Inclusive Student Services
Departments and offices play an important role in creating inclusive experiences for all students. This page contains a non-exhaustive list of suggestions for making services for students more accessible and inclusive.
General Practices
- Include a statement on your website and handouts welcoming students with disabilities and providing information on how to request accommodations.
- Have a procedure to ensure a timely response when accommodations are requested. It may be helpful to name a point person for coordinating accommodation requests within the office.
Meeting with Students
- Provide a variety of means for connecting with students – appointments, walk-in hours, remote (Skype, Zoom) meetings, off-site meetings
- Ensure that any scheduling software or required intake forms are accessible
- Share information in at least two modalities. For example, talk through options with a student and write down those options for them, as well.
Materials and Handouts
Please read through our accessible materials page for more information.
- Print Materials: Provide PDF or Word versions of any print materials so that they are accessible for use with screen readers.
- Video and Audio Content: Video and audio content shown to students, displayed on websites, or uploaded to social media should be captioned.
- General Content: Provide multiple means of accessing information. For example, include both print directions and a video with instructions on how to connect with your office.
Other Inclusive Practices
- Include disability in any and all diversity initiatives or representations of diverse populations.
- Use person-first language (eg., student with a disability vs. disabled student) and avoid negative descriptions of disability (eg., suffers from a condition, is confined/bound to a wheelchair)
- Do not interact with a person’s service dog unless given permission to do so. Service dogs are working and are not pets.
The has a wealth of resources on improving accessibility in student services.