LV Life

New program creates opportunities

Lynn Stanton-Riggs, assistant professor of education and director of learning enhancement services, enjoys working not only with sophomore Jill Vandepas, but with other students as well. The University has enjoyed her services for nearly seven years, including her three years with the Education Department. / photo by Brian Murphy
Lynn Stanton-Riggs, assistant professor of education and director of learning enhancement services, enjoys working not only with sophomore Jill Vandepas, but with other students as well. The University has enjoyed her services for nearly seven years, including her three years with the Education Department. / photo by Brian Murphy

by Merritt Beckett
Staff Writer

Increases in the need for academic programs that aid in the success of students with disabilities has led to the formation of the Office for Academic Programs and Services for Students with Disabilities (APSSD) in the Learning Enhancement Center.

The program is run by Lynn Stanton-Riggs, director of learning enhancement services and assistant professor of education. It is designed to create opportunities for students with learning and physical disabilities to have equal opportunity to succeed and excel in their classes.

A large portion of this program is dedicated to providing alternative test-taking environments for students with disabilities. Once a student has notified his professors and APSSD of his disability, he or she can arrange to have longer testing periods as well as a quiet, isolated environment in one of the new testing rooms, located in the Student Resource Center.

Stanton-Riggs also plans to start a support group for students with learning and physical disabilities.

“I hope to raise educational awareness for students and faculty about issues that students with disabilities face,” she said.

One way that she plans to increase awareness on campus about the issues that students with disabilities face is by inviting experts to come to campus and facilitate educational programs on this topic.

The Learning Enhancement Center has also ordered computer equipment to assist students with partial sight difficulties and dyslexia.

Stanton-Riggs said of the program, “This is a place on campus for staff and students to get information for and about students with disabilities.”

Paralegal student Jamie Webster feels that the program is definitely a step in the right direction.

“According to the California Edu­cation Code, if a student makes a professor aware that he has a disability, the professor has a duty to accommodate and create an environment by which the student can succeed,” Webster said.

Additionally, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 states that all academic institutions, both public and private, must meet specific guidelines to affect reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities.

While Webster agrees that the landscape at the University of La Verne is primarily flat and compact, making wheelchair access possible, she feels that there is still much work to be done. She notes that there is not a single automatic door on this campus.

Amber Duclos, a junior, agreed. “The wheelchair accessibility of our campus is getting better, but there is still much room to improve. For example, there are still buildings, like La Fetra [Auditorium], on campus that do not have a handicapped bathroom.

“Most people do not think about the many things that create obstacles for a student in a wheelchair, like narrow doorways, uneven sidewalks and not being able to watch a baseball game from the bleachers with everyone else,” she said.

Duclos is thankful for the new APSSD program in the Learning Enhancement Center and feels that it shows that the school has the desire to improve its accommodations.

“The program offers support for students with disabilities. There has been a definite need in the past and now there are the resources to help,” Duclos said.

Merritt Beckett
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