Mary L. Hennessey

Strategies for Improving Career Services for Postsecondary Students With Disabilities: Results of a Focus Group Study of Key Stakeholders

Improved career services in postsecondary education are needed if students with disabilities are to experience greater success in acquiring and maintaining employment following college graduation. In this study, postsecondary students with disabilities, faculty members, and student personnel professionals responded to results from a student survey that identified the strengths and weaknesses in career services at colleges and universities. In a series of focus groups, these stakeholders recommended 114 specific strategies clustering in the following five categories of an action agenda: (a) information, (b) research, (c) services and curriculum, (d) self-advocacy and self-determination, and (e) involvement of key stakeholders.

Faculty Learning Communities to Promote Full Inclusion of Students with Disabilities on College and University Campuses

Students with disabilities are enrolling in and completing higher education at unprecedented rates. However, in comparison to their peers without disabilities, they are not receiving comparable benefits from their education (e.g. full-time jobs, employment commensurate with their education). Because of their specialized knowledge and skills, rehabilitation educators are in unique positions to take the lead in providing guidance to their colleagues regarding how to better prepare students with disabilities to prosper in postsecondary education and the world of work. The purpose of this paper is to introduce the faculty learning community (FLC) as a vehicle that can be used to achieve this end. The authors recommend strategies for developing, implementing, and evaluating faculty learning communities that promote full inclusion of students with disabilities on college and university campuses.

Universal Design for Instruction in Rehabilitation Counselor Education.

Universal Design for Instruction (UDI) allows educators to provide accessible education on the basis of individual learner needs. This article describes strategies for applying principles of UDI to rehabilitation education as well as an overview of its history and philosophy. Illustrative examples as well as supportive literature germane to the nine UDI principles are provided.