Analyzing Disability Service Center Websites for Best Practices
This is part of our series "Faculty Research: Short and sweet," where College of Education faculty share their latest work.
Faculty member:
Dr. Lesley Farmer, Professor of Library Media
Citation:
- Analysis of a University System's Campus Disability Support Center Websites, p. 148 Lesley Farmer, Arlene Ramos, http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12680/8s45qj236, the Cal State University, Northridge 2024 The Journal on Technology and Persons with Disabilities.
Research-at-a-glance:
- Post-secondary Disability Support Centers (DSCs) have an obligation to provide information that informs students with disabilities and their stakeholders. One of the main ways these populations find and make use of academic support is through the centers’ websites.
- To that end, this study conducted a content analysis of a major public university system’s DSC websites to identify patterns and best practices of content matter in, and the design of, those websites. Findings focused on the DSCs’ characteristics, organizational decentralization, student services and website features.
- The findings and recommendations provide website models and processes for other DSCs to emulate.
Summary:
Disability Support Centers, also known as Disability Service Centers, in higher education (such as Cal State Long Beach’s Bob Murphy Access Center) provide resources and services to help students with disabilities succeed academically and be career-ready after graduation.
DSC websites serve as a significant communication tool to support these students and their stakeholders. When students with disabilities cannot find the resources and services they need, be it the content or the way the website is designed, they are not being served adequately.
In fact, some students might not even contact the DSC because of their poor experience with that website – or even difficulty finding the website at all.
Since the Disability Support Center website is often the first point of encounter between the office and students with disabilities or their stakeholders, DSCs need to give that website top priority. At the campus level, the website also serves as an indicator of that institution’s value and support of the DSC, so it is in the interest of top-level administrators to ensure that the website is the best possible.
DSCs need to provide at least basic information about their services, procedures and resources. They need to address accommodations and training for the entire campus community, not just students. They also need to show how the entire campus supports students with disabilities through partnerships with various service units on campus and within the community, including other educational institutions.
Ideally, regional and national resources should also be mentioned as part of the lifelong support systems available. In addition, the web interface (i.e., layout, organization, navigation) must be clear and intuitively obvious.
