Syllabus - Fall 2009
EPSY 5145 - Issues in Postsecondary Disability Services

Excluding textbooks, the information on this syllabus is subject to change.  For the most
up-to-date syllabus, check this site on the first day of classes. 

This is a three-credit graduate level course. The course is offered through the University of Connecticut's Center on Postsecondary Education and Disability and run in conjunction with the Center for Continuing Studies.

The developer of this course is Manju Banerjee, Ph.D.

Course Title: Issues in Postsecondary Disability Services (EPSY 5145)
Credits: 3 credits
Prerequisites: None
Format: Online via HuskyCT

Instructor: Dr. Manju Banerjee
E-mail: manjushri.banerjee@uconn.edu
Tel: (860) 486-2020
Fax: (860) 486-4412

Office: Wilbur Cross Building, Room 204; UConn Storrs Campus
Office Hours: Thursdays, 11:00 AM – 1:00 PM EST
Online Hours: After the first day of classes, students registered in the course should send messages via HuskyCT Mail. Messages sent Monday through Friday will be responded to within 24 hours, and messages sent on Saturdays and Sundays will be responded to within 48 hours.

CEC Professional Standards
This course incorporates selected Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) Standards that are aligned with the Interstate New Teacher and Assessment and Support Consortium's (INTASC) Model Standards for teacher licensure.

An examination of current and emerging issues relating to the assurance of equal educational access for students with disabilities in postsecondary settings, including an understanding of the complexities of disability documentation, accommodations, assistive technologies, learning strategies, and, high stakes tests for college admission and licensure.

Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:

1. Recognize and report on contemporary and emerging issues in postsecondary disability services.
2. Analyze peer reviewed and other credible sources of evidence on a given topic and put forth a personal perspective based on sound arguments and scientific research.
3. Create materials and products related to disability services that can be used in current or future professional endeavors.
4. Apply Universal Design for Instruction (UDI) and its principles to postsecondary education and disability services.
5. Recognize and employ skills needed to navigate in an online course
6. Evaluate one's own professional development regarding postsecondary disability services.

 

1. Course Overview and Introduction
   
   
2. Traditional and Emerging Trends in Postsecondary Disabilities
   1. Autism spectrum disorders
   2. Psychiatric
   3. Learning disabilities and ADHD
   4. Intellectual disabilities
   5. Implications of new categories of disabilities in postsecondary education
   6. Models of service delivery
      
      
3. Legal Issues and Implications
   1. IDEA 204 and Summary of Performance
   2. ADA and 2008 Amendments
   3. Policy implications for service providers
      
      
4. Disability Documentation
   1. Disability documentation, Documentation Update, Screening, Intake
   2. Documentation guidelines
   3. Documentation review process – Legal and educational perspectives
      
      
5. Reasonable Accommodations
   1. What are accommodations?
   2. What is the difference between accommodation, remediation, and related services?
   3. Issues regarding specific accommodations such as alt media and note taker accommodations
   4. Extended time accommodation
   5. Foreign language and math substitutions
   6. Faculty attitude towards accommodations
      
      
6. Student Support Services
   1. Common deficits in strategy deployment among students with disabilities
   2. Role of the learning specialist – teaching advocacy, self determination
   3. Dealing with parents
   4. Strategies for reading, writing, note-taking
   5. Strategies for the digital media – Internet
      
      
7. Assistive and Learning Technologies
   1. Assistive Tech Act and assistive technologies
   2. Difference between assistive and learning technologies
   3. Examples of assistive and learning technologies
   4. Demonstration of features of utilitarian technologies (Microsoft Word suite)
      
      
8. Accommodations and High Stakes Tests
   1. Accommodation on high stakes tests
   2. Myths and realities of high stakes testing and responsibilities of disability service providers
      
      
9. Universal Design for Instruction (UDI)
   1. What is UDI?
   2. Principles of UDI
   3. Application of UDI to disability services
   4. What is usable access?
   5. Implications for service providers in ensuring usable access
      

Course Grading

The final course grade will be based upon the following course components:

Course Components	Points	Percentage of Final Grade
Participation Prompts (10 @ 4 points each)	40	40%
Web Quests (3 @ 10 points each)	30	30%
Wiki	30	30%
TOTAL	100	100%

 

Final letter grades for this course will be determined based on the following scale:

A+	= Superior performance in all requirements of the course
A	93-100
A-	90-92
B+	88-89
B	83-88
B-	80-82
C+	78-79
C	73-77
C-	70-72
D or F	Below 70

 

Course Requirements

Your course grade is determined by your performance on the following four components. More specific information will be provided within the course modules.

1. Participation Prompts: You will be prompted to participation in online discussion topics throughout the course modules. You must post an original response to at least ten different Participation Prompts by the conclusion of the course. (There will be more than ten topics to choose from throughout the semester). For full credit, each of your responses should follow the specified directions in the prompt and posted by the due date indicated in HuskyCT's Calendar tool. (40 points; 4 points each)
   
   
2. Web Quests: You will be asked to complete three Web Quest activities related to issues in postsecondary disability services. These projects that will require that you analyze and synthesize available Web resources related to a given topic and then to create a presentation (PowerPoint with notes) based upon your findings. One will be due approximately every three to four weeks. The due dates will be indicated in HuskyCT's Calendar tool. Each Web Quest will be worth ten points, for a total of 30 points. Specifics related to Web Quests will be provided in the course. (30 points; 10 points each)
   
   
3. Wiki: You will be asked to select one topic from a list of topics and build a summary “wiki” product.
   
   NOTE: Building a Wiki is not the same as building a Web site. All steps for this assignment will be clearly explained in the course.
   
   The product you will build should be one that you are interested in exploring further and can use in your current or future professional work. The wiki product you will create will contain short paragraphs describing the topic (questions will be provided to guide you), with hyperlinks to related topics and relevant Web based resources. It could also include a series of hyperlinked fact sheets that you have created.
   
   You will use a designated class site on Wikispaces to create your wiki pages. It will be built over the course of the semester, and it must be completed by 12:00 PM EST on the last day of the semester, which will be indicated in HuskyCT's Calendar tool. (30 points)
   
   

Note: Key phrases are highlighted in yellow.

1. The content for each week will be set up as a Module. Some Modules will be covered over two weeks. All modules are linked within the course under “Course Materials” located on the course home page in HuskyCT. Each module will consist of:
   
   
   • Warm Up Activity
   • Objectives
   • Learning Activities - (list of activities aligned to module objectives that you will be asked to complete in this module)
   • Instructions - (links to articles, web sites, searches, media)
   • Thinking Prompts - (queries and points to ponder built into the readings as margin notes or other sections of the module; not graded. Students can also post their own insights or response to someone else's posting to the thinking prompt)
   • Roadmap - (module synthesis with topic hot spots for further exploration of resources of interest)
   • Participation Prompts - (discussion questions to guide postings. These will be graded)
   • Questions - ( a general discussion area for students to post questions and clarifications related to the module or topic.)

Modules will be made available each Friday morning and should be completed by the next Saturday evening. The materials will remain available, but assignments will have locked due dates and cannot be accessed after due dates have passed. Due dates are listed in Calendar tool.

2. All graded course components must be completed by the specified due dates in HuskyCT's Calendar tool.

 

If you anticipate a problem with any of the due dates (with the exception of any group activities where collaboration is essential), you must notify me prior to the due date.

Academic Integrity and Student Code

As a member of the graduate student community at the University of Connecticut, you will be asked to adhere to the policies and procedures outlined in the University Policy on Academic Integrity in Graduate Education and Research. The policy can be found at http://catalog.grad.uconn.edu/. Please refer to pages 237-239. You are also responsible for acting in accordance with the University of Connecticut's Student Code, available at  http://www.dosa.uconn.edu/student_code.cfm. The Policy on Academic Integrity in Graduate Education and Research is also reiterated in the Student Code.

Netiquette

At all times, course communication with fellow students and the instructor are to be professional and courteous. If you are new to online learning, you may want to look at this guide titled, The Core Rules of Netiquette.

Accommodations & Special Circumstances

If you require accommodations for any activities or assignments due to a documented disability (see below Students with Disabilities), or if you have emergency information to share, please contact me by telephone or via my UConn email indicated at the top of this syllabus. You may also schedule an in-person meeting with me at my office in Storrs, CT by calling or emailing me.

 

Students with Disabilities

Students needing special accommodations should work with the University's Center for Students with Disabilities. You may contact the Center by calling (860) 486-2020 or by emailing csd@uconn.edu. If your request for accommodation is approved, an accommodation letter will be provided. Please present your official letter to the instructor as soon as possible so special arrangements, as appropriate, can be made. (Note: Student requests for accommodation must filed each semester.)

The University of Connecticut's online course management system, HuskyCT, is a product of Blackboard, Inc. "Blackboard measures and evaluates accessibility levels using two sets of standards; Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act issued from the United States federal government and the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) issued by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)." (Retrieved December 1, 2008 from http://www.blackboard.com/company/accessibility.aspx)

Textbook

There is no required textbook to purchase for this course. All reading and resource materials will be accessible in the instructional modules via the UConn Libraries' eJournal subscriptions, UConn Libraries' Electronic Course Reserves (ECR) and the Internet.

Software

You must purchase or currently own Adobe Acrobat 9.0 Standard for this course. This software will allow you to access and create PDF annotations embedded by the instructor within the course readings. NOTE: This is not the same as Adobe Reader. You can contact the UConn Coop for a discount purchase at http://www.bookstore.uconn.edu/departments/tech/tech.htm.

For the PowerPoint for your Web Quest activity, please make sure you have the Microsoft Office Suite (either XP or 2007)

 

• Microsoft Office Suite (XP or 2007)
• Adobe Acrobat 9.0 Standard (see Required Course Materials)
• Microsoft Office Power Point
• Microsoft Office Excel

This course is completely facilitated online using the learning management platform, HuskyCT. Ensure your Internet browser and browser settings are HuskyCT compatible by viewing the following settings information. If you have difficulty accessing HuskyCT, call the Learning Resource Center (LRC) at (860) 486-1187; visit its online help (including instant chat) at http://lrc.uconn.edu/help, or visit the Center on Level One of the UConn Homer Babbidge Library.

To be successful in this course, you will need the following minimum technical skills:

• Use electronic mail (such as email) with attachments.
• Save files in commonly used word processing program formats.
• Copy and paste text and graphics.
• Work within two or more browser windows simultaneously.
• Run and access audio and video clips from the Internet.
• Open and access PDF files.
• Use Adobe Acrobat 9.0 Standard.
• Create PowerPoint presentation with the notes function.
  

Students will be provided an opportunity to evaluate instruction in this course using the University's standard procedures, which are administered by the Office of Institutional Research.