[nfbmi-talk] Survey on MCB Services to College Students

Tue Jun 15 23:16:05 UTC 2010

Very thorough, Elizabeth.  Excellent job!  I appreciate your time, energy, 
efforts and dedication to improve the experiences of blind college students 
in Michigan.

Mary Ann

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Elizabeth" <lizmohnke at hotmail.com>
To: <nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Monday, June 14, 2010 10:45 PM
Subject: [nfbmi-talk] Survey on MCB Services to College Students

>
> During the March 19, 2010 Michigan Commission for the Blind board meeting 
> there was a request to receive qualitative data concerning the services 
> being administered to current college students. Since the current 
> administration of the Michigan Commission for the Blind has been slow in 
> producing such data, the Michigan Association of Blind Students has been 
> conducting a survey over the past month to assess the quality of services 
> college students are currently receiving from the Michigan Commission for 
> the Blind.
>
> The questions used for the survey were based on the personal experiences 
> of current college students and recent college graduates. The survey 
> included a total of nineteen questions including sixteen questions with 
> one choice for an answer, two questions with multiple choices for an 
> answer, and one opened ended question. Questions included quality of 
> reader services and assistive technology, quality of communication with 
> counselors, coordination of services between the Michigan Commission for 
> the Blind and the college or university, and access to services provided 
> by the Michigan Commission for the Blind. The survey was open to current 
> college students as well as any student who has graduated within the past 
> five years.
>
> Every effort was made to distribute the survey as widely as possible, but 
> due to the limited time constraints for the survey, only seven students 
> responded to the survey. All of these students indicated that they were 
> members of the National Federation of the Blind of Michigan. Out of the 
> seven students who participated in the survey, three students indicated 
> that they were recent graduates. Out of the remaining four students, one 
> student was a non-traditional student, one student was a sophomore, one 
> student was a junior, and one student was a senior. The range of credits 
> that were taken during the previous academic year ranged from nine to 
> twelve credits. Most of the recent graduates did not indicate how many 
> credits they took during their last semester before they graduated. It is 
> recommended that this question be modified if the survey is repeated to 
> obtain additional information about recent graduates.
>
> As it relates to the use of reader services, three students indicated they 
> use reader services provided by their college or university, one student 
> uses reader services provided by the Michigan Commission for the Blind, 
> one student uses reader services from both the college or university and 
> the Michigan Commission for the Blind, and two students indicated that 
> they provide their own reader or that they do not use reader services. 
> When asked how well the disabilities office provides reader services and 
> accessible textbooks, five of the seven students said that the 
> disabilities office does an okay job or an exhalent job at providing these 
> services, and two students said the disabilities office does a poor job at 
> providing these services. There was not a question asking how well the 
> Michigan Commission for the Blind provides these services, and it may be 
> helpful to add this question to the survey for the future.
>
> When asked about how well the disabilities office at the college or 
> university provides assistive technology that meets their needs as a blind 
> student, five of the seven students said the assistive technology is 
> adequate when they need to use it or that the best assistive technology is 
> available whenever they need to use it. Two of the seven students said the 
> assistive technology is adequate, but does not always work when they need 
> to use it or the assistive technology rarely works properly when they need 
> to use it. Four of the seven students said that they have experienced some 
> kind of problem when trying to obtain assistive technology from the 
> Michigan Commission for the Blind.
>
> All seven students indicated that they have been denied a service or 
> accommodation by either the Michigan Commission for the Blind or their 
> college or university. Two students said they had to drop a class due to a 
> lack of accommodations from their college or university, and one student 
> said they had to drop a class due to a lack of accommodations from the 
> Michigan Commission for the Blind. One student said they have been denied 
> a service or accommodation from the college or university, four students 
> said they have been denied a service or accommodation by the Michigan 
> Commission for the Blind, and two students said they have been denied a 
> service or accommodation by both the college or university and the 
> Michigan Commission for the Blind.
>
> When asked to list the services they have been denied from the Michigan 
> Commission for the Blind, the most common answer was tuition and fees 
> followed by textbooks and course materials. Four students said they have 
> been denied tuition and fees, three students said they have been denied 
> textbooks and course materials, two students said they have been denied 
> assistive technology, and one student said they have been denied reader 
> services. Two students have been asked to use Social Security benefits to 
> pay for services, one student has been forced to take out a personal loan 
> to pay for services, and one student said that they are currently not 
> receiving any assistance from the Michigan Commission for the Blind.
>
> When it comes to working with their counselor with the Michigan Commission 
> for the Blind, two students said they received a thorough explanation of 
> the current college policy without receiving a written copy of the policy, 
> two students said they received a basic explanation of the current college 
> policy along with a written copy of the policy, two students said they 
> received a basic explanation of the current college policy without 
> receiving a written copy of the policy, and one student said they received 
> little explanation of the current college policy, but received a written 
> copy of the policy. It appears as though the results are mixed when it 
> comes to asking for an exception to the policy to account for personal 
> circumstances. Three students said they have never asked for an exception 
> to account for personal circumstances, two students found it relatively 
> easy to receive an exception for personal circumstances, one student  said 
> it took a considerable amount of time and effort to receive an exception 
> for personal circumstances, and one student was never able to receive an 
> exception for personal circumstances.
>
> When asked about Memorandum of Understandings and how they impact the 
> services they receive as a college student, four students said they have 
> heard of a Memorandum of Understanding before, but do not know how it 
> applies to them as a college student, one student said that the 
> disabilities office at their college or university has explained a 
> Memorandum of Understanding to them, and two students said they have 
> absolutely no idea what a Memorandum of Understanding is or how it impacts 
> them as a college student. Two students have encountered a situation where 
> an accommodation was not delivered in a timely manner because there was a 
> disagreement between the Michigan Commission for the Blind and the college 
> or university. One student said they were able to resolve this situation 
> after a considerable amount of personal time and effort while another 
> student was not able to receive an accommodation due to a disagreement 
> between the Michigan Commission for the Blind and the college or 
> university.
>
> A majority of the students indicated that it typically takes two to three 
> weeks for their counselor with the Michigan Commission for the Blind to 
> return phone calls and respond to emails.  Two students said that it takes 
> five to seven business days to hear back from their counselor, four 
> students said it takes two to three weeks to hear back from their 
> counselor, and one student said it takes one to two months to hear back 
> from their counselor. When asked if the Michigan Commission for the Blind 
> and the college or the disabilities office at their university has enough 
> understanding of blindness to accommodate for their needs as a blind 
> college student, two students said they felt as though their counselor 
> with the Michigan Commission for the blind had a good understanding of 
> blindness, but not the disabilities office at college or university, one 
> student said the disabilities office at their college or university had a 
> good understanding of blindness, but not their counselor with the Michigan 
> Commission for the Blind, and four students said there is an overall 
> frustration with the lack of understanding of blindness from both the 
> Michigan Commission for the Blind and the disabilities office at their 
> college or university.
>
> When asked how to describe their college experience when compared to Their 
> sighted classmates, three students said they successfully completed their 
> degree in the same amount of time as the average student, three students 
> said they need more time to complete their classes due to a lack of 
> accommodations, and one student said they need more time to complete their 
> degree when compared to the average student. There was not a question on 
> the survey that measured the correlation between the lack of 
> accommodations and the number of credits a student took during the 
> previous academic year.
>
> Based on this survey, it would appear as though the statement made at the 
> March 19, 2010Michigan Commission for the Blind board meeting stating that 
> blind college students are not being denied services would be an incorrect 
> statement. The fact that all seven students indicated that they have been 
> denied a service or accommodation from either the Michigan Commission for 
> the Blind or their college or university is startling, and would suggest 
> that blind college students are not being given the proper support to 
> succeed as a blind college student.
>
> The data from this survey shows that students receive adequate 
> accommodations from the disabilities office at their college or university 
> including reader services, accessible textbooks, and assistive technology. 
> However, more research should be conducted to assess how well the Michigan 
> Commission for the blind provides these services when they are not 
> provided by the college or university. While it is clear that students 
> have problems when asking for assistive technology from the Michigan 
> Commission for the Blind, it is not clear if students encounter the same 
> problems when asking the Michigan Commission for the Blind to provide 
> reader services or accessible textbooks. Additionally, the survey did not 
> explore what kind of problems students are facing when asking the Michigan 
> Commission for the Blind to provide assistive technology.
>
> The fact that two students have been asked to use Social Security benefits 
> to pay for services, would suggest that the Michigan Commission for the 
> Blind is violating federal regulations regarding the provision of 
> vocational rehabilitation services for individuals receiving Social 
> Security benefits. In addition, the fact that one student has been forced 
> to take out a personal loan would suggest that the Michigan Commission for 
> the Blind does not consider how difficult it is for blind college students 
> to pay back personal student loans due to the extremely high unemployment 
> rate for the blind.
>
> In regards to the relationship between college students and their 
> counselor with the Michigan Commission for the Blind, the data clearly 
> indicates that counselors do not respond to phone calls and emails in a 
> timely manner. This may suggest that it is difficult for a student to get 
> a hold of their counselor when they encounter a problem with their 
> classes. Additionally, it appears to be clear that counselors do not 
> adequately go over all of the policies related to receiving services as a 
> college student including Memorandum of Understandings.
>
> The fact that two students had a difficult time receiving services from 
> the Michigan Commission for the Blind when there was a dispute about who 
> should provide the accommodation would suggest that the Michigan 
> Commission for the Blind is violating the regulations set forth in the 
> Memorandum of Understandings.
>
> According to both federal regulations and the Memorandum of 
> Understandings, the Michigan Commission for the Blind is responsible for 
> providing a service or accommodation when there is a dispute between the 
> Michigan Commission for the Blind and the college or university until the 
> dispute is resolve. It would appear from the data that has been collected 
> that the Michigan Commission for the Blind is not following this protocol.
>
> It seems to be that one of the most positive things to come from this 
> survey is that most of the students who participated in the survey believe 
> they are capable of completing their academic program in the same amount 
> of time as the average student. It seems to be that the only thing that is 
> preventing this from actually happening is a lack of services or 
> accommodations. While it is good to have high expectations for blind 
> college students, if they are not given the proper support from the 
> Michigan Commission for the blind as noted in this survey, then it will 
> prove to be difficult for blind college students to achieve these high 
> expectations.
>
>
>
>
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