Proposal Title: Student Engagement and Supported Community Partnerships: Improving Employment Outcomes of Students with Disabilities through Career Development Support. Point Person: Anna Legname, Student Employment Coordinator Phone: 607-436-2534 Email: Anna.Legname@oneonta.edu Campus Address: Career Development Center; 110 Netzer Administration Building Amount Requested: $17,000/year Proposal Summary: The acceptance rate of individuals with disabilities at higher education institutions is increasing. Along with this national growth, SUNY Oneonta s number of students with one or more disabilities has increased to a total of 331 students today. Although this group is expected to participate in the workforce, qualified individuals with disabilities continue to face barriers to equal opportunity in employment. This project will improve employment outcomes of SUNY Oneonta students with disabilities while facilitating learning and engagement of peers, and inclusion of students with disabilities with community partners. This proposal supports 3 pillars of the strategic plan: Diversity, Student Engagement, and Community Partnerships.
Proposal Section I- Narrative A. Proposal Significance and Objectives: Recent data from the U.S. Department of Labor (2012) shows that 17.8% of individuals with disabilities living in the community were employed in 2012. In contrast, the employment rate for individuals without disabilities in 2012 was 63.9%. This discrepancy is alarming and calls for attention of higher education institutions when the number of students with disabilities admitted based on their abilities to obtain a college education is increasing. Career Development Support Services: While obtaining a college degree increases chances of career success, a diploma is not enough when competing in the job market. Experiential learning becomes a key factor of success particularly to the population of students with disabilities who may benefit from kinesthetic learning and proving to employers their abilities through experience. With this program, students will receive internship and job searching support through career counseling appointments and will have the opportunity to interview for jobs and internships through workforce recruitment initiatives specifically for college students with disabilities. Clarification of interests, strengths and goal setting are essential to all students; however, this is particularly true to individuals with limitations that could affect performance at work. SUNY Oneonta students with disabilities who are contemplating about careers and those who are working face several difficulties, including: understanding their abilities related to work and how to disclose their needs for accommodations in the workplace. Soft-skills such as organization, communication, punctuality, and phone skills expected by employers are commonly underdeveloped. These factors place our students with disabilities at a disadvantage when competing in the workforce. Utilizing appropriate career assessment tools, providing support to increase self-understanding and improve work related skills will facilitate the attainment and maintenance of employment of our students. Peer Career Helping Program: The goal of this program will be to provide peer support, engagement of students with disabilities on campus with meaningful leadership activities, and development of work related skills. Peers interested in this career mentoring program will have a chance to be paired with a student and assist with work etiquette, guidance of appropriate professional wear, interviewing skills, and communication skills. Peers will be trained and monitored by Student Employment Coordinator. Peer career mentors will be encouraged to engage students in volunteering and current campus activities that relates to their major of study or career interests and these activities that will later serve as resume builders. The student with disability participating in the program will have a choice to be paired with a peer career mentor during the first week of part-time work (on campus or off campus) for job coaching. Becoming a peer career mentor will expand opportunities of learning about careers in the helping, teaching, coaching and health fields to those students who participate.
Supported Community Partnerships:Despite 25 years of the Americans with Disabilities Act and 40 years of celebration of the Rehabilitation Act, qualified individuals with disabilities continue to face barriers to equal opportunity in employment. It is Federal regulation to promote/ increase recruiting efforts of qualified individuals with disabilities, and building stronger partnerships with our community employers to increase hiring and internship opportunities of our students with disabilities is a must. This effort will lead to inclusion of our students in the community and world of work and will help the community with utilizing their talents. As part of this initiative, training and support will be given to on campus and off campus employers on aspects of hiring and maintaining successful student employees with disabilities. B. Contribution to the SP2010: SUNY Oneonta fosters an inclusive culture where individual differences are appreciated. Disability is a diversity classification that needs attention because it transcends all ethnic, race, age, gender, sexual preference, and socioeconomic status. Disability is a minority group that anyone can join at anytime. This project contributes to the Strategic Plan of 2010 in regards to Diversity, and it will foster a welcoming environment to students with disabilities to learn new skills and work. Further, this project contributes to the Objectives and Actions of Community Partnership as it pertains to increasing coordination of college services with community needs and community services with college needs. Providing training to local employers on topics of benefits of hiring students with disabilities and how to accommodate their needs will benefit the local employers hiring needs. Our students will benefit from a more inclusive community where they are able to attain and maintain employment. C. Linkage to Experiential Learning:Through expansion of services to students with disabilities, students will be more likely to be placed at shadowing, meaningful internship opportunities and job opportunities. The Peer Career Helping Program gives many student mentors the opportunity to experience what many have been learning in the classroom; mentors will be learning through helping and coaching their own peers. Linkage to Public/private partnerships: Career Development Center/Student Employment Services currently develops part-time job opportunities for students in the community. Increasing job opportunities while expanding knowledge about employment of students with disabilities and advantages of hiring them will also be an advantage to businesses within the community. Employers will be hiring our students with confidence and based on their talents. D. Supporting data from assessment process or other evidence that contributed to the decision to submit this request: According to the SUNY Oneonta Campus Climate Report by Zapata, Christie, and Francis (2012), individuals with disabilities reported feeling significantly less comfortable at the College than individuals without disabilities. Providing services where students with disabilities will become more engaged on campus and within the community may assist in their comfort level at the College. This proposal also fits the mission of the Career Development Center, which includes the following, but not limited to: facilitating active career
exploration and preparation of all students and alumni in today s competitive world, and the commitment to serve the diverse campus community with sound knowledge and supportive enthusiasm for academic, career, and personal development. E. How the activity will be assessed, using measurable, documented outcomes:the Career Development Center will keep a record of the number of students with disabilities who participate in this program, the number of career counseling sessions of each student, assigned peer mentor, activities, and skills being developed. Students participating in the program will have the opportunity to complete specific career assessments at the beginning of program. At the end of academic year students will complete the Career Development Center/Student Employment Services Survey where satisfaction with employment status as well as how relevant the job was to career interest and major will be assessed. Success in the program will be evaluated on a regular basis through regular mock interviews and career counseling appointments, job attainment, and successful interviews. Students professional documents will be reviewed for content and improvements as students are engaged in college activities with peer mentors. Supervisor will have regular meetings with peer mentors to ensure students are engaged and developing skills. The Career Development Center s First Destination Survey tracks career success and the employment status of students after graduation by major of study. While this extremely valuable information will be assisting students as they plan for their careers, academic departments and the college as a whole, we believe it will be important to understand how students from different demographics are accomplishing their goals. In the future, information from graduates who participated in the program could be disaggregated in the First Destination Survey to compare success rates. F.Implementation strategy and timeline: If approved, the Student Employment Coordinator will interview candidates for the Career Peer Mentor position the week of August 31, 2014 and will provide training to mentors on several aspects of career development and disabilities, including the importance of maintaining confidentiality before they begin work. This program will have the support of Student Disability Services with referrals of students who demonstrate interest in participating. The Coordinator for this project will be communicating effectively and with Student Disability Services to ensure students are receiving high quality services at the CDC while maintaining their rights to confidentiality. Students will be engaging in volunteering and leadership activities with peer mentors through the academic year. Workshops for oncampus and off-campus employers will be planned for October, 2014 National Disability Employment Awareness Month.
2013-2014 StAR Proposal -- Budget Template* Proposal Title:Student Engagement and Supported Community Point Person and contact information Name: Anna Legname, Student Employment Coordinator Campus Phone: 607-436-2534 Campus e-mail: anna.legname@oneonta.edu Department/Unit: Career Development Center Budget Detail please enter whole dollars; enter fractions of positions in decimals (e.g. 1/2 time = 0.50) 1-time Costs by year Recurring Number of (ongoing) Positions Costs: Total 1-time Costs Use of Funds Description 2014-15 2015-16 2016-17 Personnel Costs: Ongoing Salaries (PSR) $0 Temporary Salaries (Temp Service) $0 Student Employment (Student Temp Service) $3,000 $0 Other Than Personnel Costs (OTPS) and Campus Recharges: Materials & Supplies $3,000 $0 Travel (not related to Professional Development) $2,000 $0 Contractual Services $5,500 $0 Student Scholarships $0 Professional Development $2,500 $0 General Equipment $0 Contracts related to Equipment Maintenance $0 Campus Storehouse $0 Campus Telephone $0 Campus Mail $500 $0 Campus Print Shop $500 $0 Capital Costs -- renovation $0 Capital Costs -- new construction $0 Total Costs: 0.00 $17,000 $0 $0 $0 $0 Other Funding Sources: New Funds (i.e. projected revenue generation) Projected Amount Available: Reallocation of funds from existing resources (include account number, funding source) Total Projected Other Funding Sources: $0 * Updated 12/2/2013