The University of Mary Washington Office of Disability Services has been selected to participate in Project ShIFT, a U.S. Department of Education grant focused on improving the quality of higher education for disabled students. Sally Scott, director of disability services at UMW, is one of 26 disability services professionals from colleges and universities across the country participating in the three-year project.
The Department of Education established Project ShIFT, Shaping Inclusion through Foundational Transformation, in August 2008. The project, which operates on a $1 million grant, seeks to develop disability services in higher education using universal design principles and social model thinking.
The project consists of a three-part Summer Institute, at which higher education professionals gain resources and development. Last summer, Scott attended the first Project ShIFT Summer Institute in Denver. During the week of training, Scott and other project members examined the policies and practices in their offices and institutions, and took steps to foster a more progressive view of disability and implement concepts of universal design.
This summer, Scott will return for the second Summer Institute, along with a selected UMW faculty member. While Scott continues her work on attitude change and refines the action plan she has been developing over the past few months, the faculty member will learn to develop and execute courses and teaching methods to improve success rates for disabled students.
During the final Summer Institute next summer, participants will summarize, document and sustain successful changes made during the course of the project.
The long-term goal of Project ShIFT is to create sustainable change by modifying underlying systems and shifting campus-wide attitudes toward disability.
For more information on Project ShIFT, visit the grant’s Web site at www.lanecc.edu/disability/shiftgrant.htm.