"Assistive Technology Accommodation Specialist"

Department Summary

Student Accessibility and Accommodation Services (SAAS) is a student-centered unit within the Division of Student Life whose work is guided by best-practice standards and interventions utilizing a multidimensional model of student well-being. SAAS oversees four key resources: Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD), Adaptive Sports and Fitness program (ASF), Testing Accommodation Centers (TAC), and Academic Support and Access Partnerships (ASAP) and is committed to promoting accessibility by providing support services, advocacy, and academic accommodations to students with disabilities. SAAS is strongly committed to outreach services to the academic community at large, promoting awareness of disability issues and providing support for equal access for all students. SAAS is a partner to students, faculty, and staff in the pursuit of developing leaders and citizens who will challenge the present and enrich the future.

Job Summary

Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) is responsible for supporting the University of Michigan's commitment to an accessible and inclusive environment by engaging in the interactive process to determine reasonable and appropriate accommodations for students with medical, physical, or mental conditions who encounter barriers to their University of Michigan experience. The individual in this position will take primary responsibility for coordinating and providing assistive technology to students connected with the SSD office in collaboration with ITS, the Library, Student Life Technology Solutions, and other units as necessary. This person will also be responsible for supporting accommodation services (like note-taking, accessible media, CART, ASL Interpreting, and paratransit), and training colleagues on using and communicating about assistive technology. This person will work with students, faculty, and staff to facilitate requests for assistive technology.

Assistive Technology (65%):

• Responsible for determining appropriate assistive technology, including physical hardware, furniture, software, equipment, etc., necessary for students to have access at the university through engaging in an interactive process with the student to understand the impact of the student's condition, their program, and other relevant factors. This may involve performing assessments of individuals and reviewing medical information.
• Direct and advise students with disabilities about their options for accessible technologies and the channels for obtaining, as appropriate.
• In partnership with colleagues in SAAS and campus colleagues (ITS, SLTS, ECRT, etc.), review technology needs and coordinate implementation of Assistive Technology to ensure consistency, sustainability, effectiveness, and fiscal responsibility.
• Manage and coordinate assistive technology maintenance, processes, and workflows, and respond to and resolve requests resulting from barriers encountered by students in the Academic environment. Manage the SSD Equipment Loaner program and provide direct support to the Testing Accommodation Centers (TAC) in their assistive technology offerings.
• Work with SSD colleagues, campus partners, and faculty to ensure access to assistive technology and support accommodating students in the classroom.
• Serve as lead among the Accommodation Specialist team with respect to assistive technology.
• Provide training and ongoing support to students and faculty/staff on assistive technology.

Support of Accommodation Specialists (20%)

Support of the Accommodation Specialist colleagues in their work, including, but not limited to, processing and managing accessible media, equipment, captioning, interpreting, and CART requests, as needed. Serves as back-up to other Accommodation Specialists, as necessary. Supporting implementation and tracking of accommodations like accessible furniture, paratransit, note-taking, etc. Support maintenance of the data management platform (Accommodate), website, and other tools utilized by SAAS. Work with campus partners, including the Knox Center, to support students in connecting to appropriate technology resources and arranging student access to SSD-managed spaces.

Outreach and Service to Student Life and the University (15%)

Engage and participate in campus outreach efforts on a University, community, and nationwide level through participation in local, state, and national disability conventions. Provide training on assistive technology to campus partners to enhance campus accessibility. Under the direction of SAAS Leadership, support updating the SAAS website, develop, write, and edit online and print publications; targeted emails, newsletters, and annual reports. Actively represent the SSD office in activities within the Division of Student Life and provide expertise and leadership to University constituents regarding best practice policies and procedures. Maintain a working knowledge of current disability-related civil rights laws applicable in higher education through ongoing staff collaboration and professional development to ensure institutional compliance with all state/federal mandates pertaining to nondiscriminatory and equal access for students with disabilities. Maintain and expand working knowledge of accessibility, trends in disability, and advancements in accessibility services in the industry.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in a related field
• Minimum of 3 years of experience providing assistive technology accommodations and/or training
• Demonstrated experience with assistive-technology-related software, experience in database management, and development.

Financial/Budgetary Responsibility

This position is responsible for stewarding vendor relationships related to assistive technology services, including working with procurement and student life services to ensure vendors are paid. This position is also responsible for supporting office budget projections related to the ADA fund.

Working Conditions

This position is primarily conducted in an office environment. May be required to travel to various locations on/off campus to conduct business and will be required to maintain their own high-speed residential connectivity service in order to work from home.

Physical Requirements

The University of Michigan is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to ensure equitable access to the workplace environment.

Direct Reports

Temp/Student staff