Disability and Accessibility at UMSSW

SSW Universal Design Framework

4 Universal Design Themes for Social Work Settings

SSW Best Practices for Accessible Meetings and Classes

• SSW Office of Student Affairs
  • Summary: The Associate Dean for the Office of Student Affairs serves as the liaison between SSW and ESDS. Please feel free to reach out with questions or concerns
  • SSW/ ESDS liaison: Dawn Shafer, LCSW-C, 410-706-6992, dshafer@ssw.umaryland.edu  
  • Link: Student Affairs

• Educational Support and Disability Services 
  • Summary: Students can work with the Office of Educational Support and Disability Services (ESDS) to request the following type of services. Please visit their site to learn more
  • Services:
    • Adaptive technology
    • Alternative text format
    • Advocacy
    • Classroom relocation
    • Notetaking
    • Library assistance
    • Priority seating
    • Sign language interpretation
    • Testing accommodations 

• • Link: https://www.umaryland.edu/disabilityservices/ 

• DREAM Disability Justice Student Group
  • Summary: DREAM is a University of Maryland, Baltimore student group that advocates for a community of inclusion regarding disability justice. 

• SSW Office of DEI
  • Summary: In alignment with the overarching missions and goals of the School of Social Work, the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (ODEI) is charged with providing strategic leadership, supporting the DEI efforts of units across the School of Social Work, DEI programming and initiative and promoting accountability.
  • Link: https://www.ssw.umaryland.edu/diversity-equity--inclusion/ 

• The Office of Accountability and Compliance (OAC)
  • Summary: The OAC has the responsibility of ensuring accountability and compliance across the University of Maryland, Baltimore campus. Some of the areas that this office is responsible for are Title IX, Education and Training & Diversity and Inclusion Initiatives. 
  • Link: https://www.umaryland.edu/oac/ 

• Field Office 
  • Summary: The office of Field Education is responsible for connecting students with all the resources needed to be successful in their internship placement. 
  • Link: https://www.ssw.umaryland.edu/field-education/ 

• How to use closed captioning in Zoom:
  • Summary: How to use Zoom’s Manual Close Captioning.
  • Link: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/articles/4409683389709-Enabling-manual-captions 

• Check for accessibility in PDFs: 
  • Link: https://www.umaryland.edu/cpa/website-manual/accessibility/instructions-for-pdfs/ 

• Screen Reader:
  • Summary: Screen readers interpret what is visually presented on a computer screen and translate it to audio which is then played aloud. 
  • Kurzweil is the screen reader available to students, faculty, and staff. 
  • Link: https://www.umaryland.edu/cits/services/kurzweil/ 

• Software available through CITS:
  • Summary: Software and written tutorials available through CITS:
  • Adobe Pro full tutorial: https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/tutorials.html
  • Zoom Accessibility Features: https://support.zoom.us/hc/en-us/sections/12706715372301-Language-and-Accessibility-Features
  • Kurzweil full tutorials: https://www.kurzweiledu.com/kurzweil-academy/kurzweil-academy.html
  • Equidox PDF Remediation Software: https://equidox.co/pdf-solutions/support-training/  

• Summary: Service animals are a right and are welcome anywhere on the UMB campus; emotional support animals are not covered under ADA and thus not permitted on campus. The ADA defines a service animal as “a dog that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for an individual with a disability.  The task(s) performed by the dog must be directly related to the person's disability.“ U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division. 
• Service Animal FAQs: Frequently Asked Questions about Service Animals and the ADA 

• From the ESDS student resource manual
  • Students with disabilities have the right to:
    • Information available in accessible formats , including accessible instructional materials.
    • Reasonable and appropriate accommodations, adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids and services.
    • Confidentiality: Information pertaining to a student's disability will only be disclosed to those with a need to know the information. 

• School Liaisons & Faculty have the right to:
  • Require that students with disabilities request accommodations through ESDS. 

• School Liaisons & Faculty have the responsibility to:
  • Work with ESDS and student to make courses, viewed in their entirety, accessible (e.g., content, texts and materials, assessment method, on-line instruction, time requirements).
  • Support and implement reasonable accommodations as identified in an Accommodations Letter from ESDS. 

• Status: In Progress 
• Goals and objectives
  • Caption all videos and presentations
  • Ensure availability of captioning when using online platforms
  • When reasonable, consider recording classes
  • Provide all materials in advance
  • Explore mechanisms to have notes available to all students 
  • Consider alternative assignments and means for assessing student competency
  • Implement Universal Design Audit Committee (UDAC) 

• Status: In Progress 
• Goals and objectives
  • Develop a University Style Guide for Inclusive Language.
  • Emphasize critical social models rather than medical or deficit models of disability with JEDI.
  • Update syllabus statement on accessibility to better reflect values of inclusion and equity as opposed to exclusive emphasis on compliance.
  • Provide mandatory training to increase awareness of the importance of accessibility and confidence in implementation.
  • Streamline the process for obtaining accessible documents for courses. 

• Status: In Progress 
• Goals and objectives  
  • Clearly communicate how reasonable accommodations are defined within the context of field education on website and EFN.
  • Create a streamlined process for referring and placing students with accommodations.
  • Create a workgroup between the Field Office and Student Affairs to consider the best way to streamline the accommodations process for MSW students in the field.
  • Modification to EFN to allow for students to indicate specific needs for field accommodations sooner in the referral process, enabling a suitable match.
  • Modification of EFN for agencies to provide up-to-date information on accessibility features (i.e. location, degree of remote work permissible, number of elevators, daily schedule, etc.)
  • Training opportunities for all field sites regarding social model of disability and best practices for disability inclusion. 

• Status: In Progress 
• Goals and objectives
  • Review and update ESDS website to present a social justice and inclusion perspective rather than an ADA legal compliance perspective.
  • Decrease the focus on documentation in the accommodations process. 
  • Additional ESDS Staffing Support.
  • ESDS clarification of role and responsibilities to facilitate efficient utilization of resources. 
  • Reorganize ESDS reporting structure in the university hierarchy. 

• Status: In Progress 
• Goals and objectives

• • Uplift the perspectives and work of faculty, staff, and students with disabilities.
  • Ensure flexibility in the modality of attendance for student group meetings.
  • Create intentional space for partnerships between Student Affairs, SSW Leadership, and students focused on disability justice.
  • Provide mechanisms for students to share feedback anonymously.
  • Enhance student access to information about accessibility and disability justice at the SSW.

• Status: In Progress 
• Goals and objectives
  • Advocate for anti-ableism and anti-bias training for Human Resources team to introduce and reinforce awareness of the social model of disability.
  • Partner with the University Leadership to cultivate greater accessibility across the Institution aligned with the UMB Core Values. 
  • Disseminate and adhere to the Accessibility Tips Sheet created by the Accessibility Advisory Group (AAG
  • Work with the Future of Work Task Force to increase understanding of the need and benefit of workplace accommodations.