DAIS has establshed a listserve for those working on issues of disability in higher education AT SMALL, PRIVATE POSTSECONDARY INSTITUTIONS. The listserve, entitled ICU (Independent Colleges and Universities) is directed at individuals who work at institutions that fit following profile (note: this profile is meant to be suggestive, not exclusionary!):

** Private (Title III) institutions
** Tuition of $20,000+ per year
** Student body of 2500 or less
** 95%+ of students are traditionally college-aged and fresh out of high school
** 95%+ of students are in-residence in institutionally owned and operated housing

If your institution meets this profile (perhaps fills at least 3 of 5 of the above criteria and approaches the other two!?), then you may find the ICU list of interest. Experience suggests that such institutions face some unique issues, some unusual challenges, and some very different expectations for their services to students with disabilities that are largely a function of institutional size, mission, and philosophy. This small list (essentially unmoderated so that I get a chance to talk to! :-) ) was created to provide a forum for folks facing similar problems in similar settings to interact and share their experience and expertise.

THIS LIST CANNOT BEGIN TO COMPETE WITH THE INFORMATION OR SUPPORT AVAILABLE TO SUBSCRIBERS THROUGH THE 2000+ DEDICATED SERVICE PROVIDERS ON THE DSSHE LIST. Current subscribers to DSSHE who choose to join the list are encouraged to maintain their subscription to DSSHE as well, and non-subscribers to DSSHE who join the list are encouraged to consider signing on to the DSSHE-L, too. The same is true of ongoing involvement with other listserves that potential subscribers have found helpful. The ICU is not meant to replace any existing resources. Rather, the hope is that the ICU provides a supplement to the information and counsel available through other source. The focus and perspective of the ICU is as unique as the institutions from which participants are drawn.

For example...
** what options are there for effectively serving the dietary needs of a student with an eating disorder who is in residence, when all students are REQUIRED to live in the residence hall because "residence life" is seen as an integral part of the institutional offerings?

** how do you deal with the question of tuition for a "full time student" taking a reduced courseload when the reduction is a function of the student's disability? Other students ARE taking the typical full-time load and the institution prides itself on the fact that their full time students graduate in four years. After all, an extra year at such institutions means a WHOLE LOT of extra costs.

** how much information can/should you share regarding a student's disability when in an atmosphere in which lots of information, including personal information, is regularly shared with a number of folks because of the small, intimate nature of the campus community?

The ICU is not limited to individuals with primary responsibility for students with disabilities. There are often a number of individuals who have significant involvement with such students on these campuses -- and the "primary" service provider often wears a large number of hats and couldn't devote full-time to these issues even if s/he wanted to! Hopefully, the ICU provides a useful forum for anyone from the service provider, to the President of the Faculty Senate, to the Residence Life Director, to the physical plant administrator. The emphasis is on the setting, rather than the job title.

If you would be interested in being a part of this listserve, send a message titled "Sign me up" to Jane Jarrow. In the message, please provide your name, the name of your institution, its location (city/state), and indicate that your private institution (assumption made here) meets the profile suggested (high tuition, small student body, traditional college-aged population, vast majority of students in-residence).

If you are not involved in an institution that fits the profile above, but would be interested in monitoring this listserve, write to Jane Jarrow and we can talk about whether it would be a good use of your time to pursue this opportunity.

PLEASE FEEL FREE TO PASS THIS MESSAGE TO ANYONE WHOM YOU THINK MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN JOINING THE ICU LIST.