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

Tue Jun 15 20:32:24 UTC 2010

Kudo's to our Michigan Association of Blind Students!   
I think that this survey would be well worth distributing again, after the
fall semester has started and the students are all back on campus.  The
Changes that Dianna suggests would help to strengthen the survey as well.  I
do not know whether the survey asked for the student's college or university
name, but if not, I think that would be a helpful bit of additional
information.  It could help you to spot any patterns of either excellence or
the lack thereof, in the various disabled student service offices around the
state.  

Just some thoughts.  Thanks for your pro-active work here students!  

Christine Boone
-----Original Message-----
From: nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org]
On Behalf Of Elizabeth
Sent: Monday, June 14, 2010 10:46 PM
To: nfbmi-talk at nfbnet.org
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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