INTERNATIONAL
INITIATIVES
Conferences
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In 1991, the University
of New Orleans Training, Resource and Assistive-technology Center (TRAC)
began working on an international level to promote a forum for cooperation
and information exchange among higher educational professionals, as well
as exchange opportunities for students with disabilities. These early
efforts culminated in the first International Conference on Higher Education
and Disability. The conference, "Organizing to Accommodate
Students with Disabilities: An International Perspective,"
was held at the University of Innsbruck, Austria where the University
of New Orleans has had a summer program for over twenty-five years. This
groundbreaking event brought together educators and administrator from
fifteen countries.
Since the first conference
in 1992, UNO TRAC has organizedand co-hosted the International Conference
on Higher Education and Disability in Innsbruck, Austria every three years.
The most recent conference, "Moving into the New Millennium:
Action for Accessible Education" was held in Innsbruck
in July, 2001. The conference in July was the largest ever and received
the support of leaders in the national and international disability and
post-secondary educational community. University sponsors included the
University of Innsbruck, Austria; Catholic University Leuven, Belgium;
University of Central Lancashire, UK, and the Universitaet Karlsruhe,
Germanay. Institutional sponsors included AHEAD (Association of Higher
Education and Disability), DREDF (Disability Rights Education and Defense
Fund, Inc.),FEDORA
(Forum Europeen de l'Orientation Academique), MIUSA (Mobility International
USA), National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange(roundtable composed
of key disability organizations and major international exchange educational
groups), and SKILL (National Bureau for Students with Disabilities in
the United Kingdom). The conference typically features three tracks:
Innovative programming/best practices, professional development, and international
exchange.
The conferences have
attracted participants from nineteen European
countries as well as the U.S.A., Canada, Mexico, Botswana, South Africa,
India, New Zealand and Australia.
The next conference is scheduled for July, 2004
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Publications relating
to international educational/information exchange:
Gagliano, Gayle and Naomi
Moore. 1996. International Guide to Accessible University Programs and Facilities:
United States and Canada. New Orleans: University of New Orleans.
Gayle
Gagliano, TRAC director and Naomi Moore, program coordinator together with Myriam
VanAcker from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium worked together to
develop a common survey instrument, which was used to gather information on
accessible university programs in Canada, the United States and Europe. The
Gagliano/Moore guide, Studying Abroad: Canada and the United States (A guide
to Accessible University Programs and Facilities for Students with Disabilities)
and the VanAcker guide, Studying Abroad: Europe are companion
pieces which have collected very similar information on a variety of issues
of concern to students with disabilities. One of the most useful features of
the guides is the section addressing an institution's experience with specific
disabilities in the past five years. Students can use this information to gauge
the level of expertise with regard to a particular disability. Other areas covered
in the guides include housing, dining, mobility issues, classroom and examination
accommodations, electronic study aids, library facilities, and sports and recreational
activities.
Gagliano Gayle, Ward Newmeyer
and Cheryl Saucier. 1998. “International Students with Disabilities:
Tool Chest of Resources. In Advising for Study in the United
States. Washington: D.C. United
States Information Agency.
Saucier, Cheryl and Gayle
Gagliano. 1998 “Serving Students with Disabilities in the United
States” In Higher Education and Disabilities: International Approaches,
ed. Alan Hurst. London:
Athaeneum Press
TRAC staff have also contributed
chapters and articles to other publications dealing with international exchange
issues and have made many presentations on this topic throughout the United
States as well as in Eastern and Western Europe.
Friendship Agreement
Signed!
The
University of Central Lancashire and the University of New Orleans signed a
co-operation agreement in October 1998. The purpose of the agreement is to extend
the academic and cultural opportunities available to the staff and students
of the two institutions through student and staff exchanges/visits and academic
collaboration in undergraduate and postgraduate programs. Since 1992 the two
universities have been working informally on a pilot exchange program for students
with disabilities. Two students from the University of Central Lancashire have
attended UNO. One benefit of the agreements is the provision enabling students
to pay only their respective university's tuition to participate in the exchange
program.
Educational Exchange Programs
TRAC has sponsored individual
pilot educational exchange programs for students with disabilities through the
friendship agreement with the University of Central Lancashire in the U.K.
In addition, TRAC worked with the University of Innsbruck and Fitchburg State
College to organize a ten-day cultural exchange to the University of Innsbruck
for students from six US colleges in 2000. This exchange enabled students to
experience first-hand the kinds of preparation and accommodations needed for
travel and study abroad—and feel more confident about committing to a full academic
exchange. The program included opportunities to meet with disabled students
at the University of Innsbruck, learn about classroom and living accommodations,
review disability laws in the host country, discuss self-advocacy, and exchange
cultural views of disability. The students were also given free time for personal
exploration. Anyone interested in learning more about the program, should contact
Gayle Gagliano or Naomi Moore at TRAC.
Future plans include having a
group of students with disabilities from the University of Innsbruck visit UNO.
A
useful resource for individuals with disabilities who are interested in international
exchange programs is the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange:
clearinghouse@miusa.org
