Making the Grade: The Best Colleges and Universities for the People with Disabilities

Traditionally speaking, individuals with disabilities have rarely been steered in the direction of higher education. For teachers, counselors, and parents in charge of doing so, the reasons for not pushing students with disabilities to pursue goals of higher education range from fear of failure, to lack of knowledge regarding opportunities and accessibility. In cases where students with disabilities do have a desire to continue their studies, many are advised to attend local community colleges and trade schools.

The reasons for such advice are often well-intended. Some parents might encourage their child to attend a local community college because they are concerned about their child’s safety and health in an out-of-state school. For others though, it is simply a case of low expectations and the desire to protect a child from discrimination and perceived failure.

Because of laws like the ADA, most colleges and universities provide basic services and accommodations for students with disabilities. Legally, the ADA requires that school buildings meet the ADA Standards for physical accessibility. In general, this means that schools have to make their buildings architecturally accessible to people with disabilities. This may require everything from the installation of elevators to the construction of ramps.

In addition, schools are required, under the law, to make reasonable modifications to their rules and policies in order to prevent discrimination. These requirements may ask schools to provide more time for testing, or to allow a service animal into a place where animals may not normally enter. Communication assistance in the form of note takers, listening devices, materials in Braille, and even speech synthesizers are other services that often have to be provided to ensure equal access under the law.

While most colleges do provide the basic modifications and accommodations that the law requires, there are a few stand-out schools that go above and beyond the basics in order to provide students with disabilities with a richer, more fulfilling college experience. Some schools provide students with disabilities with varsity-level wheelchair sports and equipment maintenance programs. While others have developed efficient transportation systems and services that even go as far as to remove snow from sidewalks to allow for wheelchair access.

By far the leader, past and present, when it comes to providing access to students with disabilities is the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The university was the first to provide a fully accessible bus system, as well as the first to establish varsity level wheelchair athletic teams for both men and women. The university also boasts the first rehabilitation service fraternity and the first independent living center for individuals dependent on breathing devices or assistance services.

The list of colleges and universities that have followed the examples set forth by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign extends into the several dozens. However, by region, the country’s most disability-friendly universities include: the University of California at Berkeley in the west, Edinboro University in the east, Florida State University down south, the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities in the north, and the University of Colorado at Denver in the central U.S.

Individually, each school boasts its own unique developments and innovations, all of which serve to make them some of the more attractive universities for students with disabilities to apply to.

 The University of California at Berkeley is famous for being the original site of the Independent Living Movement. Students at Cal are provided with the opportunity to find and maintain personal assistants and accessible housing. In addition, Berkeley itself is one of the country’s most accessible cities.

• Edinboro University in northwest Pennsylvania provides students with access to wheelchair repair services. Along with a high level of participation in athletics, the school also features a recreation center with a full-time coach, meal aides and academic aides, as well as a fleet of vans and more than 80 drivers designed to help students move around both on and off campus.
• Florida State University has fully accessible buildings, as well as a site known as the Student Disability Resource Center which hires students to serve as class note takers for students with disabilities. Additionally, FSU has one of the country’s top adaptive technology labs along with a 16-lane lift-equipped pool, and a lakefront recreation area with accessible cabins for overnight wilderness trips.
• The University of Minnesota, Twin Cities boasts a strong Disability Services program. The DS program provides students with testing accommodations, and is charge of several disability training and adaptive recreation programs. The DS also provides campus-wide training, and is actively involved in helping students with disabilities secure jobs after graduation.
• The University of Colorado at Denver, which rounds out the list of the country’s top schools for students with disabilities, is known for its ADA grievance procedures. Since the university is primarily a commuter school, it has developed citywide lift-equipped buses and a paratransit services that take people to and from campus