UPbeat

News for and about University of Portland faculty and staff.

Melanie Gangle

TLC from the TLC: Video on Autism Spectrum Disorder

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The number of students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is growing across the nation, according to Melanie Gangle, accessible education services. At the University, there have also been growing numbers of students diagnosed with ASD. The diagnosis of ASD includes the previously-known category of Asperger Syndrome, also known as high-functioning autism spectrum.  To learn more about how to support college students with ASD from a faculty perspective, please check out this video (15:21 in length):  Understanding Asperger Syndrome:  A Professor’s Guide.

For more information contact Gangle at gangle@up.edu.

UP Hosts ORAHEAD Conference, April 14-15: Highlights

Alette_Coble-Temple,_PhD. copyThe University of Portland hosted the Oregon Association of Higher Education and Disability (ORAHEAD) Conference on April 14-15. The conference brought representatives of twenty higher education institutions (8 four-year universities and 12 community colleges) to The Bluff, along with staff from the Oregon Vocational Rehabilitation Division and Oregon Commission for the Blind. The keynote speaker was Ms. Wheelchair America 2016, Alette Coble-Temple (pictured), who presented on “Cultivating a Culture of Empowerment.”

In support of the ORAHEAD conference, the Clark Library hosted a Disability History exhibit April 14-18, and student activities partnered with the Shepard Center and accessible education services office to organize a University community event with Coble-Temple on April 14, titled “Empowerment Strategies for Successful Education Completion and Integration in the Employment Sector.”

For more information on the University’s efforts in support of higher education and accessibility, contact Melanie Gangle, accessible education services, at gangle@up.edu or 8236.

Final Exam Accommodations

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Accessible Education Services (AES) offers the following faculty tips to support students in preparing for final exams:

  • Make multiple announcements of the date and time of your final exam and ask that students who need final exam accommodations contact you directly by a specific date (i.e this Friday, April 22, for example).
  • Send individual e-mail reminders to students with exam accommodations to remind the student to contact you by a specific date to confirm final exam accommodation arrangements.
  • Ask the student to confirm which specific exam accommodations are needed for the final exam (such as extra time, alternative setting, etc.). Note: Students who utilize AES accommodations such as use of a scribe, use of a reader, or use of text-to-speech or speech-to-text software may be referred to AES for proctoring.
  • Find a location for the exam in advance. To reserve or locate possible exam space, faculty should contact their school or college dean’s office.

For assistance with exam proctoring questions, contact Melanie Gangle at gangle@up.edu or Annie Popoff at popoff@up.edu.

Videos Explaining Accessible Education Services Available

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Faculty and staff members who are curious about how students learn to manage their accessible education services (AES) accommodations can view a series of videos created by AES to help students learn how to effectively and responsibly utilize their accommodations, according to Melanie Gangle, AES. Students have specific responsibilities in managing their accommodations and communicating with faculty, so the videos can be of great service to those who interact with students on a regular basis. All of the videos together can be viewed under 15 minutes. See the videos on the AES website at this link.

Please note: these videos were created prior to changing the office name from student with disabilities to accessible education services. For more information contact Gangle at 8236 or gangle@up.edu.

TLC Teaching Tip From Accessible Education Services

staff & faculty portraitsUniversal Design for Learning (UDL) is a strategy for designing courses, syllabi, learning materials, and curriculum to make learning accessible to all. Originally used in architecture and product design to accommodate the widest possible spectrum of users, the principles of UDL provide faculty with succinct, efficient strategies for meeting the widest spectrum of student learning needs. In the amount of time needed to enjoy a cup of coffee or tea, explore how implementing UDL can benefit your students:

CAST Universal Design for Learning In Higher Education

Efficient Universal Design Syllabus Evaluation Tool (from California State University, Chico).

For more information contact Melanie Gangle, accessible education services, at gangle@up.edu.

Open Educational Resources Information, Links

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Faculty are increasingly concerned about the cost of textbooks for students. In response, Open Educational Resources (OER) laws are being passed across the country in order to provide an additional option of open-licensed or open-copyright textbooks, available to students free or at low cost. OER textbooks are flexible in format, they are available electronically, and they can be printed and traditionally bound as books. Please note that OER is simply an additional textbook option. Faculty are always free to make textbook choices that are best for their courses.

The proposed Oregon OER law (House Bill 2871) requires that OER be accessible, which further saves institutions money because the textbooks do not need to be converted into alternate formats for students with disabilities.

Check out these OER videos for faculty (approximately 6 minutes long) on the Open Oregon website: http://tinyurl.com/nak37py.

Read more about ongoing OER grant projects, funded by the State of Oregon, at http://tinyurl.com/pf8uc8n.

For more information contact Melanie Gangle, accessible education services, at 8236 or gangle@up.edu.

Plan Now For Exam Proctoring

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Accessible Education Services (AES), formerly the Office for Students with Disabilities, assists faculty and staff in meeting accommodation needs of students with disabilities in partnership with the College of Arts and Sciences and the professional schools. Faculty are invited to plan ahead now for accommodations in order to ensure equal access for all. Because faculty are responsible for proctoring exam accommodations for extended time and/or alternative (distraction-reduced) settings, now is the best time to make an announcement to classes reminding students to discuss their accommodation needs privately with instructors. By anticipating exam proctoring needs now, including final exams, the University can effectively utilize available space and resources, and ensure all student accommodation needs are met.

Faculty can address proctoring needs by setting up a faculty proctoring cooperative within their departments or schools, working collaboratively to share proctoring resources, checking with your dean’s offices to plan ahead for space needs for proctoring exams, and more.

For exam proctoring questions or to reserve space for exam proctoring, faculty should contact their school or departmental administrative assistants. For general accommodation questions, contact Melanie Gangle at gangle@up.edu.

“Catch UP” With Accessibility, Accommodations Requirements

staff & faculty portraitsThe TLC resource of the week for March 2-8 will be Catch UP Sessions offered by the students with disabilities office, a key partner in the Teaching and Learning Collaborative. Catch UP is a series of workshops for faculty and staff to help them “Catch UP” by answering questions about accommodations and providing simple tips for incorporating accessibility into course materials. The Catch UP series will take place on Tuesdays from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., in the Franz Hall Murphy Room, on the following dates: March 3 (on Confidentiality, Safety Plans and Note-Taking), 17 (on Exacerbation of Condition and the 30% Absence Limit), 24 (on Defining Accessibility for Course Materials) and 31 (on Exam accommodations). All attendees at each session will receive a coupon for a free cup of coffee.

For more information contact Melanie Gangle, health center, at gangle@up.edu.

Time To Plan For Final Exam Accommodations

Staff and faculty portraitsThe Office for Students with Disabilities (OSWD) would like to remind faculty that there is just over a week between Thanksgiving break and the start of final exam week. Due to this short window of time, the OSWD encourages faculty to request final exam proctoring needs from students before they leave for Thanksgiving break. The OSWD offers faculty the following tips to assist them in preparing for final exams:

  • Make multiple announcements of the date and time of your final exam and include a request of students needing exam accommodations for the final exam to contact you directly by a specific date (i.e the Friday before Thanksgiving).
  • Send individual e-mail reminders to students with exam accommodations requesting that the student contact you by a specific date to confirm the need for exam accommodations for the final exam.
  • Ask the student to confirm which exam accommodations are needed for the final exam. Note: Students who utilize accommodations such as use of a scribe, use of a reader, or use of text-to-speech or speech-to-text software may be referred to the OSWD for proctoring.
  • Find a location for the exam. To reserve individual exam seats in FR 123 or locate other possible exam space, faculty should contact their school or departmental administrative assistants.

For assistance with exam proctoring questions, contact Christa Hill at hillc@up.edu. For general accommodation questions, contact Melanie Gangle at gangle@up.edu. Thank you for your partnership in creating equal access for every member of our community.

Plan Now For Exam Proctoring

Staff and faculty portraitsThe Office for Students with Disabilities (OSWD), in partnership with the College of Arts and Sciences and the professional schools, assists faculty and staff in meeting the accommodation needs of students with disabilities. As the number of students registered with the OSWD continues to grow, faculty are asked to plan ahead now to meet UP’s shared responsibilities to ensure equal access for all.

Faculty are reminded that it is their responsibility to proctor exam accommodations for extended time and/or alternative (distraction-reduced) settings. Now is a great time to extend a general invitation to each of your classes for students to discuss their accommodation needs privately with you. Anticipating exam proctoring needs now, including final exams, allows the most effective use of University space and resources. Feel free to set up a faculty proctoring cooperative within your department or school. Be creative and work collaboratively to share proctoring resources. An unmonitored exam room (with online video stream), Franz 123, is set up to meet faculty space needs for proctoring exams.

Thank you for your partnership in creating equal access for every member of our community. For exam proctoring questions or to reserve individual exam seats in FR 123, faculty should contact their school or departmental administrative assistants. For general accommodation questions, contact Melanie Gangle at gangle@up.edu.