Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) help to ensure that programs and services offered at colleges and universities are accessible to qualified students with disabilities. Students with disabilities may include those with learning disabilities, physical disabilities, visual impairments, deaf and hard of hearing, psychological disabilities, and chronic health conditions. Public and private colleges that receive federal funding are required to designate a person to uphold the compliance standards set forth by these laws. At Kansas State University, my role in the office of Disability Support Services is to ensure that students, specifically students with learning disabilities, are protected from discrimination on the basis of a disability. In this article I will first describe the role of the office of Disability Support Services, then describe why there is a growing need for these services, and finally describe some of the specific technologies that are used to provide support to students with disabilities who are attempting to achieve collegiate degrees.

The Office of Disability Services is responsible for providing a broad range of support services to students with disabilities in an effort to ensure that the individual needs of each student are met. For example, services for students with learning disabilities may include academic accommodations such as providing extended time to complete exams or providing copies of lecture notes. One of the most effective accommodations used to support students with learning disabilities is the provision of course material in an electronic format. Electronic format is a computerized or electronic version of a printed document.

“Electronic textbooks are so much easier to learn from.” “I love taking my tests on the computer. I do not have to rewind and fast forward like on a cassette tape to find the test question I need re-read.” “When teachers share lecture notes electronically via power point, I can use the screen reader to listen to the notes and I can also modify the layout of the slide to make more space between concepts to add my own notes.” These are just a few comments from K-State students with learning disabilities who participated in an informal interview. At another university, students with disabilities were formally surveyed about the usefulness of material in audio format. All students responded that audio textbooks were useful, that they saved time, and more importantly, provided them with a sense of independence (Hogan, 2003).

An increasing number of students with learning disabilities are graduating from high schools and choosing to attend college. Since 1988, among first-time, full-time freshmen who reported having a disability, the percentage of those with learning disabilities doubled from 16 percent to 40 percent (HEATH, 2001). During the twelve years in my position, I have served approximately 400 students with learning disabilities at Kansas State University. Unlike high school, college level students must identify themselves to the office that coordinates services for students with disabilities. Many of these students who have identified themselves struggle with reading and many request accommodations such as audio textbooks, audio tests, and electronic copies of lecture notes. All colleges on the K-State campus are represented in this population of students registered with the disability office including colleges that have attained national reputations for excellence, such as Engineering, and the Veterinary School of Medicine. The topic of this paper is important to all students and educators in all disciplines of higher education. Instructors who are aware of available technology supports for students are more likely to direct students to appropriate campus resources. Students who possess some knowledge of using electronic material have a better chance for success.

According to the Center for Applied Science and Technology (CAST), the single most significant barrier in the general curriculum is printed materials. (2003). This fact should not come as a surprise, given the sheer volume of required reading demanded in institutions of higher education. It is no wonder that students who do not read efficiently through traditional means struggle in colleges and universities. Converting printed materials into an electronic format allows for course material to be modified from their original format. Once converted to electronic form, course materials can be easily converted to an auditory format and are more accessible. In addition, materials presented in an electronic format allow for modifications in font size, style or color to meet the specific learning needs of students. Making electronic material available allows for flexibility and customization for diverse learners.

Providing academic material in an electronic format to students is an important component for creating a classroom that is universally accessible to all learners. While electronic formatting primarily allows for auditory access to the printed word through screen reading software, electronic formatting may be helpful not only for students with learning disabilities and visual impairments, but also English Language Learners and auditory learners without identified disabilities.

There are several means for obtaining or converting printed academic resources into an electronic format. For textbooks, many of the major publishing companies will provide the textbook in electronic format via CD-ROM. Typically a request form to obtain a CD-ROM text can be completed at the publisher’s webpage. Because of copyright laws, requests from publishers can only be made from someone knowledgeable with the student’s disability. On college campuses, that would be the office that coordinates services for students with disabilities. Disability offices are asked by the publishers to ensure that the student has purchased the book before providing them with the CD-ROM of the textbook.

If the publisher is unable to provide the textbook electronically, then scanning the textbook may be necessary. Scanning is another means of converting printed material into electronic format. Besides textbooks, other material such as worksheets, tests, articles, and homework assignments can also be scanned and converted into electronic format. Scanners can be purchased for less than one hundred dollars. Most scanners can convert text as long as the software includes Optical Character Recognition (OCR). OCR converts digital images into characters of text. Screen reading software can read text, but not a digital image of the text. Of course the simplest method for obtaining electronic materials is for educators to write their own textbooks, tests and worksheets and make them available to students. Any document created with a word processor is, by design, in electronic format.

Once the material is in electronic format, computers will need screen reading software in order to convert text to audio and read the material aloud. Although there are many types of screen reading software available for purchase, free screen reading software, such as ReadPlease (www.readplease.com), is readily available for download to any PC computer. Once downloaded, the computer is equipped to read any text as long as it has a sound card and speakers. For example, if a student’s test is in an electronic format, then the test can be opened in ReadPlease and the student can listen to the test questions through headphones directly from the computer. The test can then be completed with the benefit word processing or traditional means. A student may still need to have the paper copy to complete the answers. E-mail and WebPages can also be converted to audio with ReadPlease. In addition, several operating platforms incorporate features in their “accessibility options” that may include simple screen reading functions.

Another resource for students who face challenges reading traditional text is a non-profit organization called Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFB&D). RFB&D provides audio textbooks to students with reading disabilities and visual impairments. Many textbooks used in the K-12 curriculum, as well as in courses taught in college, are available from RFB&D in audio format, either on cassette tape or CD-ROM. Individual and institutional memberships are available at a reasonable fee to eligible students. One additional resource with no fee, the Talking Books Program through the Library of Congress, provides materials ranging from novels to magazines in audio format. Verification of an individual’s disability from a qualified professional is required for eligibility in each of these programs. Learn more about these underutilized, yet excellent resources at www.rfbd.org and www.loc.gov/nls. (retrieved, 2005)

Current research is being conducted on the benefits of audio texts for students with mild disabilities. A study published by Boyle, et. al. (2003) revealed that high school students with mild disabilities who had access to a digital recording of a history textbook on CD-ROM had a 38.1 percent increase in a pre-to post-comprehension test score compared with their peers (21.9 percent) who used only the traditional textbook. According to the authors, diverse learners who have access to audio material have a better chance of understanding high content material.

Providing electronic material in the classroom is an excellent example of universal design. Initially, universal design began as an architectural movement to create structures such as curb cuts and wider doorways to accommodate those with physical disabilities. Closed captioning television (CCTV) which was developed for the hearing impaired also benefits those who want to watch television without disturbing others. More recently, the benefits of universal design have extended to the learning environment and it has become apparent that addressing the need of special populations increases usability for everyone.

Using resources such as electronic materials and screen reading software provides supports to student with special needs as well as their more typical peers. The population of students needing special accommodations is growing, and universities must adapt to create supportive learning environments. Using electronic material is just one resource available to help students attain success in institutions of higher education.