ATU Students Learn About Accessibility on Campus

ATU Universal Design Class Spring 2022
Members of the Arkansas Tech University Universal Design class from spring 2022 pose for a photo in Ross Pendergraft Library and Technology Center.

A group of rehabilitation science students at Arkansas Tech University invested a portion of their spring 2022 semester in making the campus around them more accessible.

Dr. Erica Wondolowski’s Universal Design class identified accessible building entrances and pathways and initiated a process to create a version of the ATU Russellville campus map that indicates those entrances and pathways.

The Universal Design students also assessed places on the ATU campus in Russellville that could be enhanced for improved accessibility and evaluated high-traffic areas on campus that could create sensory concerns for ATU faculty, staff, students and guests.

During a conversation on the final day of the semester, class members fondly remembered a field trip to a local home improvement store that challenged them to gather the materials necessary to create accessible solutions while considering factors such as sustainability and cost.

The students collaborated with the ATU Office of Facilities Management, the ATU Office of Disability Services and representatives from the university marketing department during the course of the semester.

“They really drove it home and they worked hard,” said Wondolowski, program director and associate professor of rehabilitation science at ATU, when asked about the students. “They were open to constructive feedback. I was still getting forms late in the semester to make sure we got it all right. I couldn’t be more proud. We talked a lot late in the semester about the idea of legacy and what it means. These students will be able to tell their kids or their friends they made a difference.”

Learn more about the study of rehabilitation science at ATU by visiting www.atu.edu/degrees/bachelors/rehabilitation-science.php.