What makes good accommodations?
That's something I have been thinking about lately.
For my IT 428 class, I have two solo TypeWell transcribers. One has some experience, and the other has very little. They might seem to be getting the lecture OK, but I am beginning to really wonder about this. Last spring I had IT 422 with the same instructor. In that class, I had experienced TypeWell transcribers who were working together in teams. And they were damned good at their job too. Now I have accommodations that are definitely less than they were. And the instructor said this class was going to be even tougher than IT 422. To succeed in IT 422 took a LOT of effort and time on my part, because even with the best accommodations in the world, it's never the same as being without the disability. So I have a real problem with the philosophy of the DSS office reducing my accommodations for an even tougher course. Do they plan to make it impossible for me to succeed in this class? It would seem so.
My other class, ADMG 310, had CART. When the CART person was there, she always arrived late, didn't know where to set up the reader laptop, provided a transcript that had missing information, out of context information, or wrong information. A professional CART provider commented on this blog how unprofessional this CART person was, and I would have to agree with that. It took an email from the instructor of the course to convince the DSS office that I might have actually been onto something when I told them the CART wasn't a good accommodation. I have to wonder why DSS doesn't listen to the students it is supposed to be serving.
Come to think of it, I have had no good experiences with CART here at Central Washington University--ever. The DSS office tried remote CART in a couple of my classes last winter quarter, and it was some of the worst accommodations I had ever seen. To those who haven't read the archives on this blog, there was a one-hour class that had remote CART with the word "indiscernible" appearing 157 times on the transcript! It was unbelievable. I basically refused remote CART in the class the next day because I felt that I needed to make a point to those over at DSS...a point that they have largely missed. I asked someone to read the transcript who wasn't in the class, and she couldn't understand it at all..a response similar to the instructor who had a hard time understanding the transcript warof her own lecture given the day before.
To put it bluntly, I don't believe that any of the accommodations I have this quarter are the best that could be provided. We have far better TypeWell transcribers right here in this town, but they are not available due to Rob Harden's ridiculous policies. For a DSS office to create barriers to my education instead of helping to remove them is absurd.
If I could transfer to another school, I might consider it. But the reality is, the program (Information Technology & Administrative Management) is unique to this school. I'd lose a lot of money and time by transferring. I think that CWU is a great school in general, but the DSS office casts its shadow over the rest of it. I would never encourage a deaf or hearing impaired person to come to CWU...unless they need no services, they are in for more than they bargained for.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
What Makes Good Accommodations?
Glenn wrote:
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4 comments:
You raise an interesting point. Are accomodations, no matter how (in)adequate, sufficient?
It would depend on whose side you look at it from. It is hard to imagine how the DSS office can call any CART they have supplied as "adequate" but I guess they thought otherwise. They seem to think that everything they do is sufficient. I don't think much of what they do is.
Part of this is why I think what they are doing is discriminatory. What is available as accommodations at other schools is much more "sufficient" than what we have here.
Hi Glenn,
My name is Darlene and I was made aware of your blog today. I am a certified CART provider in the greater Seattle area and I'm so dismayed at your experience. Please don't judge CART based on the services you've received. The truth of the matter is you get what you pay for. There are currently no requirements that CART providers be certified, so people who maybe didn't graduate from court reporting school can call themselves CART providers and go out there and perform sub par. They didn't have the speed to graduate. What makes them qualified to deal with the variable speeds and terminology challenges that are encountered in an ever-changing classroom? Having said that, there are also some non-certified CART providers in Washington State who do an excellent job. There is legislation currently being proposed to recommend that only certified CART providers be hired. Certification may not have solved all the problems you encountered, but it would guarantee at least a basic level of expertise. Remote CART works successfully every day in many colleges and universities - it's true that sometimes, depending on the audio setup, only the person mic'd can be heard. That's a downfall to remote versus having an onsite CART provider.
I know that back in the spring when the Typewell providers left CWU, I was contacted and the rates that CWU was willing to pay were not close to what any certified, competent CART provider I know would work for.
The best possible thing you can do is exactly what you are doing. Continue to be your best advocate and demand competent EQUAL access!
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