Accessibility and College Tours: A Conversation with Elizabeth Ralston
Annie Tulkin connected with Elizabeth Ralston to discuss the accessibility of college tours. Elizabeth is an accessibility consultant and a person with hearing loss. She also happens to have a child, with hearing loss who is engaged in the college search process and going on tours. Annie connected with Elizabeth after reading her LinkedIn post where she outlined the access issues she experienced when going on tours with her son.
It’s important to note that students and guests can request accommodations for college tours. Nearly every college in the United States receives federal funding and are required to provide “reasonable accommodations” under the Americans with Disabilities Act for tours and admissions related activities. The process to request accommodations for tours and admissions events can vary widely from college to college (if the college has a standardized request process at all). This can make it challenging for prospective students and their guardians to engage in college tours and gather information. This can also leave prospective students feeling disempowered, forgotten, and excluded.
Watch our conversation:
Resources mentioned in our conversation:
University of Washington-DOIT (Disabilities, Opportunities, Internetworking, and Technology)-Equal Access: Universal Design of Recruitment and Undergraduate Admissions
Disability Visibility Project-Alice Wong
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