The University of Michigan was ranked as the best disability friendly college or university in the United States in the College Choice 2016 rankings, which were released on May 26.
The rankings take into account programming and support services that include those for students with learning disabilities, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorder, visual and hearing impairment, and those with physical needs that require special access, accommodations, service animals or alternative transportation.
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“The vast majority of universities in the United States simply meet the minimum accessibility standards set by the government. The schools on this list, however, are some of the best in the country at committing resources and funding to equip their students with the tools they need to thrive,” says Coby Cagle, associate editor of the ranking.
U-M’s Services for Students with Disabilities was highlighted as an instrumental resource for students with disability needs. The office, created in 1973 as the Office of Disabled Student Services, had 2,474 students registered in 2015, with more than 700 new students from the previous year. That same year, nearly 1,000 students who were registered with SSD graduated from U-M.
In 2016, the office expects to double the number of students it supported during the 2010-11 school year, as SSD services nearly 6 percent of all undergraduate, graduate and professional students at U-M.
“With this ranking we highlight the universities and colleges that devote an abundant amount of resources to ensure that students of all abilities have equal access to a high-quality education,” says Christian Amondson, managing editor of College Choice.
Josehns Goncalves
“The leaders and the best!”
Rose Juhasz
Great! glad to see this honor, but please continue to improve on accessibility for students/staff in wheelchairs. I’ve worked here for 10 yrs & have unfortunately witnessed many areas that are not accessible and wheelchair lifts, elevators out of service for weeks or months at a time in medical research buildings.
1) Med Sci I- as a posdoc stair lift repeatedly broken, and it was critical to getting research participant with MS into our lab
2) NCRC building 16 elevators commonly out of service. My own son who has muscular dystrophy but still walking was stuck in 1 for nearly hr several yrs ago, now scared of elevators. Cubicle arrangement outside my own office is certainly not navigable by a large power wheelchair.
Other parents I know with older sons in wheelchairs w/ MD attending here similarly don’t agree that it is very accessible particularly in winter when snow is not removed sufficiently from sidewalks. Much room for improvement when it comes to meeting the needs of the physically disabled.
Elirah Formaran
Greetings from the Philippines. Hi! I see that you’re working in Michigan? I was reading articles about how PWD friendly U.M is and saw your comment. You’ve been around the campus. We’re actually doing a research as to how can we improve our school in becoming PWD Friendly. It would be a great help to our research if you could answer few of our questions for us. If you have time, I would love to hear from you 🙂 Thank you.
George Olafsson
This article is pretty ironic in light of the recent U.S. Justice department Disability Discrimination Lawsuit settlement against the University of Michigan for failing to follow the ADA in regards to reasonable accommodation for employees:
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-settles-disability-discrimination-lawsuit-against-university-michigan
concerned employee
Not for visual disabilities unless you are working directly at the Kellogg Eye Center. Trying to get reasonably accommodated as an employee who is considered legally blind just so I can perform my job has been so frustrating.
Jeremiah Devlin-Ruelle
I hope this ranking signifies a dramatic change in how students with disabilities are treated. My experience as a student (A.B. ’11) with dyslexia working with the SSD office and the LSA Language Requirement was anything but friendly.
I was treated as though my documentation confirming my disability was questionable and told that someone in a wheelchair was “more tangible” in confirming a disability compared to believing a student with dyslexia would have trouble learning another language.
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