(DePaul University/Randall Spriggs)
As part of its annual project, DePaul's Ability, Alliance with Allies and Advocates, known as A4@DePaul, is gathering feedback from faculty and staff. The survey aims to review the current ADA forms for accommodations used at the university.There are two forms every employee in need of accommodations must file with the Office of Human Resources every year. One focuses on the request from the employee, while the other is completed by the employee's healthcare provider. A4@DePaul's project will provide an assessment of the ease of use and understandability of these forms for the employee, as well as feedback from medical professionals.
“The need for accommodations extends to every corner of this university, including our disabled staff, like myself," says Erin Roux, an access services desk supervisor in the University Library and a steering committee member for A4@DePaul. “If accommodations are not fully accessible to everyone, the process feels like a moot point. As the pandemic has shown us, reasonable remote accommodations are viable for our disabled faculty and staff without sacrificing any productivity."
All are welcome to take part in the survey, regardless of their need for accommodations today.
“We are asking that all employees review the documents, not just those with a current disability," says Kelly Tzoumis, an A4@DePaul cofounder and professor in the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. “The forms, of course, affect those who currently need accommodations, but also they have an impact on employees whose needs for accommodation may change in the future. The review of these forms is enhanced by all employee input."
Accommodations that allow employees in the workforce to contribute in meaningful and significant ways are important, notes Maija Renko, a professor in the Driehaus College of Business who conducts research on entrepreneurs with disabilities.
“These forms are the foundation for disabled employees across the different sectors to contribute to accessible and inclusionary pathways in DePaul's workforce," she says.
The group requests that employees complete the survey by Thursday, May 5. It will take no more than 10-15 minutes to complete. Questions may be directed to Kelly Tzoumis.
Feedback gathered from this survey is anonymous and held in strict confidentiality with the information being reported only in aggregate numbers and without any identifiers, which are not asked in the survey. Please only complete the survey once.
Learn more about A4@DePaul on the group's website.