The Disabilities Access to Higher Education Advisory Committee meets quarterly to discuss issues related to higher education access and success for students with disabilities. The Advisory Committee establishes goals and a workplan to address specific access and success barriers faced by students with disabilities. The Advisory Committee is composed of a variety of professionals from higher education, state agencies and organizations involved in supporting individuals with disabilities.

To find out how to become a member of this committee, contact Emily Salmon at emilysalmon@schev.edu.

Committee Developed Resources:

• Action Plan to Address Higher Education Barriers faced by Students with Disabilities
• Eligibility for Disability Services: Report on Public Institution Processes, Barriers and Recommendations 

DSOs/ASOs can use any or all of the following resources as they see fit. These are merely tools to support the important work of DSOs/ASOs.

Below please find a brief explanation of each resource and the corresponding linked documents.

Best Practice Guidelines for Accommodation Practices

The Disability Access to Higher Education Advisory Committee encourages all Virginia institutions of higher education (2-year, 4-year, public and private) to review this resource and then use the excel review tool as they see fit in order to identify their IHE’s strengths, areas for improvement and emphasis.

• Identify and highlight IHE strengths/current best practices. Strengths identified by using the best practice review tool can be used to shore up ongoing/additional support or resources from leadership.
• Identify areas for improvement. Via the review tool, DSOs can pinpoint the changes to programs, policies or funding necessary to align with the “Best Practice Guidelines.” Steps can then be taken to formally modify IHE policies and programs.
• Use of these materials is voluntary and at the discretion of each IHE. 

Corresponding Attachments

SB 21 Student Survey Questionnaire Template

House Bill(HB) 509/Senate Bill(SB) 21 directed the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV) to study “the processes by which each public institution of higher education determines eligibility for accommodations for students with disabilities and to identify in such processes and make recommendations to reduce any barriers to establishing eligibility."One of the recommendations in the report included "obtaining additional student feedback on current IHE processes to establish eligibility for disability services." The attached SB 21 student survey questionnaire template is the committee's attempt to implement this recommendation and develop a mechanism for obtaining input on how students experience disability services. IHEs can use all or part of the survey questionnaire at their discretion.

Corresponding Attachments

1. SB 21 Student Questionnaire Transmission Information
2. SB 21 Student Survey Questionnaire Template

The committee views the above resources as living documents with the intent to review, update and share revised versions on an annual basis. To that end, we welcome your feedback.

Free viewers are required for some of the attached documents.
They can be downloaded by clicking on the icons below.

Acrobat Reader Windows Media Player Word Viewer Excel Viewer PowerPoint Viewer