Oregon State Disability Access Services offers variety of programs, services to help students learn.

Some students are considered auditory learners.

Many others learn best via visual cues. And still others prefer hands-on, kinesthetic learning methods.

Students may learn through a variety of ways, but no matter their preference, each individual deserves the same opportunities and resources to achieve academic access.

This principle of diversity and social responsibility founds the core of Oregon State University’s Disability Access Services, a department that firmly believes academic resources should be provided to every student.

Martha Smith, director of the OSU DAS program, said they serve more than 900 students each term.

“Like the rest of the university, we’re experiencing an increase in the number of students that we serve,” Smith said.

DAS provides OSU students with a variety of academic aid services intended to help all students reach their potential in the classroom. One of the most utilized resources provided through DAS is assisted notetaking.

“We find students in classes who are willing to provide copies of their lecture notes for students with disabilities, who maybe for different reasons aren’t able to take notes,” said Brianna McNall, notetaking and access services assistant. “It’s a great service for our students; they find it very helpful.”

The program currently employs more than 400 OSU students. Compensation for their services, as with all DAS programs, stems from the student affairs general fund. This means the department is centrally funded through the university and state as opposed to through student fees.

Students interested in accessing resources like the notetaking program must be deemed eligible through the DAS office.

“It’s not just enough to have a diagnosis,” Smith said. “It’s really more about how it is affecting you or how it is creating a barrier for you.”

OSU DAS works closely with other academic programs on campus like Student Support Services and the Academic Success Center to make sure every student’s academic needs and goals are being met in an easily accessible manner.

In addition, DAS employs professional interpreters and transcribers, as well as some students, to provide in-class, live resources. Depending on the particular needs of the student, various technological tools can be used to relay class discussions in real time.

One such tool is the FM system, which uses a small transmitter attached to the professor to project and amplify the lecture directly to a headset-wearing student. The special system does not project the professor’s voice to the rest of the classroom.

“For a lot of students with hearing loss, when there’s lots of rain, or paper shuffling or people moving, it can be very hard to hear the professor, particularly in some of those larger classes,” Smith said. “So (the FM system) is a way that they can hear what the professor is saying while blocking out the other extraneous noises that are going on.”

Transcribers serve as another helpful in-class resource, typing class discussions to provide an electronic record of the class immediately accessible to students via a computer screen. Sign language interpreters and ADA-compliant furniture are also readily available upon request.

For aid outside the classroom, DAS offers specially licensed etexts, brail printers, PDF files that can be read aloud and a dictation software program that can be trained to recognize individual speech patterns. McNall said these tools save students valuable time when drafting essays or completing written homework assignments.

DAS also offers aid to students with temporary physical disabilities, like broken limbs or surgical recuperation. Cindy Franklin, who works with student and staff support services, said DAS can proctor extended test sessions or hire personal scribes if given advanced notice.

With an increasing university population, DAS will likely see an increase in the utilization of its services and programs. Franklin mentioned that student outreach will continue through important events like START and University Day.

All three women noted that while DAS caters to a specific portion of the student body, it benefits and touches a major part of the campus population. McNall specifically highlighted the incredible lessons in empathy student workers receive through their department.

“It’s a great way to employ some students on campus and for some of (the student workers) to maybe learn a little bit more about students with disabilities,” McNall said.

DAS resources and professionals can be reached through the department’s offices in the Kerr Administration Building or online via its official website.

Tori Hittner

Higher education reporter

managing@dailybarometer.com