Tag Archives: accessibility

Campus Life, Features

Campus Accessibility

 
Accessibility copy

Accessibility at Northern Essex has long been a hot-button issue. The outdated elevators, the cracks in the ramps, the ice and snow in the winter — it all falls under the umbrella of accessibility concerns.

With the Spurk Building being renovated this upcoming year, some may wonder what upgrades are going to be made to improve accessibility. Susan Martin, director of Learning Accommodations, is an advocate for the issue. Martin has pitched the idea of “universal design.” Universal design would make improvements with certain disabilities in mind but would benefit the community as a whole.

These ideas include higher, larger desks in the rooms that can accommodate wheelchairs. Right now, readers may notice one or two desks in the classrooms that are larger, but in Martin’s ideal world, a wheelchair would fit comfortably anywhere in the class.

Universal design also involves the ramps that anyone can use. Whether someone is using them because they are disabled, rolling a bag behind them or just tired after a long day of running to class, Martin points out that this is another positive effect of universal design.

There is an elevator in every building, with E and B sharing one where they intersect. Leading into the Hawrylciw Theater on the top floor of Spurk is a wheelchair lift. Last December, before a performance of “A Christmas Carol,” the wheelchair lift failed. The woman, and her wheelchair, had to be carried down the remaining stairs.

“I do get a few of those (complaints),” said Martin, who also explained that there are records of each complaint and the respective follow-up. When there is an undocumented issue and students voice their concerns later down the line, Martin said, “We don’t often know all of the details … If (students) have what (they) believe is an ‘access issue’ now or in the future please do not hesitate to contact Justine Caron.”

There is an Access Committee that meets just once a year to discuss accessibility concerns and improvements. Martin is a part of the committee along with previously mentioned Justine Caron, the ADA Compliance Officer on campus. The committee was founded in 1998 with the responsibility to “review, discuss and recommend items for a campus-wide access plan in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,” according to an email from Martin.

There is a meeting to discuss the Spurk renovation plans on Oct. 8 in the Technology Center, room 103 at noon.

The Observer invites you to share your experiences with accessibility on campus. Contact Kelly at observer@necc.mass.edu.

 

News

Deaf and Hard of Hearing Accommodations at NECC

 

Editor’s note: corrections have been applied to original print story.

Accessibility is important in education to guarantee all students have equal opportunities to learn. Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services at NECC strives to do just that — ensure that all students are comfortable and have what they need to succeed.

Deb McKinney is the manager for deaf and hard of hearing services at NECC.

“[We provide] communications access for deaf and hard of hearing students and staff [and faculty],” she signed.

The department works to provide interpreters for “classes, meetings, activities, student center, faculty one on one with students, for tutoring, supplemental instruction — basically all services.”

The department also works with Learning Accommodations, Enrollment Services and CPAC to make sure there’s smooth transitions and helps set up note takers for deaf students and extended testing times if they need it.

“It’s hard to take notes and watch the interpreter at the same time,” signed McKinney.

One type of communication accommodation the program provides, along with interpreters, is CART or Communication Access Realtime Translation. CART allows for all dialogue at events to be typed so that deaf and hard of hearing attendees can know what is being said at the event.

“[We] provided CART for the first time at graduation services [last] year,” signed McKinney.

“Most things are very positive,” signed McKinney. “I’m in my seventh year — there’s more faculty awareness, accessibility.”

NECC also has a class to teach English to deaf and hard of hearing students.

A separate department, Learning Accommodations, also works to provide other types of communication accommodation, including JAWS, or Job Access with Speech, which is a program that allows students with vision loss or blind students to “listen to descriptions about the environment and use it to visually hear what’s going on.”

An area of improvement for NECC would be providing more closed captioning — there’s not enough throughout the campus.

Closed captioning allows for deaf and hard of hearing students to read the audio in a video, and it needs to be made more widely available in classes, class activities, and even more showing small video at events like convocation.

“Communication access as a whole is pretty good,” signed McKinney. “It’s nice here — it’s a community college … there’s support, but it takes a while to educate people. For a small community, there’s a lot of people.”

Deb McKinney is on several committees at NECC working for accommodations and access including the ADA Access Committee, Access media committee, Diversity and Cultural Committee, Academic Goal Team 3 and the Student Advisory Committee.

Dena Riccio-Enis is in charge of interpreting and communication access services. She makes sure interpreters are available and she assigns and schedules them.

Riccio-Enis compiles information on how to work with interpreters for faculty, staff and students, “information on how to work with interpreters, especially in a college environment.”

“Along with that packet, I email faculty and let them know they’re going to have a learning accommodation student,” said Riccio-Enis.

There are 10 to 15 freelance interpreters contracted per semester at NECC, depending on the semester.

Another program that focus on deaf services at NECC include Gallaudet University Regional Center (GURC) which states on their website that “Gallaudet University, federally chartered in 1864, is a bilingual, diverse, multicultural institution of higher education that ensures the intellectual and professional advancement of deaf and hard of hearing individuals through American Sign Language and English.”

GURC also strives to educate parents of deaf and hard of hearing children.

Riccio-Enis and McKinney also ensure that deaf and hard of hearing students can get communications access for community events and clubs on campus.

“We automatically get interpreters for all college assemblies, presidents meetings, convocation, graduation, awards night and professional development days,” signed McKinney.

If a club is hosting a meeting or event, they are required to post a communication accommodation notice on the bottom of their fliers. If a deaf or hard of hearing students contacts the host of the event, it is the host’s responsibility to ensure there is an interpreter present at the meeting.

The link to request interpreting sevices can be found at bit.ly/1vsVEUU by clicking the logo displayed.

(necc.mass.edu/academics/support-services/learning-accommodations/deaf-and-hard-of-hearing-services/interpreting-services/ )

The communication accommodations department also does awareness training and presentations, and workshops on deaf culture and communication access.

For more information, contact Deb McKinney at dmckinney@necc.mass.edu, or Dena Riccio-Enis at driccioenis@necc.mass.edu

News

Wheelchair lift malfunctions during show

 

The show was uplifting. The lift was not.
On December 13, outside the Chester W. Hawrylciw Theater, a small group of hopeful audience members stood around the lift that provides wheelchair access to the theater itself.
After pushing buttons and reading signs to no avail, the group finally received help from professor Susan Sanders, who seemed to be the only person trained or qualified to operate this complicated piece of equipment.
Sanders is planning to retire in May.
Once the platform was firmly erected, the wheelchair was properly locked in place on the platform and the protective bars were latched both front and back. Finally, the lift began to ascend.
After traversing only half of its seven stair length, the lift became unresponsive, trapping the elderly woman who was riding it.
After several tense moments of trying unsuccessfully to re-start the lift, family members physically carried the woman and her wheelchair the rest of the way to the landing that leads into the theater.
No injuries were sustained during the incident, and no charges or complaints were filed.
Onlookers included retired professor Linda Desjardins who commented that this situation, and any others like it, are an embarrassment to the school.
Linda Hudson in the NECC maintenance department stated that the lift has been repaired but suggested that more information could be obtained by contacting the facilities manager, Rich Sommers.
Sommers was unaware of the incident.
This situation brings to mind an interview conducted last semester with theater director Jim Murphy who commented that the conditions in the theater often interfere with his ability to teach.
In addition to the lack of space, he said, “lack of fresh air and ventilation have had a negative impact on my classes.”
During the warmer months of the year, body heat and lighting coupled with the lack of ventilation requires him to run huge fans that drown out the voices of the actors and actresses and sometimes forces him to end class early because it is dangerously hot.
“Our theater compares unfavorably to many of the theater spaces at the local high schools that these students came from.” said Murphy, “It generates a lack of interest.”
As a result, this program is far from reaching its full potential.
According to Sommers, any plans to renovate the Spurk building are “fledgling, if at all.”