Quick Question:
Publications
Employment Opportunties For Post-Secondary Students and Graduates With Disabilities: A National Study
The Association has just completed important research on the subject of the transition from school to work. Employment Opportunties For Post-Secondary Students and Graduates With Disabilities: A National Study (ISBN 0-0697716-5-7), written by David Hubka and Emer Killean, reports on the education and employment experience of 424 college and university students and graduates from across Canada. The study was conducted over a one year period, with funding support from Human Resources Development Canada, Special Labour Market Initiatives. It details the impact of post-secondary education and training on employability and includes recommendations for employers, policy makers and students.
We would like to thank all of the repondents to our survey!! These people shared valuable information, experiences and insights with our project team. In addition, we should note, with thanks, the assistance of the Association québécoise des étudiants(es) handicapés(es) au post-secondaire (AQEHPS) in distributing the questionnaire in Quebec. AQEHPS' representatives Lucie-Lemieux Brassard, Normand Boucher and Serge Brassard ensured that we consulted Quebec students.
It should also be mentioned that the Employment Opportunities Project was assisted by a committee of the NEADS Board of Directors: Heather Delisle, Corinne Gough, Heidi MacDonald and Tom Proszowski. Stephanie Pollock, President of NEADS, also offered valuable advice.
If you would like a copy of the report, send a written request to the NEADS office. The report is $25.00 for members and $35.00 for those who are not members of the Association.
"Study on Financial Assistance Available to Post-Secondary Students with Disabilities: With Accommodating Individual Needs for the Future" Final Report
The Study of Financial Assistance Available to Post-Secondary Students With Disabilities: Accommodating Individual Needs for the Future (October, 1993) documents the educational and living expenses of 384 university and college students with disabilities and analyzes the extent to which financial assistance programs meet their expenses. Ninety-three pages in length, the report includes statistical analysis of disabled students' financial situation and how this relates to available government funding. The study also incorporates extensive commentary from disabled students who participated in our project. Some of the highlights of the report include:
- 44% of disabled post-secondary students indicate that their total income from all sources is insufficient to cover education-related services and/or equipment costs.
- 62% of the respondents did not have a job in the summer of 1991.
- Respondents receiving income from the Vocational Rehabilitation of Disabled Persons Program and/or the Canada Student Loans Program are not less likely to indicate that their total income is insufficient compared to respondents who have never received funding from either of these sources.
Upon the release of the first report in the study, Steve Estey, who was the President of NEADS, made the following remarks: "This report represents the most comprehensive analysis of the issue of funding of post-secondary education for students with disabilities in Canada. It is especially timely given the current environment. Student assistance programs must reflect the needs of disabled students in the 1990s."
The study was produced with funding support from the Disabled Persons Participation Program, Secretary of State of Canada. It is available from the office at a cost of $10.00 for NEADS members and $15.00 for all others.
Working Towards a Coordinated National Approach to Services, Accommodations and Policies for Post- Secondary Students with Disabilities: Ensuring Access to Higher Education and Career Training - 2 nd Printing Now Available!
For over two years, NEADS was engaged in a study of services, accommodations and policies for students with disabilities at post- secondary institutions across Canada. The research was made possible thanks to grant funding from the Ontario Trillium Foundation and the Learning Initiatives Fund, Human Resources Development Canada. A final report of the study entitled Working Towards a Coordinated National Approach to Services, Accommodations and Policies for Post- Secondary Students With Disabilities: Ensuring Access to Higher Education and Career Training (July, 1999) has just been published in a second printing and is available for purchase from the office. Two chapters of the report - the Executive Summary and Conclusions/ Recommendations - are posted on our web site at www.neads.ca
The project involved an in- depth survey of students and service providers. It focused on rating the availability and quality of 199 identified features of support for students with disabilities. The 349 students and 70 service providers who responded to the survey provided comments on the most and least successful features of accessibility at their institutions. A wealth of information and insights were given as to the types of services, accommodations and policies that help to ensure accessibility at the post- secondary level.
Students and service providers alike agreed that service offices on their campuses are an essential component of accessibility for students with disabilities. Providing advice, counsel and integrative links, service offices ensure that many of the individual needs of students with disabilities can be addressed. Respondents were less satisfied with other aspects of campus accessibility, and most had detailed comments to make on the problems of physical accessibility at their schools. One important finding is that independent groups for students with disabilities, and campus- wide accessibility committees that include student representation are becoming more common, but they are still fairly rare at community colleges and cégeps. Students with disabilities still have some distance to travel in finding a common voice for their collective needs and concerns.
The report details the findings of the survey, making recommendations for a national "best practices" approach to disability services, and contains a complete 160- page transcription of all open- ended responses. We hope the report will provide students, service providers, administrators and policy makers with a guide to the issues and a valuable reference tool for future research.
National Directory of Financial Assistance Programs For Post-Secondary Students With Disabilities
The Association has released print and online versions of the National Directory of Financial Assistance Programs For Post- Secondary Students With Disabilities (NEADS, January 2000). This directory is a comprehensive 83 page guide to funding for college and university study and describes programs that are available across Canada. Topics covered in different sections of the directory include: the Canada Student Loans Program (and Canada Study Grants for Students With Permanent Disabilities), Employability Assistance for Persons With Disabilities, Millennium Scholarship Program, provincial student assistance programs; national and regional scholarships, awards and bursaries; and campus- based funding.
The directory provides detailed contact information on financial aid programs, with mailing addresses, telephone and fax numbers and e- mail addresses featured in the publication. The online version has links to many relevant government and NGO web sites. To explore the financial aid directory visit our web site - www.neads.ca - and select the NEADS Online Resource Centre (NORC) from the home page. NORC is also home to "EdLink", which offers access to the disability service centres at about 120 colleges, universities and cégeps across Canada.
The National Directory of Financial Assistance Programs For Post-Secondary Students With Disabilities was made possible thanks to grant funding from the Social Development Partnerships Program, Human Resources Development Canada. Print and alternative format versions of the directory are available from the office - free of charge - upon request.
Faculty Awareness and Training in the Post-Secondary Community: An Annotated Bibliography
Faculty Awareness and Training in the Post- Secondary Community: An Annotated Bibliography (March, 2001) is a 70 page bibliography which provides descriptions of faculty awareness initiatives and training programs that are being implemented on Canadian college and university campuses. A separate section is included for publications developed by non- governmental organizations. Most of the materials reviewed are handbooks and guides developed to sensitize professors and instructors to the accommodations requirements of students with disabilities. The bibliography provides a description of the content of these materials as well as complete contact information for the service or office that has developed the resources. Included in the document are two "best practices" sections, for work being done in the universities and in the colleges.