May 04, 2024  
2018-2019 Catalog and Handbook 
    
2018-2019 Catalog and Handbook [ARCHIVED CATALOG]

Course Descriptions


 

Communication and Media

  
  • CM 310 - Visual Communication (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: Any 200 level Communication and Media course
    Examines visual communication theory and builds visual literacy. Outlines the history, philosophy, and practice of graphic design. Analyzes visual communication strategies in advertising, entertainment, and other types of media.

  
  • CM 311 - Writing for Electronic Media (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    Examines the theory and practice of writing for electronic media. Describes a selection of current applications and mainstream and alternative electronic media types. Outlines the technical limitations of specific platforms. Requires that students create a variety of individual and group writing projects.

  
  • CM 312 - Social Media (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: Any 200 level Communication and Media course
    Examines the theoretical background and the history of social media. Outlines the use of social media in marketing. Describes and discusses the major social media platforms. Uses case studies to analyze and critique brand management, the importance of influencers and advocates, and online communities and cultures. Requires a term-long project tracking social media presence.

  
  • CM 314 - Film and Television (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: Any 200 level Communication and Media course
    Examines methods for analyzing film and television. Introduces the elements of film form and the language of film studies. Outlines a variety of broad theoretical frameworks and critical methods used in qualitative media criticism.

  
  • CM 316 - Film History (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: Any 200 level Communication and Media course
    Examines the history of film from its origins to the present. Outlines historical periods, stylistic movements, and technological advances. Analyzes the works of individual directors.

  
  • CM 333 - Corporate Communication (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: Any 200 level Communication and Media course
    Introduces writing techniques for effective corporate communications. Outlines the history, function, and traditional practices of public relations. Analyzes case studies in corporate communications and public relations. Requires that students create a variety of individual and group writing assignments.

  
  • CM 411 - Advanced Mass Media Research (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: Completion of at least 15 credits of level 300 Communication and Media courses
    Reinforces research theories, strategies, and applications in the media and marketing industries. Outlines the function of quantitative and qualitative research, content analysis, surveys, and focus groups. Provides hands-on experience with a variety of research processes. Requires that students conduct media research, and critically use and present research data and statistics.

  
  • CM 490 - Special Topics in Communication and Media (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: Completion of at least 15 credits of level 300 Communication and Media courses
    Explores special topics in communication and media.

  
  • CM 491 - Independent Research (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: Completion of at least 15 credits of level 300 Communication and Media courses
    Independent research or project under faculty guidance. Written contract and report required.

  
  • CM 499 - Communication and Media Capstone (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: Completion of at least 15 credits of level 300 Communication and Media courses
    Capstone academic research project, creative project, or applied project demonstrating achievement of Communication and Media program outcomes. Includes resource and literature review as well as reflection on course and program learning. May be offered in small groups and/or individual format.

  
  • INT 450 - Internship (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: Permission of Director
    Practical application of program skills and concepts in workplace settings, designed to connect academic work to employer expectations. Can be completed via an internship of at least 150 hours, or via analysis of application of learning at a current work experience. Regular analyses and reflection on work and learning experiences are an essential element of this course.


Computer Studies

  
  • CIS 101 - Computer Fundamentals and Applications (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course is an introduction to computers and their use in information processing. Topics include hardware and software concepts, elements of telecommunications, networks, and the Internet. Emphasis is on using computer programs such as word processing, spreadsheets, and data base management, as well as Internet applications.


Data Analytics

  
  • DATA 600 - Information and Systems (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    Information systems today play an important role within an organization and that role will only grow in the future as data becomes an ever more critical driver of organizational goals. This course introduces students to concepts of information systems and the role of information systems within an organization. Topics covered will include organizational structure and behavior, types of information systems, hardware and software issues, data collection tools and techniques, issues of complexity, and the relevance of information systems to larger social issues like sustainability. The course will provide a review of relevant literature and some case study discussions.

    Note: This must be taken in the student’s first semester.
  
  • DATA 602 - Advanced Programming Techniques (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: DATA 607 
    In this course students will learn aspects of contemporary programming that are important for data gathering and analysis, including real-time programming, GUI design, interactive database programming, service-oriented architecture, data collection with and without databases, machine learning, data mining techniques, and GIS programming. Computer security issues will also be addressed, as will overall computer architecture. Students will be required to create a working system for a large volume of data using publically available data sets.

  
  • DATA 604 - Simulation and Modeling Techniques (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: DATA 606 
    This course teaches students the basics of simulation, systems modeling, and related software applications. Topics include event-driven and agent-based simulations, such as generation of random numbers, random variates, design for simulation experiments, gathering statistics, and steady state versus transient state results. The use of combined simulation and optimization will be covered. Students will develop a contextual understanding of simulation and modeling through the use of case studies.

  
  • DATA 605 - Fundamentals of Computational Mathematics (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: DATA 606  and DATA 607  
    This course will cover basic differential and integral calculus from the viewpoint of numerical methods and some basic probability concepts. The emphasis will be on modeling and applications to a number of different fields that make use of analytics in differing ways: e.g., business, urban systems, social networks. The course will incorporate basic linear and matrix algebra. Statistical programming and modeling packages will be used throughout.

  
  • DATA 606 - Statistics and Probability for Data Analytics (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course covers basic techniques in probability and statistics that are important in the field of data analytics. Discrete probability models, sampling from infinite and finite populations, statistical distributions, basic Bayesian statistics, and non-parametric statistical techniques for categorical data are covered in this course. Each of these statistical concepts will be applied in a variety of real-world scenarios through the use of case studies and customized data sets.

  
  • DATA 607 - Data Acquisition and Management (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    In this course students will learn about core concepts of contemporary data collection and its management. Topics will include systems for collecting data (real time, sensors, open data sets, etc.) and implications for practice; types of data (textual, quantitative, qualitative, GIS, etc.) and sources; an overview of the use of data, including what and how much should be collected and the distinction between data, information, and knowledge from a data-centric point of view; provenance; managing data with and without databases; computer and data security; data cleaning, fusing, and processing techniques; combining data from different sources; storage techniques including very large data sets; and storing data keeping in mind privacy and security issues.

    Students will be required to create a working system for a large volume of data using publically available data sets.

  
  • DATA 608 - Knowledge and Visual Analytics (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: DATA 602  
    In this course students will learn non-statistical aspects of elucidating from data its information content which leads to knowledge. Several differing visual techniques will be examined to gain this knowledge through exploratory use of visualizations as well as visualization techniques for presenting data to a variety of stakeholders. Exploratory techniques look to find patterns in the data. Finding patterns that underlie the system’s characteristics when the data sets are very large or have many dimensions by reducing the dimensionality in intelligent ways is a complex task that often includes user direction. Presentation visualizations provide the viewer with useful information and knowledge since the visualizations are created with context in mind. In addition, students will learn how to integrate quantitative and qualitative data (e.g., text and narrative).

  
  • DATA 609 - Mathematical Modeling Techniques for Data Analytics (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: DATA 602  and DATA 605  
    In this course students will learn mathematical methods for understanding data relationships and for system optimization. Mathematical modeling techniques for representing a complex system will be presented. Topics to be covered include linear (LP) and non-linear programming (NLP); algorithmic search methods for optimization; branch and bound and dynamic programming, and their uses. Use of modeling packages will be stressed. Examples will be used from actual systems. In addition, students will be expected to explain their models, reports, and analyses in plain and easy-to-understand language.

  
  • DATA 610 - Project Management Concepts (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    Students in this course learn to plan, organize, lead, and control software projects to ensure that they meet requirements and are delivered on time and within budget. Students learn the essentials of defining requirements, scheduling, budgeting, managing complex teams and distributed work, communications, conflict resolution, and staff development.

  
  • DATA 611 - Overview of Current Technologies for Sustainability (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: DATA 607 
    This research course uses a case study format to examine the underlying technologies that offer potential for improving urban sustainability and enabling well connected and intelligent cities. Areas of study may include sensors and actuators; transportation systems; building control systems; electric power control systems; renewable energy delivery systems; analytics and optimization for decision-making, sustainability policy, and complex systems of systems. Current papers discussing real-life examples from urban areas around the world will be used. This course ties in aspects of behavioral economics, psychology, sociology, social media, and urban design and explores the nature of human interaction with systems. Guest speakers from New York City government and industry will enrich the student experience.

  
  • DATA 612 - Recommender Systems 3 Credits

    Prerequisite: DATA 602, DATA 606, and DATA 607 or permission of the Academic Director.
    Recommender systems and related ranking applications-are widely regarded as one of the most widely adopted commercial implementations of data science. In this course, students will learn to build and evaluate different kinds of recommender systems, using both R or Python. Some of the course work will be done using Apache Spark.

  
  • DATA 613 - Managing Innovation and Strategy (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course has a dual focus. First, it prepares students to understand the nature of technical change in both information systems and technologies that are at the forefront of current practice. Second, the course explores current business models and product strategies that will drive market trends. Throughout the course students are responsible for analyzing how technical changes-many of which are specific to information systems-impact the populations affected by a new technology.

  
  • DATA 617 - Data Exploration and Outlier Analysis (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: DATA 606  and DATA 607 
    In this course, students will develop advanced skills in exploring and processing large sets of disparate data types. Students will perform exploratory analysis, work with imperfect data sets, apply probabilistic techniques to the characterize variables, and identify and handle outliers. In addition, students explore relationships between variables and apply appropriate transformations to these variables.

  
  • DATA 618 - Quantitative Finance (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: DATA 606  and DATA 607 
    Quantitative finance is a branch of applied mathematics concerned with calculation, modeling, and forecasting in a variety of industry segments. Professionals in this field use specialized knowledge and skills to determine value and calculate risk. Their results can play a key role in business actions such as financing, mergers, consolidations, speculation, and global expansion Students will engage in topics that include probability distributions, linear regression, stochastic calculus, Monte Carlo methods, Black-Scholes, capital asset pricing, and arbitrage pricing. Topics will be presented through academic theory and real-world examples.

  
  • DATA 620 - Web Analytics (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: DATA 606  and DATA 607  
    Organizations, both commercial and community, can benefit from deep analysis of their website interactions and mobile data. Social networks have also become a source of information for companies; search engines are an important referral mechanism. Popular social networks and other online communities provide rich sources of user information and (inter-) actions through their application programming interfaces. This data can help to identify a number of individual user preferences and behaviors, as well as fundamental relationships within the community. Search engines use algorithms to rank sites. Students will learn how to analyze social network data for types of networks, the fundamental calculations used in social networks (e.g., centrality, cohesion, affiliations, and clustering coefficient) as well as network structures and roles. Beyond social network data, students will learn about important concepts of analyzing website traffic such as click streams, referrals, keywords, page views, and drop rates. The course will touch on the fundamentals of search algorithms and search engine optimization. To provide a basic context for understanding these online user and community behaviors, students will learn about relevant social science theories such as homophily, social capital, trust, and motivations as well as business and social use contexts. In addition, this course will address ethical and privacy issues as they relate to information on the internet and social responsibility.

  
  • DATA 621 - Business Analytics and Data Mining (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: DATA 606  and DATA 607  
    This course teaches students to comb through complex business data sets to produce knowledge, and ultimately, business intelligence. Students learn the basics of business analytics. However, this course goes well beyond typical analytics for managers by including rich computational components for predictive and prescriptive analytics. Strategy and operational business contexts are provided via case studies throughout the course. Students will deal with actual business scenarios like sales, marketing, logistics, and finance. Students are expected to bring in practical problems from their own fields of interest. In addition, each student will be responsible for leading discussions in a particular application area. Teamwork is an essential part of the course.

  
  • DATA 622 - Machine Learning and Big Data (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: DATA 621 
    This course teaches students to apply advanced machine learning techniques to big data sets. Students will learn how to apply both new and previously studied techniques to large data sets in a distributed computing environment. In particular, the course will make use of the Hadoop framework and the Mahout implementation of machine learning algorithms. Students will also learn to apply basic text mining techniques as well as how to implement a basic recommender system in Hadoop.

  
  • DATA 623 - Managerial Decision Analytics (3 Credits)

    Prerequisites: DATA 605  
    This course covers the fundamental concepts, solution techniques, and applications of managerial decision analytics. Students will be exposed to topics from linear algebra, convexity theory, optimization modeling (linear, network, integer, multiple objective, nonlinear, stochastic), dynamic programming, metaheuristics, simulation, risk analysis, decision analysis, and Markov Decision Processes. Students will develop a contextual understanding of prescriptive analytics useful for providing managerial decision support by implementing the covered techniques using spreadsheets and R.

  
  • DATA 624 - Predictive Analytics (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: DATA 621 
    This course teaches students to use advanced machine learning techniques that are focused on predictive outcomes. Topics will include time series analysis and forecasting, recommender systems, and advanced regression techniques. In addition, students will learn how to evaluate the predictions that result from these techniques, how to assess model quality, and how to improve models over time.

  
  • DATA 630 - Urban Society and Sustainability (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: DATA 600  and DATA 605 
    The course introduces students to concepts and practices of sustainability in cities. Key objectives are to review and critique how sustainability planning is being carried out, to identify the barriers and bridges to its effective implementation, and to identify the technologies and metrics of success being used to create, catalog, and understand the progress made. A related objective is to analyze the urban systems being impacted by sustainability planning and practices, and how those systems have been modeled. Furthermore, students will reflect on and discuss the impact of sustainability projects on people’s lives. The course includes a review of relevant literature and extended case study discussions. Topics include: urbanization and resource utilization; society and cities; systems and the built environment; resources; environmental management; green businesses.

  
  • DATA 631 - Data Structures and Algorithms for Distributed Systems (3 Credits) EFFECTIVE SPRING 2018

    Prerequisites or Co-Requisite: DATA 621  
    The trend in Big Data involves new frameworks, tools and techniques for organizing information into data structures in order to support efficient manipulation by algorithms. This course will provide students with foundational knowledge and hands-on learning in the acquisition, transformation and management (“data wrangling and munging”) of structured and unstructured data using Hadoop and Map Reduce frameworks.

     

  
  • DATA 643 - Special Topics in Data Analytics (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: DATA 602  and DATA 606 
    This course allows the program to offer additional material on advanced and specialty topics within the Data Science field. This will be an advanced class. Emphasis will be placed on project based outcomes.

  
  • DATA 644 - Current Topics in Urban Sustainability: Energy (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: DATA 607 
    This course will cover the in detail the most up-to-date trends in energy distribution, consumption, monitoring, and conservation, including building control systems. Modeling and economic considerations will be a focal part of the course. Emphasis will be placed on software that is currently available for energy distribution, building usage, and conservation. Topics will vary, sometimes with a particular emphasis.

  
  • DATA 645 - Current Topics in Urban Sustainability: Transportation (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: DATA 607 
    The course will cover the most up-to-date trends in urban transportation systems, including both mass transit and surface transportation issues in an in-depth manner. Trends that rely on information systems, such as congestion pricing, peak demand parking, real-time transit information, and priority signaling, among others, will be considered. Emphasis will be placed on software and hardware implications.

  
  • DATA 646 - Current Topics in Urban Sustainability: Complex Systems (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: DATA 607 
    The course will cover the most up-to-date trends in urban systems and their interrelationships in an in depth manner. Emphasis will be placed on software and hardware implications.

  
  • DATA 661 - Independent Study (1 - 3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course allows the program to offer additional material in the broad area of Information Systems after the student has gained a general background from the Prerequisites. This will be an advanced class. Topics might include: effects of internationalism on information systems (language considerations, distributed program creation techniques across time zones, etc.), cooperative information systems, security, threats, internet considerations, filtering, GUI design considerations. Emphasis will be placed on the software and hardware associated with the information systems.

  
  • DATA 698 - Analytics Master’s Research Project (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: Permission of Academic Director
    In this course, students will integrate the knowledge and skills derived from the previous classes into a real-world project. Working in small teams (that may be geographically distributed) or by themselves, students will work on designing an information system.

    With the oversight of a faculty advisor, students will identify a topic, develop a research plan, conduct research, and collect and analyze data. The project may be organized in collaboration with a partner organization, for example, a local company, non-profit, or research lab.


Digital Literacy

  
  • COM 110 - Digital Literacy (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    Exploring new communication technologies and their impact on contemporary understandings of identity and community to discover what it means to inquire, to communicate, to collaborate, and to research online.

  
  • COM 210 - Writing at Work (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: ENG 101  or equivalent
    An overview of professional workplace writing, including audience assessment, preparation for writing and research, design, editing, and collaborative writing. Models of effective writing and practice in preparing business correspondence, reports, instructions, proposals, presentations, and web content develop competence in creating documents routinely required of professionals in organizations. Relevant for a wide variety of professions.


Disability Services

  
  • DSSV 604 - Legal Aspects of Disability Service (3 Credits)


    Prerequisite/Corequiste: DSAB 601 
    This course will review the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act as interpreted by the Office of Civil Rights, IDEA and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Additional issues related to FERPA, HIPAA and the right to privacy are also explored and analyzed, and specific case examples will be offered.

  
  • DSSV 606 - Assistive Technology in Higher Education (3 Credits)


    Prerequisite/Corequiste: DSAB 601 
    This course examines assistive technology (AT) in higher education for students with disabilities, including hardware and software for students with learning, visual, sensory and physical disabilities. Students will learn about the use of screen readers, captioning, interpreting services, audio description, voice recognition software, eBooks, alternative formats, accommodations for STEM coursework, and emerging resources. Students will become familiar with a variety of assistive supports and the uses and drawbacks of each.

  
  • DSSV 607 - Higher Education Disability Service Administration (3 Credits)


    Prerequisite/Corequiste: DSAB 601 
    This course examines key issues related to college disability services program administration and the critical role that these programs play in allowing students with disabilities to fully participate in all aspects of college and university life. The course will cover the history of Disability Services in Higher Education, testing, evaluating documentation and determining appropriate accommodations, recordkeeping, dealing with foreign languages, assessing equipment and office needs, budgeting, building relationships with faculty and administration, training college faculty and staff, working with affiliated programs, governmental agencies, external constituents, and related organizations, program development and evaluation.

  
  • DSSV 608 - Neurodiverse Students in College (3 Credits)


    Prerequisite/Corequiste: DSAB 601 
    Many students requesting accommodations in higher education settings have learning disabilities, while increasing numbers have attention deficit disorder/attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, traumatic brain injury, or autism spectrum disorders. This course will emphasize supporting students with learning disabilities, but will also enable course participants to explore a variety of issues related to students who have difficulty learning in traditional classrooms and formats. Topics will include the transition experience of students with learning disorders, interpreting educational assessments, understanding the spectrum of learning disabilities and the need for accommodations, and collaborating with faculty to support student success.

  
  • DSSV 617 - Universal Design in Higher Education (3 Credits)


    Prerequisite/Corequiste: DSAB 601 
    This course introduces basic concepts, issues, approaches, strategies, beneficiaries, and resources with regard to the universal design of instruction, technology, physical spaces and student services for the purpose of making educational products and environments accessible to all students, including English language learners and students with disabilities.

  
  • DSSV 618 - Emerging Populations (3 Credits)


    Prerequisite/Corequiste: DSAB 601 
    This course will explore issues related to the needs of new groups of students needing support, including students on the autism spectrum, veterans, international students with disabilities, students with traumatic brain injury, and students with developmental disabilities, including learning disabilities.

  
  • DSSV 619 - Accommodations Outside the Classroom (3 Credits)


    Prerequisite/Corequiste: DSAB 601 
    When students with disabilities apply to college their first concern is to make sure they receive the necessary accommodations for their academic classes. Secondary to the academic accommodations are the out of classroom accommodations which may be just as important in order to provide access campus wide. This course will cover issues related to providing accommodations in a variety of on-campus venues and co-curricular activities.

  
  • DSSV 625 - Supporting Students with Psychiatric Disabilities (3 Credits)


    Prerequisite/Corequiste: DSAB 601 
    This course will explore the definitions of psychiatric disabilities and explore the stigma associated with mental health issues. Also included will be commonly used medications, determining needed accommodations, threat assessment and campus violence, working with other campus offices, substance abuse, student conduct, student wellness and residential issues and transitioning students into successful employment.

  
  • DSSV 649 - Independent Study in Disability Services (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: Permission of the Academic Director
    The Independent Study will be taken under the supervision of an instructor. The student will develop a proposal and rationale for the Independent Study, which must be approved in advance by the instructor. The instructor and the student will develop a set of guidelines for the course, including the scope of reading and writing assignments. These guidelines will be submitted to the Academic Director in the form of a course proposal and plan. Students will be limited to one independent study in fulfillment of the elective requirement.

  
  • DSSV 651 - Special Topics in Disability Services (3 Credits)


    Prerequisite/Corequiste: DSAB 601 
    This course will offer the opportunity to study special topics within the scope of Disability Services in Higher Education. Topics may vary from semester to semester and could include in-depth study of the needs of one population of students with disabilities; in-depth study of one facet of Disability Service provision; case studies of student experiences with accommodations; or other topics related to the degree.

  
  • DSSV 699 - Disability Services Capstone Course (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: Permission of the Academic Director
    All students will complete a capstone project under the direction of a faculty mentor to enable students to apply and integrate their learning throughout the degree program. The capstone experience could include an internship or field practicum, research project or the development of an ePortfolio.


Disability Studies

  
  • DSAB 200 - Disability and Society (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    Students will engage disability in a variety of sociopolitical and cultural contexts, including their own personal values and beliefs as they relate to disability, and evaluate these as they explore disability and society. Students will be introduced to Disability Studies theory and vocabulary, and models which frame disability discourse. Students will be introduced to Disability Studies as it emerged from the Disability Rights Movement, explore disability in art and literature, investigate and critique current systems of care as they relate to self-determination and inclusion, analyze the role of poverty and work, explore disability as it intersects with race and gender, and learn about disability in a global context.

  
  • DSAB 201 - Disability and Embodiment (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course focuses on issues related to embodiment and the biological and medical aspects of disability. Students will learn the difference between understanding of disability as a medical problem and as a social construction. Identification, prevalence, clinical manifestations, cognitive, behavioral and social implications and interventions associated with genetic causes of disabilities and the debates surrounding genetic and other ‘cures’ (e.g. cochlear implants, cosmetic surgery, and other interventions) will be examined. Students will explore how bodies become gendered, raced, classed and sexualized in ways that create and reinforce social institutions, relations of power, and stigma. An analysis of the built environment and its effect on mobility, access and autonomy will be presented and discussed. Students will explore the relationship between Disability Studies and bioethics, including prenatal testing and assisted suicide.

  
  • DSAB 207 - Law, Policy and Disability (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course examines how the federal government treats discrimination against persons with disabilities in three areas: public life (public accommodations, such as transportation and housing), education, and private life in terms of employment. Divided into four parts, the course first briefly examines the structure and function of the American legal system. Second, the course examines the origins of the disability rights movement and the ways this movement contributed to the drafting of these anti-discrimination disability laws. Third, it reviews the statutes themselves-Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as well as how federal courts, particularly the Supreme Court, have interpreted them. The course will also analyze how these laws are enforced. It will pay special attention to how these laws compose a public policy. Finally, the course concludes by briefly reviewing how the ADA has influenced the United Nations, which recently passed its own recommendations for disability rights laws.

  
  • DSAB 208 - Disability in History (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    Disability has a long history, which has been hidden until recently. Specifically, as historian Douglas C. Baynton has written, “Disability is everywhere in history, once you begin to look for it, but conspicuously absent from the histories we write.” This course questions the lack of inclusion of disability in the teaching of history up until recent years. In doing so, it constructs a history of persons with disabilities in the U.S. by concentrating primarily on the modern era beginning with institutionalization in the Jacksonian and Civil War eras and ending with the modern Disability Rights, deinstitutionalization, parent advocacy and self-advocacy movements, as well as treatment of disabled veterans. The course reviews the history of persons with disabilities, including some of the Western, pre-modern notions of disability, such as the sacred or profane, ugly or grotesque, and highlighting the so-called hierarchy of disabilities.

  
  • DSAB 209 - Disability Narratives (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course explores the individual, cultural, social and political meaning of disability, as seen through the eyes of people with disabilities themselves. It does so by studying narratives of various authors with different disabilities, or those that have been intimately involved with disabled individuals. The concept of ‘life writing’ is explored, followed by a close reading of a number of narratives. Texts will be compared and contrasted as students analyze texts from a number of perspectives.

  
  • DSAB 211 - Aging and Disability (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    The focus of this course is an exploration of aging and disability from multiple theoretical and applied perspectives. The socio-cultural construction of aging and individual and social models of aging and disability will be explored, along with the social dimensions that impact on the community integration of people aging with a variety of disabilities, but with an emphasis on intellectual disabilities. Students will learn the dynamics of aging from three major perspectives: person-centered, lifespan, and systems of care.

  
  • DSAB 212 - Introduction to Residential Services (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course focuses on the theoretical and practical principles of treatment and services in residential settings for those who need constant and consistent supervision in their living arrangements. The role of activities, routine, structure, group and group dynamics will be studied along with legal and regulatory aspects involved in providing residential services. Students will explore strategies to maintain individualized services to those living in a group setting.

  
  • DSAB 213 - Transition and Adulthood (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course explores the lives of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including transition from school, and issues of segregation in living arrangements and housing, work, stigma and psychosocial issues, autonomy and self-advocacy, poverty, sexuality, parenthood and family life, religious life and older adulthood. Systems of care and access will be examined and analyzed.

  
  • DSAB 214 - Traumatic Brain Injury: Causes and Systems of Care (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) can be caused by a blow to the head, a fall, or a motor vehicle accident. Approximately 230,000 American each year are hospitalized with TBI, and 3.1 million children and adults are living with an acquired traumatic brain injury. This course will explore existing systems of care, the recovery course and psychosocial aspects of TBI, as well as the effects of personal and environmental factors, including drug and alcohol use, on recovery. Particular attention will be given to the veterans of recent wars who have sustained TBI, and their reintegration into society.

  
  • DSAB 222 - Autism Narratives (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    Recent decades have witnessed an influx of disability narratives, which offer a window into the life experience of disabled children and adults, and have resulted in new perspectives about their abilities and experiences. In this course we will critically examine the ways in which autism has been framed and discussed across a wide range of cultural narratives, including literary fiction, commercial cinema, social media and news media. We will read first-person life narratives, exploring the impact on individuals, families, social and educational contexts.

  
  • DSAB 223 - Autism Spectrum Disorder in Young People (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course focuses on the characteristics of young children with autism spectrum disorders, the effects of having a child with autism on the family, parental roles, and intervening approaches designed to meet the special needs of this population. Students learn to identify early signs of possible autism spectrum disorders, understand the differences between the different types of diagnoses of these disorders, and understand the evaluation processes and terms used to describe children with these disorders. The course is especially geared to serve the professional needs of teachers who work in classrooms.

  
  • DSAB 224 - Inclusion: Principles in Practice (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    A growing number of students with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) who were previously placed in segregated school settings are being educated in general education classrooms. Effectively educating students with ASD requires an understanding of their unique social, communicative and behavioral challenges. This course will include a study of the history of special education and inclusion, legal issues related to appropriate education, fostering social development and communication, instructional and classroom management strategies, staff training and the collaboration between home and school.

  
  • DSAB 231 - Community Mental Health (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course introduces the student to the array of mental health services from inpatient to community based agencies. The history of mental health assistance, along with current service delivery systems is explored. This includes mobile crisis intervention, partial hospitalization, day treatment, outpatient community mental health centers, clubs, self-help fellowships, supportive housing and transitional employment. The importance of interdisciplinary professionals that provide concrete services, psychiatric, medical, vocational, recreational, individual, group and family counseling and support a comprehensive team approach will be included, as well as human and legal rights, social inclusion and the challenges of vulnerable populations with co-morbidity.

  
  • DSAB 232 - Dual Diagnosis (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course introduces the student to the various integrated models of treatment for consumers who simultaneously experience a mental illness condition as well as chemical dependency diagnosis. The student will become familiar with assessments, interventions, relapse prevention, treatment planning and level of care for various types of dual diagnoses including non-addicting pharmacology. Specifically, students will understand the relationship between polysubstance use and psychosis, schizophrenia, cognition, affective, mood and personality disorders including the remission of one or both disorders. The prevalence of dual disorders within the homeless and prison system will be explored. Working with the family and other resources, including self-help fellowships are presented.

  
  • DSAB 233 - Elements of Behavioral Health Counseling (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course will give the student an overview of the counseling profession within the behavioral health field. Theories are introduced followed by specific counseling skill interventions that are a staple in the helping process. This includes establishing a therapeutic alliance, active-listening, use of empathy, transference, countertransference and clinical interventions for specific behavioral health diagnoses. Competencies for intake interviewing, bio-psychosocial assessments, fundamentals of treatment planning, and the referral/termination process along with cultural considerations are presented. Counselor ethics and self-care, use of supervision and professional development are explored.

  
  • DSAB 234 - Mad People’s History (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course is offered from the perspective of those who have been coined as mad, crazy or mentally ill. The importance of narrative expressions are reviewed in order to educate the student how Mad People’s encounters with unconventional thoughts and behaviors are viewed by society as odd, unusual or peculiar. Their personal experiences and challenges with stigma, stereotypes, prejudice, oppression, discrimination, and lack of inclusion are examined from the early history of abuse and institutionalization, to current societal beliefs. The impact of Mad People simultaneously living with individual psychological factors, which are perceived as out of the ordinary, and the general public’s misunderstandings are evaluated. The need to utilize personal stories to impact current and future perceptions, treatment and human dignity are explored.

  
  • DSAB 235 - Wellness and Recovery Model (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course focuses on developing skills to support peer counseling, wellness and recovery. The structure and dynamics of peer wellness and recovery programs, including self-advocacy, will be explored. Students will learn to develop a peer wellness curriculum and identify the strengths and weaknesses in this approach to behavioral health.

  
  • DSAB 242 - Disability and Mass Media (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course will explore how the public views disabled individuals, and how they view themselves. Students will learn to analyze how disability is portrayed in journalism, photography, film, comic art, advertising and the Internet. The impact of stigma on mass media imagery and representation will be explored. A major emphasis of this course will be the use of social media and other online platforms and their effect on disabled individuals, their construction of identity, and self-representation.

  
  • DSAB 244 - Diversity and Disability (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course focuses on disability and identity in comparison with other ‘minority’ identities such as race, class, gender and ethnicity. Students will explore dimensions of disability identity and models, as well as critiques of those definitions and models, including the medical model, bio-psycho-social model, the socio-political model, and postmodern accounts of disability identity. The nature of ableism, exclusion, and intersecting systems and structures of disability oppression will be explored, as well as strategies for increasing liberation and freedom of disabled individuals.

  
  • DSAB 245 - Universal Design and Assistive Technology (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course examines the key issues framing access, opportunity, and physical inclusion for children and adults with disabilities, including veterans. The course will include an exploration of principles of universal design, reasonable accommodations in housing, education and employment, and the process of determining accommodation needs, the role of technology in enhancing access to the built environment and education, and the challenges of providing accommodation for hidden disabilities.

  
  • DSAB 246 - War, Veterans, and Disability (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    For centuries, war has disabled both soldiers and civilizations who survived its ravages. Recently, however, significant advances in battlefield medicine have moved beyond M*A*S*H to the near-miraculous, and severely wounded soldiers, who in earlier conflicts would have died swiftly in foreign lands, have returned home to uncertain and often unwelcoming futures. This course will address two major issues. First, it will trace the history of disabled veterans and their re-entry into society, briefly considering the ancient world and then taking up the American experience with the Civil War and continuing to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan; in doing so, we will explore Federal veterans policy, including benefits, rehabilitation, prosthetics and politics. Second, we will consider the philosophical question of whether war itself is a sign of a disabled or unbalanced society. Course materials will include fiction, drama, film, and scholarly secondary works.

  
  • DSAB 251 - Disability and Families (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    The experience of disabled people in families will be explored, including the use of autobiographical narratives and personal accounts to address critical issues across the life span. Course topics will include the sociology of the family, the experience of parenting a child with a disability, and the perspectives of siblings of family members with disabilities. Also included are the family life of disabled adults, including marriage and parenting, and caring for aging parents with disabilities.

  
  • DSAB 252 - Disability and Employment (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course is an introduction to vocational, educational and employment assessment through a strengths-based perspective. Students will learn techniques to promote employment, as well as learning about community resources, funding sources, and requirements for accommodations in the workplace.  A variety of job placement strategies and business options will be explored.

  
  • DSAB 311 - Elements of Person Centered Planning (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    One of the foundations of service delivery is gathering and evaluating information to inform service planning. A variety of approaches to planning for people with intellectual or developmental disabilities will be explored, including understanding what typical assessments measure, how they are used and what they tell us about strengths and needs. Students will explore how to elicit information from service recipients, their family and friends, create community maps, and develop meaningful person centered plans.

  
  • DSAB 312 - Supporting Children and Adults with Intellectual Disabilities (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    Children and adults with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities may require structured instructional strategies to learn decision-making, everyday skills, and activities that can significantly increase independence and self-determination. This course will examine a wide variety of approaches to familiarize students with commonly used techniques to teach daily living skills and decision-making. Strategies to involve disabled individuals at every level of planning and implementation, as well as methods of documenting progress, will be a focus of this course. The importance of developing self-advocacy skills in young adults will be emphasized.

  
  • DSAB 321 - Using Assessments for Intervention, Planning and Placement (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    Comprehensive assessment is a critical component in serving individuals with ASD. An effective assessment highlights the strengths and needs of individuals with autism, and informs intervention, planning and placement decisions. Currently, a number of ASD-specific assessment tools exist, allowing clinicians and researchers to reliably make autism diagnoses within the first three years of life. Aside from diagnosis, assessment should evaluate the social, communication, adaptive and behavioral presentation of individuals with ASD. This course will describe appropriate assessment procedures and considerations for individuals with ASD, and highlight both normative and criterion-based assessment tools. The importance of a multi-disciplinary approach towards assessment and person centered planning will also be discussed.

  
  • DSAB 322 - Teaching Strategies and Behavioral Supports (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    Children and adults who have autism spectrum disorders (ASD) require comprehensive educational and treatment services. There are a myriad of approaches currently recommended to practitioners and parents, but little is known about their efficacy. This course will present current practice and evidence based research on effective assessment, evaluation, intervention and treatment of individuals with ASD with an emphasis on how to assess the effectiveness of the major therapies that have been developed to treat these disorders.

  
  • DSAB 331 - Introduction to Mental, Behavioral and Developmental Disorders (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course will introduce students to the common disorders encountered in the field of mental health, behavioral health and developmental disabilities. This includes psychotic, mood, affective, personality, addiction, behavioral and developmental disorders. Students will become familiar with the most commonly utilized instruments and how they are used to assess symptom criteria. The origins of these disorders, theoretical perspectives and implications for treatment will be examined. Case studies will enhance the application of case management and interventions in community based settings.

  
  • DSAB 332 - Introduction to Crisis-Intervention and Safety (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course will introduce students to the various types and prevalence of crisis situations that require professional intervention. Behaviors that include violence, suicide, homicide, self-injury, and sexual harassment are assessed. Specific considerations for those at high risk for a crisis situation are explored. This includes those who are experiencing bereavement, loss, depression, mental illness, substance abuse, a health crisis or life challenge. The maltreatment of minors, older adults, partners and the disabled are highlighted. Case studies and utilization of crisis-intervention techniques for specific situations are presented. Professional ethical standards for required interventions and their clinical application are reviewed.

  
  • DSAB 342 - Representations of Disability in Film and Literature (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    Film, since the beginning of the 20th century, and literature, since ancient times, have shown us what is best and worst in our society and helped us to imagine life in new ways. Disability historian Paul K. Longmore has written that films mirror views of persons with disabilities that prevail in society, for good or for ill, depicting persons with disabilities as monsters or criminals, as persons who should and often heroically do adjust to fit their environments, as either hyper-sexual or sexless beings, and, only recently, as individuals, whose experiences and lives have meaning both in connection with and independent of their impairments. The field of literature and disability is vast; students will read plays, as well as selected fiction and poetry by and about persons with disabilities.

  
  • DSAB 358 - Selected Topics in Disability Studies (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: Departmental permission
    This course offers qualified students the opportunity to study special topics in Disability Studies that may vary from semester to semester.

  
  • DSAB 359 - Independent Study in Disability Studies (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: Departmental permission
    This course allows students to focus on an independent research or project conducted under faculty guidance. The course requires a written contract and report.

  
  • DSAB 449 - Internship in Disability Studies (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: Departmental permission
    This option consists of an off-campus internship experience supervised by a faculty member. The venue must be approved by the faculty member and/or the program and, depending on the nature of the planned internship activity, an on-site supervisor may be required. The internship must be the focus of no less than 150 hours of student work. Weekly discussions of each student’s internship will be conducted online. This course requires students to write a paper based on their internship.

  
  • DSAB 499 - Capstone: Senior Research Project (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: Departmental Permission
    All students will complete a Capstone project under the direction of a faculty mentor, with a topic within the concentration in which the student has completed at least three courses. This senior research project will build upon work done in previous courses, allowing students to apply methods of scholarly and/or action research to specific issues related to disability. Projects may be completed in small research groups or individually.

  
  • DSAB 601 - Psychosocial, Cultural and Political Aspects of Disability (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course is an introduction to the emerging multidisciplinary field of Disability Studies. Students will engage disability in a variety of sociopolitical and cultural contexts, including their own personal values and beliefs as they relate to disability and society. Students will be introduced to Disability Studies theory, vocabulary and the models that frame disability discourse. Students will examine Disability Studies as it emerged from the Disability Rights Movement, explore disability in art and literature, investigate and critique current systems of care as they relate to self-determination and inclusion, analyze the role of poverty and work, explore disability as it intersects with race and gender, and learn about disability in a global context.

  
  • DSAB 602 - Embodiment and Disability (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course focuses on issues related to embodiment and the biological and medical aspects of disability. Students who complete the course will be knowledgeable about: the relationship between Disability Studies, medical sociology and the concept of the “lived body;” the difference between an understanding of the disabled body as a social construction and as a medical problem; the health care needs and experiences of people with disabilities; public policies related to the access of people with disabilities to quality health care; identification, prevalence, clinical manifestations, cognitive, behavioral and social implications and interventions associated with genetic causes of disabilities and acquired disabilities due to traumatic events; the relationship of Disability Studies and bioethics in areas such as prenatal testing, the genome project and assisted suicide; the value and possibilities of non-verbal communication and sign language to improve the quality of life of people with sensory disabilities; language development and educational options for children with cochlear implants; modes of communication with individuals with hearing impairments and other sensory disabilities; advances in our understanding of issues related to the sexual life of people with disabilities; the value of universal design and the physical accessibility of the built environment to people with disabilities and the broader community; and the potential for assistive technologies to improve the quality of life of persons with impairments and disabilities.

  
  • DSAB 603 - Disability and the Family Life Cycle (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course focuses on disability viewed from the perspective of lifespan development and the family life cycle. Students who complete the course will be knowledgeable about: the relationship between Disability Studies, lifespan developmental psychology and the sociology of the family; the use of autobiographical narratives and personal accounts by people with disabilities to address critical issues across the life span; the experience of parents and siblings of a family member with a disability; the pervasiveness of Ableism in the American educational system and its deleterious impact on educational outcomes of children with disabilities; characteristics of successful inclusion efforts, and the relationship between inclusion and school reform; self-determination and family involvement in the transition from school to adult life for youth with disabilities; family life of adults with disabilities including marriage, parenting, caring for aging parents and the death of parents; the importance of social networks in the lives of people with disabilities; approaches to challenging behaviors including autism, and individuals dually diagnosed with intellectual disabilities and psychiatric disorders; use of applied behavioral analysis (ABA) in the treatment of challenging behaviors; the negative impact of stigma on individuals with mental illness and family members and on the delivery of quality mental health services in the community; behavioral and mental health changes associated with aging adults with intellectual disabilities; and using person-centered planning and self-advocacy to improve the quality of life of aging individuals with disabilities.

  
  • DSAB 605 - Disability and Diversity (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course focuses on disability as a category of diversity and identity in comparison with other categories of diversity and identity, such as race, class, gender and ethnicity, as well as on diversity within disability. It also critically examines different strategies that may be used to increase the freedom or liberty of people with disabilities. Disability as culture will be explored, as will systems of exclusion or disadvantage as they intersect with disability and other categories of diversity.

  
  • DSAB 611 - Qualitative Research Methods (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course will provide an overview of qualitative research methods, including participant observation, in-depth interviews, use of personal narratives and other personal documents and participatory action research. Both Research theory and the practice of research will be covered, as students develop a research proposal. Particular attention will be paid to considerations of research with and by individuals with disabilities.

  
  • DSAB 620 - Disability History (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course focuses on some of the Western, pre-modern notions of disability, such as the sacred and the profane and the ugly and grotesque, inherited from classical antiquity and Christianity. The course also constructs a history of persons with disabilities in the U.S. by concentrating primarily on the modern era beginning with institutionalization in the Jacksonian and Civil War eras. The course reviews the history of persons with disabilities, highlighting the so-called hierarchy of disabilities. The course also examines why social history, the history of everyday lives that is the dominant methodology among historians, has scarcely been applied to people with disabilities until the advent of Disability Studies.

  
  • DSAB 621 - Disability Studies and the Humanities (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course will provide an introduction to disability studies and the humanities. Over the last twenty years disability scholars have analyzed representations of people with disabilities as they appear in literature, myth, art, film, photography, music and theater. These fields reflect and shape the meaning and reality of disability. Poetic and other artistic modes of discourse can deepen our understanding of the lived experience of disability. However, these shared representations of disability are, for the most part, taken for granted. Yet they have a powerful effect on popular culture, influence the attitudes and behaviors of individuals and play a part in the formation of public policies related to disability. The course will provide in-depth analysis of: the image of the cripple in literature; women with disabilities in fiction and drama; the idiot figure in modern fiction and film; the roles and stereotypes of disabled figures in cinema; theorizing disability in music; the history of photography and psychiatry; images of madness in literature; people with disabilities as artists and performers; representations of people with disabilities in journalism, media and popular culture.

  
  • DSAB 622 - Disability in Mass Media (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course focuses on issues related to disability and mass media representation, including journalism, TV, film, advertising, photography, documentary, comic art and the Internet. Topics covered will include:

    • The relationship between disability studies and media studies;
    • The various models of media representation of disability;
    • The impact of stigma in mass media imagery;
    • Mediated bodies - the impact of cultural and media representations on the experiences of people with disabilities;
    • Disability media, i.e. content created by and for people with disabilities;
    • Content and textual analysis - researching the prevalence and meaning of mediated disability representation;
    • News about disability rights in U.S. society, what is and isn’t covered; and
    • “Hidden” disabilities and how they do or don’t get onto the media’s radar.


  
  • DSAB 623 - Disability Studies and the Health Professions (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course will focus on health disparities experienced by people with disabilities. Many health professionals have the same misconceptions and fears about persons with disabilities that are found in the general public and physical barriers still exist in many, if not most, health delivery settings. The course will review the Declaration on Health Parity for Persons with Disabilities issued by the AAIDD. It will review the research on health disparities documented by the Baylor College of Medicine’s Center for Research on Women with Disabilities and other sources. We will look at ongoing efforts to address these problems. Both the 2005 Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Improve the Health and Wellness of Persons with Disabilities and the Institute of Medicine’s 2007 report on the Future of Disability in America, stress the importance of strengthening the education of health professionals in this area. Indeed many health professionals still equate disability and illness. The strengths and weaknesses of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health of the World Health Organization as a conceptual framework for disability will be discussed in detail. The relationship between disability studies and the emerging patient-centered approach will be highlighted. The role of disability studies in the education of health professionals will also be discussed including the integration of narrative medicine into the curriculum of medical schools and the practice of physicians. We will also look at the challenges faced by health professionals with disabilities.

  
  • DSAB 624 - Leadership in Disability Service Agencies (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course emphasizes a Disability Studies approach to leadership and management in the delivery of services and supports to people with disabilities.  It focuses on organizational factors involved in the management of public and private agencies to deliver and emphasizes the active participation of disabled people and their family members in service design, delivery and evaluation. 

  
  • DSAB 626 - Disability Law and Policy (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course examines how the federal government treats discrimination against persons with disabilities in three areas: public life (public accommodations, such as transportation and housing), education, and private life in terms of employment. Divided into three parts, the course first examines the origins of the disability rights movement and the ways this movement contributed to the drafting of these anti-discrimination disability laws. Second, it reviews the statutes themselves-Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the American with Disabilities Act (ADA), as well as how federal courts have interpreted them. The course will also analyze how these laws are enforced. It will pay special attention to how these laws compose a public policy. Finally, the course concludes by reviewing how the ADA has influenced the United Nations which recently passed its own disability rights laws.

  
  • DSAB 627 - Disability and Narrative (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course focuses on the individual, cultural, social and political meanings of disability as seen through the eyes of people with disabilities themselves. It does so by studying powerfully and elegantly written memoirs and narratives by authors with different disabilities or those that have been intimately involved with those with disabilities. The course is divided into two parts. First, it explores some conceptual issues to help place “life writing” in a Disability Studies context. For instance, how do people with disabilities identify themselves? How is their identity perceived by society? What is “normal?” What types of discrimination do people with disabilities face? And second, this course reviews a number of narratives, focusing on these specific questions.

  
  • DSAB 628 - Disability Studies in Education (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    This course provides an overview of dis/ability within education. We will foreground historical, social, cultural and interpretive understandings of dis/ability, contrasting them with the medical, scientific, and psychological understandings of dis/ability within the context of schooling practices. Using personal narratives, media representations, contemporary research, historical accounts, legal and policy issues, we will analyze competing claims of what dis/ability is. By analyzing multiple and interdisciplinary understandings of dis/ability from a wide variety of sources, we are able to deepen our understanding of dis/ability issues within education, and by extension, society. Students will: be introduced to, or extend their knowledge of a dis/ability studies perspective; explore various ways of understanding dis/ability (medical model, social model, charity model, civil rights model, etc.); explain the value of understanding school and classroom practices through a DSE lens; examine the history of schooling for students with and without dis/abilities; describe the differences between traditional special education and a DSE approach to understanding dis/ability; debate the validity and/or usefulness of dis/ability categories that have been constructed within the education field, such as “learning disabilities,” and “emotional disturbance”; analyze complex issues involved in inclusive education; discuss negative social perceptions, ableism, stigma, and discrimination experienced by people with dis/abilities within an education context; explain discrepancies in educational opportunities when dis/ability intersects with race, class, and gender; evaluate the experience(s) of dis/ability for urban students; consider schools as work environments for educators with dis/abilities; discuss major longitudinal and outcome studies and examine factors related to successful transitions for students with dis/abilities; discuss ways to advocate for, and with, students with dis/abilities and their parents.

  
  • DSAB 629 - Students with Disabilities in Higher Education (3 Credits)

    Prerequisite: None
    According to HEATH, a national clearinghouse of data on the experiences of students with disabilities, students with disabilities are one of the fastest growing segments of the American college population. They contribute to the diversity of the campus and have used the higher education setting to ready themselves for independent living and competitive employment. In some cases, the college experience has also helped students forge a cross-disability collective identity as part of a distinctive disability culture. This course examines the experiences of students with disabilities in higher education and key issues related to their full and equal participation in all aspects of college life, including: the historical experiences of students with disabilities in U.S. postsecondary education including demographic trends; key transition issues of students with disabilities from K-12 to postsecondary education; the legal and legislative context framing access and opportunity for college students with disabilities; understanding different disabilities and the reasonable accommodations they typically require in higher education settings; the deliberative and collaborative process through which reasonable accommodations are determined; implementing the principles of universal design in postsecondary curricula; the role of assistive technology in enhancing access; issues in the retention of college students with disabilities; challenges of college students with hidden disabilities; emerging populations of college students with disabilities; promoting the participation of students with disabilities in co-curricular and residential life; facilitating successful transitions to employment; faculty and staff development around postsecondary disability issues.

 

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