Little-known and less understood, the Office of Disability Services is an integral part of providing an inclusive learning environment for students facing barriers no matter the campus they attend. Perhaps you have accessed similar services, or maybe you are new to the work of this important college campus office.
Students who attend Western Oregon University (WOU) are fortunate to have Rian Gayle and Malissa Larson at their service, supporting their learning needs and promoting accessible learning on campus. Each brings very different lived experiences and backgrounds which are intertwined around these common goals. They stand as pivotal pillars in fostering the achievements of students with disabilities at WOU.
Known for its small class size and liberal arts education, Western Oregon University has a little over 3,000 undergraduate students. Located in Monmouth, Oregon, it is the oldest
public university in the state. We connected with the University’s Dean of Students, Malissa, and Disability Services Director, Rian, to learn how they promote inclusive education on their campus. Each provides a rich history to their roles, and yet their path to WOU is as unlikely a path as you might imagine.
Malissa was raised in a military family and moved around a lot. Trying to find her roots early on, she has always felt connected to people with disabilities, and with those she met on-base. She was first exposed to American Sign Language (ASL) when she volunteered at a daycare center with a friend. She ended up studying sign language in high school and later in college at Western Oregon University, participating in the American Sign Language/English Interpretation Program, which led to her first job in disability work as a student worker: Accommodations Coordinator. She later returned as a professional staff member, Accommodations Coordinator/Staff Interpreter, left to work in the Department of Human Services (Vocational Rehabilitation), and then ultimately returned as the Director of Disability Services, the position she held for over 15 years. In her current role as Dean of Students at Western, she brings her past experiences from being a student to her time as the Director. She jokingly says, “They can’t get rid of me.”
Rian’s journey to this work took a different route. Becoming deaf at the age of 3, Rian’s first language is sign language; he spent much of his life in Jamaica, where he is from, advocating for deaf language access. He later took his advocacy to Oregon in 2014, where he campaigned for Senate Bill 569 to provide TV captioning to promote communication. When taking on his first role at Western, Rian brought his skills and understanding to his new position working with students with different disabilities. He enjoys interacting with people, hearing their stories, and understanding them better. As an employer, Western Oregon University provides accommodations that allow Rian to prioritize his ability to communicate in sign language. Rian says, “When I applied for the job, one of my concerns was how communication would happen. My first language is not English. It’s often that communication barriers will occur in the workplace, but Western was able to support me using my first language by providing interpreters. A great number of people around me were able to sign and understand me, and that is something that really attracted me to the position.”
Malissa and Rian’s paths crossed when he came to Western to take the position of Accommodations Coordinator and later was promoted to the Assistant Director of Access and Inclusion in Disability Services under her direction. Now he is the Director of Disability Services, where he promotes his ideas of the importance of communication and inclusive practices across the campus.
The Office of Disability Services administers the accommodations on campus to support
students and follow the civil rights laws, the ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. These laws are designed both to prevent discrimination and to promote equal access to education.
When attending college, students with disabilities must take proactive steps to receive accommodations. Unlike in high school, where IEPs (Individualized Education Plans) are designed by adults (teachers, parents, and administrators) for a student, in college the student must ask for their own learning accommodations. This process varies from college to college, but, in general, the Office of Disability Services is the centralized office that students will go to to disclose their disability—through self-reporting and/or by providing documentation—and then request accommodations to access their learning needs. The types of accommodations will vary from one school to the next and from person to person.
Generally, accommodations take different forms for different students, with the goal of providing equitable access to education. Some students may receive extra time on tests to demonstrate their content knowledge, while others may access note taking services. Sometimes, the accommodation is more specific and tailored to the individual or to the situation. Requests for Emotional Support Animals (ESAs) are on the rise at Western and nationwide. While the team recognizes the benefits of Emotional Support Animals, complications can mount when upwards of 70 animals live in the residence halls on campus. The team must also carefully navigate what students want versus what they need.
Rian explained that communication is key when accessing accommodations. If there is a breakdown, it is possible that other problems will occur. To this end, the Office of Disability Services at Western works at building relationships with different departments, department heads, and different people on campus. This makes it easier to act quickly to support students. The Disability Services Team also shares presentations around campus to inform the community, staff and students how their office works. Sometimes the professors will advocate for their students, reaching out to the Disability Services Office for help if they get stuck. Rian says that “we really appreciate that, because that shows that the relationship is working.”
At Western, Rian says, “We really want it [Disability Services] to be something that's a University-wide responsibility...we want universal design all around the University, and we're working on different ways to try to share the responsibility... We want to get different departments involved. We don't want everyone to just depend on one department.” For example, furniture can be found in a variety of alternate options in different departments, and this “alleviates the need for the Disability Services team to have to manage all the accessible chairs.” With this innovation, Western aims to deliver more accommodations in an easier fashion and be able to provide services more quickly for all.
A swift response is important when providing accommodations for learning; the team at Western strives to set up accommodations in two weeks, but typically they are done earlier. Rian’s team is very responsive—by staying connected with various departments and by maintaining good communication on campus, they act quickly to get accessible solutions in place. The Office of Disability Services at Western also provides accommodations for campus events or individual meetings, and requests can be submitted through their website, making it possible for all students to access the variety of events offered on campus.
Sometimes the team at Disability Services, and professors, must get creative, especially with the myriad of studies and different disabilities. Malissa told us of a situation where a student was working in a cadaver lab at Western. The task was to identify the muscles and tissue, but this student has some limitations with their vision to the point where “it was like looking through a straw.” To conduct this lab activity, they had to get very close to the dead body and needed more time than other students. After a discussion with the Office of Disability Services and the professor, it was determined that the learning goals and core competencies of the class could be met in a different fashion.
Western is working to develop systems that are innovative and promote universal design across the campus. They are currently working on promoting inclusion in many ways. A new tool will be shared across the campus for all students, an app allowing them to access their books in a digital format. And it can help everyone, so students will not have to disclose their disability or ask for accommodations on campus to use it. Additionally, the campus requires that all videos, such as graduation and other events produced or shown on WOU platforms, include closed captions. The aim is to help all students, whether they experience a disability or not, which promotes a more inclusive community.
The Western team is dedicated to crafting accessible learning solutions and pioneering efforts to ensure education is universally available. Malissa and Rian use their unique blend of deep institutional insight and passion for advocacy to empower both students and the entire campus community. While their roles present challenges, Malissa and Rian find inspiration in the individual students they assist. Malissa finds joy in witnessing the moment when students realize their potential, describing it as “exhilarating” to navigate their path together. Meanwhile, Rian finds fulfillment in the direct impact he has on people's lives, especially when they cross the stage at graduation, knowing that he and Malissa have played a part in their success story.
Together, this dynamic duo aims to foster an inclusive environment that embraces students with disabilities. Wouldn’t you like to have these two
on your side?!
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