Improving Student Services: A Study of Disabilities Resource Offices at JesuitInstitutions

Colleges and universities are seeing an increasing number of students with requests for accessible education assistance. Many offices dedicated to serving these students have some difficulty doing so due to not having enough staff, resources, or time. The purpose of this project was to compare the disabilities resource office websites of seven comparable Jesuit universities and colleges to provide recommendations for areas of improvement. Content analyses were conducted on the websites of each of the schools. Each website was looked at systematically to find as much information as possible. After data was input on a spreadsheet, memos about overall impressions were written, and the data were analyzed by comparing the schools in categories of interest. Results indicated that some of the most important factors were the number of staff members each school had and the outside resources that offices provided on their websites. Santa Clara University had the fewest staff members (two) and no outside resources linked. Other universities such as Seattle University had a list of information on disabilities, local doctors and clinics, employment help, as well as more staff members with specialized roles. The findings from this research can be used to make recommendations for disability resource offices, along with including a campus accessibility map, a program similar to University of Denver’s Learning Effectiveness Program, and Landmark College’s policies and academic paths