Efforts to address the needs of students with disabilities attending Oregon State University began in the early 1970s with the formation of the Advisory Committee for Persons with Disabilities. The committee sought to comply with Section 204 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, including making buildings increasingly accessible. In 1977, Pamela Walker became the first Coordinator of Services to the Handicapped. The goal of the position was to create a program that provided services for students with disabilities and identified barriers to student success.
The Disability Access Services Office began as Handicapped Services, located in the Counseling Center, during the late 1970s. In the early 1980s, Handicapped Services became the office of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD). The office was transferred from the Counseling Center to the Office of Student Services, later renamed the Dean of Students Office, in January 1984. During the 1990s, the SSD office would experience two additional moves, first to the Office of Academic Affairs during the Fall of 1994, and later to the Office of Student Affairs during the Fall of 1997. The Services for Students with Disabilities office would later be renamed as the Disability Access Services office.
As the office evolved, new programs and services were introduced to address the growing needs of students, including the Learning Disabilities Program, approved in the mid-1980s, and the Disability Access Services Testing Center, opened in 2012. Student organizations were also founded alongside the programs. The Handicapped Students Unlimited became a recognized student organization in 1976, hosting the first Handicapped Awareness Week in May of 1978. The organization would later be renamed as the Disabled Students Organization.
The records were transferred to the former University Archives in 2002 and an addition was received in 2016.
These records were initially described as part of the Student Affairs Records (RG 102) and were separated in 2017 to form this discrete collection.
This collection is open for research.
Disability Access Services Records (RG 273), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.
Additional collections documenting programs and policies regarding students and employees with disabilities are the
The Disability Access Services Records are arranged into 4 series: 1. Annual Reports, Funding, and Statistics, 1975-2001; 2. Policies, 1985-1991; 3. Academic Accommodations and Services, 1973-2003; and 4. Programs, Student Organizations, and Committees, 1976-2016.
The Disability Access Services Records primarily contain annual reports and memoranda discussing accessibility on the Oregon State University campus and funding for services and programs. The collection also contains scrapbooks documenting the student organizations, Handicapped Students Unlimited and the Disabled Students Organizations, through newspaper clippings, advertisements, and photographs.
Series one contains annual reports, statistics, and memoranda discussing funding and grant proposals for the Services for Students with Disabilities office. The second series focuses on policies affecting students with disabilities on campus, including discrimination, classroom accessibility, and services for students with learning disabilities.
Series three contains memoranda, student handbooks, and staff guides discussing building accessibility and services provided by the Services for Students with Disabilities office. Series 4 focuses on student organizations and programs, including the Program for Learning Disabilities, Services for Students with Disabilities, and the Disabled Students Organization. The series primarily contains memoranda, articles, and two scrapbooks documenting student organization activities. A series of posters promoting the Disability Accessibility Services office are also included.
Series 1 contains primarily annual reports and statistics for the Services for Students with Disabilities Program. Memoranda discusses grant proposals and funding for programs and services.
Series 2 contains primarily memoranda and correspondence discussing policies affecting students with disabilities on campus, including admission procedures, classroom accessibility, and services for students with learning disabilities. Additional topics include nondiscrimination policies, honor roll recognition, and concerns regarding a policy restricting disabled students to one service per course.
Series 3 focuses on services provided regarding accessibility, priority registration, and alternative testing sites for students with learning disabilities. The series also contains staff guides and student handbooks containing floor plans for campus buildings and accessibility resources.
Series 4 focuses on programs and student organizations on campus, including the Program for Learning Disabilities, Services for Students with Disabilities, and the Disabled Students Organization. Two scrapbooks containing primarily newspaper clippings and photographs document activities of the Disabled Students Organization and Handicapped Students Unlimited. A series of posters promoting the Disability Accessibility Services office are also included.
30 prints
40 prints, 14 negatives, and a contact sheet.