UNIVERSITY OF SAN FRANCISCO

LOCATION: 2130 Fulton Street

San Francisco, CA 94117

PHONE: (415) 422-5555

Director of Student Disability Services: Tom Merrell, merrellt@usfca.edu

DEMOGRAPHICS:

Undergraduates: 3,700, See the 2008 breakdown below of students who have reported disabilities:

How does USF bring Awareness to their Program?

The USF disability coordinators attend national conferences concerning students with learning disabilities and meet once a year with other private colleges in the area. They have brochures in their disability office, located alongside the Gleeson Library at Gleeson 020, Lower Level. The office is open from 8:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. There is more information online at:

http://www.usfca.edu/acadserv/academic/services/sds/

COLLABORATION WITH ADMISSION:

All undergraduate applicants are evaluated by the same admission standards, though when it pertains to admitting students with disabilities, Mr. Merrell says they do collaborate often with admission colleagues. Once students are accepted, there are disability information forms in orientation packets and outreach talks during orientation.

RESOURCES OFFERED:

• Writing Center
• Tutoring Lab (and individual writing tutoring for students with problems in written expression)
  
• Note-Takers
• Extended exam time
• Private testing accommodations
• Two Assistive Technology labs (Gleeson Library and Law Library) with computers equipped with assistive software.
• Counseling Services
  
• Computer Labs
• Priority Registration
• Shuttle Services
  

TECHNOLOGY: (see technology page for descriptions)

• Dragon Natural Speaking
• Kurzweil 300
• Dragon Legal
• Smart Pen
• Zoom Text
• Jaws
• Closed Circuit Television
• Books on CD

ANALYSIS:

USF has a struck a pretty good balance between technology and staff. They have a limited number of Smart Pens and other individual devices to loan students, but their two assistive labs have almost everything students need to work.

They have 3.5 disability specialists (one holds another position), 1 Office Assistant, and numerous student assistants. That's not exactly enough to provide all of the one-on-one attention needed, but it's more than students will find at a lot of schools in the area.