Accessibility Services Feedback and Recommendations: The Experience of a Sun Devil at ASU

This paper argues that improved student disability services at universities can limit the amount of stress that burdens students with disabilities in order to, improve their mood and create greater possibilities for successful student outcomes. This study begins by reviewing the progress that has been made in the 20th and 21st centuries in terms of heightened awareness and legislation that benefit people with disabilities. In addition, it applauds the efforts made so far at the Arizona State University Polytechnic and Tempe campuses, but also seeks to highlight some concerns that might become a focus of future policymaking endeavors. The applause and concerns are based on the experience of the author with ASU’s Disability Resource Center (DRC), now rebranded as the Student Accessibility and Inclusive Learning Services (SAILS). The author’s lens of physical/mobility limitations yields insight into the accessibility of the unique programs
offered by ASU’s Study Abroad Office as well as the daily transportation efforts of the DRC/SAILS’s DART service. The particular experiences discussed include a Barrett Global Intensive Experience trip to Ireland, the use of the on-campus DART transportation service at Polytechnic and Tempe, handicap parking and elevator placement at Polytechnic, the intercampus shuttle, and the future of Zoom as a means of providing accessibility to students with disabilities. This paper will make recommendations to the appropriate parties for possible changes to policy and/or procedure and alterations to the current state of tangible obstacles.