The Office of Accessibility Services (OAS) wants to level the playing field for students living with a disability. Working closely with students, faculty, and staff, OAS ensures that the needs of students are met both inside and outside the classroom in order for them to achieve academic success. “Our mission is to make sure our students feel that everything is accessible to them,” said Nadia Griffith-Allen, Deputy Director of OAS. “We want to give John Jay students the access, accommodations, and services necessary to provide them with the best educational experience possible.”
“We want to give John Jay students the access, accommodations, and services necessary to provide them with the best educational experience possible.” —Nadia Griffith-Allen
Determining Services Needed
Students living with a disability—whether temporary or permanent—can come to the OAS office, located in the New Building room L.66, and meet with the OAS team to determine what services they need based on their disability. “It takes a lot to be in an environment where the majority of the students don’t look like you or don’t have the same concerns you have. We’re here to help them,” said Griffith-Allen, who leads the team and has been with the office for 14 years. The team also includes Gizele Terry, the Student Accessibility Services Specialist who takes care of student intakes and conducts outreach, including Parent Connect which makes parents aware of campus services that support students registered with OAS; and Farrukh Ablakulov, the Assistive Technology Coordinator, who students can go to for all their assistive technology needs. Together, they work to advocate on behalf of students, supplying them with software and equipment, providing materials in an accessible format, helping them with paperwork, connecting them to other campus resources, and supporting students in every way imaginable.
“It takes a lot to be in an environment where the majority of the students don’t look like you or don’t have the same concerns you have. We’re here to help them.” —Nadia Griffith-Allen
“If a student comes to us and says they’re having difficulty with their assignments, or focusing in class, we try to figure out what the difficulty is. Do they need additional time? Or is it because they need a note taker?” said Griffith-Allen. “Once we figure out what the difficulty is, we can provide them with the appropriate service or accommodation.” This is something alumnus Melvin Gomez ’19 can attest to. The Afghanistan war veteran, who suffered a traumatic brain injury during one of his deployments, credits the office for helping him get through his John Jay experience and to graduation day. With the knowledge of Gomez’s injury and its lingering effects, debilitating migraines and back pain, OAS provided him with special parking and advocated on his behalf. The office made professors aware of Gomez’s need to get up frequently in class—he can’t sit for too long because of his back—and his need for a quiet place for testing. After graduating this past May, he’s now back at John Jay pursuing his M.P.A.
Providing Accommodations and Technology
For students with mobility challenges, OAS has college lab technicians available to assist during lab courses. Students who use wheelchairs have access to the same level of comfort as their classmates with height-adjustable furniture and equipment, purchased by the office. OAS also secures preferential seating, elevator passes, and priority registration which makes it possible for OAS-registered students to tailor their schedule to meet their needs. Students with a hearing impairment have access to a sign language interpreter and an assistive technology note taker like Communication Access Real-time Translation (CART), which is similar to real-time close captioning.
Knowing how vital assistive technology can be, OAS offers a plethora of software and equipment for students to use in its lab and in the classroom. “The assistive technology makes a real difference for our students,” said Ablakulov. For the visually impaired, there’s EZ See Keyboard and ZoomText, a magnification software that echoes what you’re typing and automatically reads documents and web pages. The OAS Lab also includes CCTV, a magnifier that lets students view a magnified version of their books and texts. Students who have a hand dysfunction can use Dragon, a speech recognition software that puts text on to the screen three times faster than typing. And, through the OAS lending program, students can use the Livescribe Smartpen, which is “perfect for students who have difficulty taking notes or remembering material,” said Ablakulov. “It’s basically a pen that’s recording while you take notes, in fact, you don’t even have to write words, you just have to keep the pen down on the note pad and it records. Once you’re done, the pen synchronizes with all your other devices.”
Building Advocates and Awareness
While OAS is an advocate for students, Griffith-Allen explains that the office also teaches students to become advocates for themselves. “We would be doing a disservice if we didn’t get the students comfortable with the idea and action of advocating for themselves. We teach our students how to advocate for themselves because once they leave John Jay, that’s something they’re going to have to do. It’s so important.” Griffith-Allen also notes the vital support the office receives both at CUNY and at John Jay. “We have so many advocates across CUNY and John Jay, including CUNY Interim Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs, Christopher Rosa; the CUNY Council on Student Disability Issues; and here at John Jay, Senior Director for Student Affairs, Dana Trimboli; Administrative Coordinator, Naisha Garris; and Testing Coordinator, Maria Pacheco. They sing our praises and help us get the resources we need to help our students.”
“We would be doing a disservice if we didn’t get the students comfortable with the idea and action of advocating for themselves.” —Nadia Griffith-Allen
OAS is also determined to create an inclusive environment. “It’s all about educating people. It’s important for us to not look at the disability, but to look at the capability and ability of the student. We want the community to focus on that,” said Griffith-Allen. “We’re trying to stamp out the stigma behind living with a disability, while at the same time bringing awareness and education to the community.” To increase awareness of its services, the OAS team works with different departments in the John Jay community. “Every semester we invite Public Safety to come do presentations and walk-throughs with the students,” said Terry. “It’s a great opportunity for students to ask any questions or express any concerns they may have regarding navigating the campus.” Beyond working with Public Safety, the team also provides what they call “in-service training,” where they meet with different staff and professors to provide a better understanding of the services OAS offers. “Our in-service training helps establish relationships with professors who may come across students who could benefit from the services offered by OAS but are unaware of the office,” she said. The connection with other departments also creates a link to additional resources for students.
Celebrating Student Success
Elevating their students is an everyday occurrence for the OAS team, but the end of the year presents a special opportunity to recognize those who have excelled academically. “Every May we recognize our graduates. We recognize them for their tenacity, because though they live with a disability, they work extremely hard,” said Griffith-Allen. To honor their achievements, she founded the Zeta Lambda Chapter of the Delta Alpha Pi International Honor Society. The society recognizes the outstanding academic accomplishments of students registered with OAS at John Jay. The chapter’s first induction ceremony will be in the spring of 2020. “This is one of the ways we applaud and show appreciation for our students’ efforts, acknowledging what they do and what they go through to get to where they are,” said Griffith-Allen.
Whether it’s supplying assistive technology, providing height-adjustable furniture in the classroom, or securing priority registration, for the OAS team the end goal is always the same: giving their students all the resources they need to succeed. “We used to be called the Office of Disability Services. But in the fall of 2012, we made a conscious decision to change the name to the Office of Accessibility Services, because to us, it’s not about the disability,” said Griffith-Allen. “Our focus is on the ability and capability of our students. Yes, they’re living with a disability, but they are also some of the hardest working, brightest, and most exceptional students on campus.”