[nabs-l] GWU and UMD:

[Denna Lambert]

Hi William:

I just completed my master's degree from GWU and took a course at UMD-CP.
GWU is head and shoulders above UMD.  But it is also what you pay for as
well, GWU is a very pretty penny.  As Corb said, the DSS office wasn't
pushy.  I used them when I needed to and if they didn't hear from me for a
while, there were no worries.  I was going to school part time and also
working full-time.  They were very timely in getting my books scanned,
though I did have my employer do some of them as well.  I really didn't
depend on them for many things as I was able to either work things out with
my professor for things like getting handouts electronically and even some
of the testing.  But for the testing accommodations that I did go through
them for they were very flexible. 

Now, UMD on the other hand, yeah, let's just say don't go there.  They have
a DSS office, but as far as providing effective accommodations for blind
students, I think they're pretty lacking.  And when I was looking at grad
schools I needed to know that if I requested an accommodation, I didn't have
time to micromanage a DSS office to get what I needed.  I just didn't have
the time, nor the patience.  I would preface my comments with if you don't
anticipate needing a good deal of accommodations that would have to go
through a DSS office, then UMD might be a good school for what ever you plan
on studying.  

As with anything, I would say that your primary focus should be on getting
into the school that best addresses your academic needs and interests.
Secondly is working with your department on the accommodations you may need,
how flexible do they seem, are the professors willing to work with you, are
the kinds of questions that come to mind first.  Finally should be the DSS
office.  

I think what is somewhat concerning sometimes is where there are some
schools who think that every single need that a student with a disability
has to go through the DSS office.  It's like the DSS office becomes the
keeper and care-taker for students with disabilities.  I feel that I like
knowing the services are then when and if I need them, but I wouldn't make a
decision on where I would go based on the DSS office but more on the
philosophy of the department I'm going to be getting my degree from. 

Ok, enough from me.  

For the graduate level course I did take with UMD, I worked all of my
accommodations with the professor.  

-----Original Message-----
From: nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf
Of Corbbmacc O'Connor
Sent: Wednesday, July 21, 2010 5:03 PM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list
Subject: Re: [nabs-l] GWU and UMD:

I'm a student at The George Washington University. Their Disability
Support Services is EVERYTHING that you could ever want from a school.
They're happy to help you in ways that you ask, and are just as happy
to let you make the accommodations that you may want on your own.
(It's worth noting that you have to be pre-approved for the
accommodations, but the process is very easy.) DSS is not pushy, and
they're responsive. Their test taking services are great -- you fill
out a form online, your professor hits a link in their e-mail, the
test gets sent via e-mail, you go to DSS, and take the test with
whatever accommodations you need ... computer, extra time, large
print, etc. They're also really great with textbooks -- they try to
order the e-text from publishers or they'll even cut and scan your
books if they can't get it another way. I have *NOTHING bad to say
about their great services and am happy to chat with whomever is
interested.

Corbb


On Wed, Jul 21, 2010 at 3:33 PM, William ODonnell
<william.odonnell1 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> A group of individuals are interested in some of the programs at both the
University of Maryland in College park and George Washington University in
Washington D.C.  With this said, does anyone on the list currently attend or
has anyone attended these institutions? If so, what were things like for
those with visual disabilities?  How were the accommodations offered?
>
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> nabs-l mailing list
> nabs-l at nfbnet.org
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
> To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
nabs-l:
> http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/corbbo%40gmail.com
>

_______________________________________________
nabs-l mailing list
nabs-l at nfbnet.org
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nabs-l_nfbnet.org
To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for
nabs-l:
http://www.nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nabs-l_nfbnet.org/dlambert%40aristotle
.net