Many Hands Make Light Work: A Discussion on Disability and Accessibility Support at Reed College

At the beginning of the fall 2024 semester, the Office of the President sent out an email

to the Reed College Community emphasizing a focus on improving retention rates at Reed “In

our continued efforts to ensure that the promise of a Reed education is made a reality for every

enrolled student.” The 6-year graduation rate from 2010 to 2016 was just below 80 percent with a majority graduating in 4 years, but if a student was registered with a disability, the 6-year graduation rate dropped to 60 percent. It is far more likely for students with disabilities to leave Reed, and the issues that students with disabilities face regarding academics and social culture on campus are a significant part of the issues with retention. Not only is the twenty percentage point difference in graduation likelihood notable, but it is also an indicator of underlying issues on the Reed campus regarding accessibility. Although many point in the direction of the DAR department as a leading cause, campus-wide culture comprised of students, faculty, and staff plays an equally important role in establishing an environment in which all students at Reed can be successful.

In 2019, Reed surpassed the national average of students registered with DAR (Disability and Accessibility Resources) with over twenty percent of the student body registered. In the spring of 2024, that statistic increased to one in every three students. A three-person department, DAR states that “Disability & Accessibility Resources works with students with disabilities who seek academic, housing, or other accommodations for disability-related needs. We engage in an individualized and interactive process with each student to determine reasonable and appropriate accommodations.” Given the size of DAR, this is a daunting task and can make the process of receiving accommodations frustrating for students, as it can often be lengthy.

DAR provides a great amount of support to students with disabilities, but at its core, its sole responsibility as a compliance office is to provide legally required accommodations. DAR does not apply to students without documentation or accessibility outside academic and living spaces. Over time DAR has become a catch-all solution for accommodations on campus, when in reality, although DAR is greatly important to many students, it is only one piece of the puzzle. For successful accessibility at Reed, it must go beyond a three-person compliance office.

Research by past thesis students at Reed on students with disabilities at the college has

found a treasure trove of information on how campus culture affects students with disabilities

both socially and academically. In their thesis, “Resting time is not wasted time”: Chronic

Illness, Time Perspectives, and The Reed Student Experience” Hannah Card ’22 found how

significant a role a professor's support can play in determining if a student would succeed in a

class, as there is a notable variety in how each faculty member chooses to approach

accommodations. As one student with accommodations from DAR put it, “Intake meetings are

acquainted to playing Russian roulette,” in reference to initial discussions with professors. Some

professors require going through DAR for anything, while others do not. This has its pros and cons, as some students expressed discomfort in disclosing information directly to professors, while others expressed how disclosing to a professor was significantly easier than going through the DAR process. Even more concerning, some professors were unwilling to offer accommodation under the idea that it was unfair to other students, or that if they gave accommodation to one student they would have to give it to everyone else. Ideally, students would receive a mix of individualized accommodations as needed, and additional accommodations that are universal and helpful to all students.

Academics can be an extremely disheartening experience at Reed for students with

disabilities. GPA is on average lower for students registered with DAR as of 2021, with students

not registered with DAR averaging a 3.05, and students registered averaging a 2.9. Although this may seem like a minimal difference, many academic programs such as internships have a cut-off of 3.0 for applications. At no point in time has the average been the same, although the gap has closed significantly since 2019.

On top of averaging lower grades, students experience immense amounts of self-doubt

and mental strain. In their thesis, We Don’t Read About Dinosaurs: Investigating the Unique

Motivational Struggles of Students at Reed with ADHD, Tori Reed ‘24 discussed that

“Participants with ADHD had significantly increased rates of complex psychological fears about

their classes, like the concern that doing badly will mean others see them as a failure, or

worrying they aren’t good enough to do well in their classes.” Despite the immense amount of

self-doubt and imposter syndrome, Reed students with ADHD and other disabilities that affect

academics have self-selected to continue to higher education at an institution that prides itself on high stress because of the de-emphasis on grades and “learning for the sake of learning.” Many have been told or been made to feel as if education is not for them, as Boldt discusses, “Students who have significant struggles with the mechanics of the education system but not with the actual ability to master content have learned, after years of failing to meet the system’s

expectations, to divorce expectancies for success from the pleasure they get and the value they

derive from learning.” This is not only a testament to students who experience academic struggle because of a disability, but also a point that should be emphasized to professors who may not understand why their support is so valuable. 

Reed prides itself on academic excellence and intensity, and creating a supportive community that ensures that all students are successful, including students with disabilities, is not diametrically opposed to this founding principle. DAR is not always the answer to what a student needs to succeed, and it certainly does not “fix” everything. At times the most valuable thing is support from the community, both in and out of academic spaces. Professors' attitudes

have been found to be a definitive factor in the academic success of students, but as Card puts it, “Friends are not only important to have for our social needs, but for building a network based in care. By finding others that value mutual understanding and support, individuals are not only able to mitigate some of the isolation that is often inherent in the experience of chronic illness, but also find help from others that makes daily life easier”.

Theses Discussed:

We Don’t Read About Dinosaurs: Investigating the Unique Motivational Struggles of

Students at Reed with ADHD by Tori Boldt in 2024

“Resting time is not wasted time”: Chronic Illness, Time Perspectives, and The Reed

Student Experience by Hannah Card in 2022

How Appropriate is “Appropriate”? Views of Students, Faculty, and Staff on Disability

Accommodations Based in Type of Disability by Madhav Pulle in 2021

Motivated Disclosure Patterns: Disability Identity Management in the Higher Education

Environment by Zoe Toxell Whitman in 2016

If you have any questions, comments, concerts, or want to get involved, please contact Reed’s

Community for Accessibility and Disability Services (CARDS) Committee! Cards@reed.edu