2.07 Disability Training Network (DTN)
Project Description:
2.07 Disability Training Network (DTN)
Objective 2.3: The Texas A&M University's Demonstration Project to Ensure Students with Disabilities Receive A Quality Higher Education is titled "The Disability Training Network for the TAMU system (DTN-TAMUS)." The project was designed to develop and implement a disability training network for the entire Texas A&M University System (TAMUS) and to provide training and technical assistance to TAMUS faculty and administrators. Faculty who receive training from project are expected to increase their knowledge and competencies of working with college students with disabilities. To achieve this purpose, the project team worked closely and collaboratively with all nine institutions within the TAMU System and built a strong network during the first project year.
Each year, an increasing number of students with disabilities enter postsecondary education institutions across the country. However, many students with disabilities fail to successfully complete academically or simply leave campus prior to completing their planned programs of study because of faculty?s lack of training in instructional strategies, particularly pertaining to students with disabilities. Our project's training and technical assistance activities are designed to reach out to various levels of faculty members, academic advisors, disability services staff members, and department head level administrators.
These activities are divided into four levels. Level I targets all new faculty by providing them with a brief introductory training and essential information regarding students with disabilities during new faculty orientations. Level II targets all faculty members and unit head administrators by providing them with quarterly policy updates, practice updates, and issue updates. Level III targets faculty members and administrators and provides instructor-led seminars and self-paced online seminars. Level IV targets highly selected faculty members and administrators by awarding mini-grants to these individuals for them to develop new strategies in teaching/serving students with disabilities; additionally, the project offers summer institutes to highly selected faculty members, administrators, and disability services staff for a comprehensive training using train-the-trainer modules.
The DTN project distributed five mini grants, trained 355 new faculty members in disability support strategies, hosted 60 faculty at the annual Summer Institute and provided quarterly newsletters to faculty. The DTN project also created three online modules that have been accessed by over 60 faculty.
Core Function(s):
Performing Research or Evaluation, Developing & Disseminating Information
Area of Emphasis
Quality Assurance, Education & Early Intervention
Target Audience:
Professionals and Para-Professionals, Family Members/Caregivers, Adults with Disabilities, Legislators/Policy Makers, General Public
Unserved or Under-served Populations:
None
Primary Target Audience Geographic Descriptor:
State
COVID-19 Related Data:
N/A
