Is Your Institution Effectively Supporting Faculty with Disabilities?
By Todd Benson
I recently attended one of my favorite conferences of the year, AAC&U, where I had the chance to share some findings from the COACHE Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey that provide insight from faculty who live with disabilities. Of the 2021, 2022 and 2023 cohort of faculty who participated in the survey, 2,568 (7.2%) reported having a diagnosed disability, which included the categories of sensory, motor, learning or cognitive and mental health. Nearly one in four of respondents with disabilities in our survey did not disclose their disability to anyone on campus.
In COACHE data from the past few years, faculty with disabilities give us some important details about their experiences. For example, on average, they are much more likely to report difficulties balancing work and personal life. They are also more likely to report having difficulty balancing the teaching, research, and service responsibilities.
You can find more COACHE findings related to disability status in our recently published infographic.
After I shared key points from the COACHE survey, there was a rich conversation among faculty and administrators from a wide range of institutions, including the perspectives from attendees with one or more disabilities. This led to several questions that I encourage others to think about as they work to support their faculty:
Question 1: Who is primarily responsible for efforts to support faculty with disabilities?
When I asked the group who owns the responsibility for supporting faculty with disabilities, the answers ranged from the human resources department to the chief academic officer to a disability services office.
Many audience members felt that the disability services office focused predominantly on students and that human resources may not be equipped to provide workplace supports for faculty. Others questioned whether faculty would feel comfortable reaching out to HR. Those who worked in academic affairs suggested that they were willing to take the lead, but they also expressed concern that they lacked some of the knowledge base to be as effective as possible.
For me, the most salient point of the discussion was the fact that only a few people in the room were certain about where support was available. If these people — who expressed real concern about supporting faculty with disabilities — were unclear about their campus resources, then how can we expect faculty who are themselves looking for support to know who to ask for assistance?
Additional questions to consider:
- Are disability services written directly into any position descriptions or is it assumed?
- Does your institution track the work of these offices as it relates to faculty?
- Do those individuals tasked with that work have specific training to support the work or are they just figuring it out as they go along?
Question 2: How do faculty know about the resources and supports available to them?
When considering this question, it is important to remember that nearly one in four of the faculty with disabilities in our survey did not disclose their disability to anyone on campus. This emphasizes the importance of informing faculty about the resources and supports available, as well as where to find them.
However, most participants who attended my AAC&U presentation did not have much information about how disability support services are shared and promoted to faculty. Many people suggested that the department chair would be the most likely conduit for this information, but no one was able to explain how chairs were informed about support services either.
Additional questions to consider:
- Are resources and supports introduced during the hiring process or new faculty orientation?
- Do department chairs receive training or resources?
Question 3: Are resources for faculty with disabilities distributed equitably?
A participant in the discussion brought up the fact that she is on an annual contract, which raised another question. While policy states that supports for faculty with disabilities are available to all appointment types and ranks, are they available to everyone in reality? For example, a university may hire a faculty member to teach a course with only a few weeks (or days) notice. If you tap an instructor to teach a course with such short notice and they also happen to have a disability, would an institution have the capacity to provide accommodations?
Additional questions to consider:
- Who at your institution is responsible for maintaining data on the usage of disability services?
- Does anyone at your institution regularly review that data to identify emerging issues and which subgroups of campus constituents are less likely to access those resources?
Question 4: Knowing faculty are often reluctant to disclose their disabilities, what is your institution doing to create a culture where faculty in need can ask for support without stigma?
Additional questions to consider:
- What are we doing to cultivate a climate where faculty can express their needs for support?
- Do DEIB efforts on your campus regularly include community members with disabilities?
- Does your institution publicly share plans for increasing accessibility for individuals with disabilities (i.e. improvements to physical facilities, investments in teaching supports, etc.)?
It is clear from both the data and the discussions that there is a need for administrators at higher education institutions to not only continue efforts to improve their disability resources for faculty, but make them broadly known. Over the past four years, the COACHE Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey has incorporated questions about disability status and disclosure to help identify areas of concern and areas of strength for individual institutions and the higher education sector.
If you are a scholar who studies faculty, please reach out to COACHE to learn more about obtaining our data set. If you would like to learn more about the COACHE Faculty Job Satisfaction Survey, please reach out to the COACHE team for information.