, NIU
• Kathleen Plesko, SIUC
• Michael Whitney, SIUC
• Debra Watkins, Chicago City Colleges
• Student representative to be appointed
• Ocheng Jany, IBHE

• Karen Hunter-Anderson, ICCB
• Victoria Amey-Flippin, NEIU
• Beth Hanselman, ISBE
• Harriett Shaikes, College of Lake County
• Peg Kennedy, Olney Central College