With a goal of making Ball State easily accessible for students with disabilities, Ball State's Disabled Student Development department along with Facilities Planning and Management worked together to landing a spot as one the top 75 universities to exceed beyond the Americans with Disabilities Act guidelines.
The Americans with Disabilities Act prevents discrimination against those with disabilities, both mental and physical. Ball State has made efforts to help disabled students throughout campus in computer labs, building and residence hall designs, extracurricular programs, the faculty mentor program and other various services.
Larry Markle, director of disabled student development, said disability accessibility on campus is something BSU has been working to improve for many years.
"Ball State has a long standing tradition and history of providing access for those with disabilities," Markle said. "There are roughly 600 students who receive some type of service for Disabled Student Development."
Ball State has more than 40 wheelchair users on campus. Other large universities in Indiana, such as Purdue University and Indiana University, have less than half of the amount of wheelchair users.
Markle said the retention level of students with disabilities is the same as students without disabilities, which is uncommon at colleges due to accessibility.
The architecture of the buildings on campus is important to many disabled students on campus. Each time a building is renovated, ramps are looked at to see if they could be moved closer to the main doors. Door operators are in place at all buildings, as well as elevators, including parking garages.
Markle said Facilities Planning and Management makes huge efforts to hear the needs of disabled students when it comes to building and renovating buildings.
"They consult us for blue prints to make sure everything looks good," Markle said. "The facilities staff is even willing to meet with disabled students to hear feedback and their opinions."
Mark Zupan, quadriplegic and author of this year's Freshmen Common Reader book, "Gimp", said disability accessibility has come a long way since when he went to college about 15 years ago at Georgia Tech.
"I was the first student with a manual wheelchair at Georgia Tech," Zupan said. "There were no curb cuts and no elevators. At the time, they asked me what I needed. Some of my classes even had to be moved, because they weren't initially on the first floor."
Rest rooms are also modified to better serve students. Handicap stalls and raised sinks are two of the more prominent rest room features to help disabled students. Also, the pipes beneath the sinks are insulated to prevent burns.
To get to classes and elsewhere on campus, disabled students can call a lift-equipped shuttle to pick them up at the door of their residence hall and take them directly to their destination.
Kevin Kenyon, associate vice president of Facilities Planning and Management, said the shuttles are especially convenient for disabled students during winter time.
"Despite best efforts, it is difficult to clear all snow accumulation during winter," Kenyon said. "During those cold months especially, the on-demand shuttles are necessary."
BSU also provides an adaptive technology computer lab to help independents with disabilities located in the computer center in the Robert Bell building. The lab is designed to help all students with disabilities.
A new program available to disabled students is power soccer. Power soccer is exactly what it sounds like: soccer for individuals who are in power wheel chairs. BSU's power soccer team has qualified for national competitions both years since it was started. BSU also offers adaptive physical education courses for those with physical disabilities.
The Faculty Mentorship Program is a program that grows every year and helps individual students on a education and personal level. For each disabled student, a professor of their major is assigned to be a mentor for the duration of the student's first semester. As a mentor, the professor teaches them more about their major and what it will take to complete the major. Almost 45 faculty members volunteered to mentor for this school year.
Many other features are available for students with hearing and seeing disabilities, such as video phones, digital recorders for note taking and captioning for classes. Wheelchair repair is also another draw for students in wheelchairs.
Markle said the features and help for disabled students is an effort all faculty put work towards.
"My office isn't a one stop shop. Facility people made access and repairs happen. Faculty members are well tuned," Markle said. "Making campus more accessible is a campus wide approach."
As more renovations are made, Ball State will make an effort to fit the needs of all students with disabilities, Kenyon said.
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