The 2024 NCDE Campus Collaboration Initiative (CCI) represents an opportunity for two institutions of higher education to expand collaboration between disability services and education abroad to support exchange participants with disabilities by expanding their own knowledge or the knowledge of others. NCDE is thrilled to announce the two institutions each of which will receive 1500 dollars of funding to advance greater teamwork to support students with disabilities to study abroad.
Coastal Carolina University
Coastal Carolina University is a liberal arts school based in Conway, South Carolina. CCU’s project, bringing in representatives from Accessibility and Disability Services, CEA-CAPA Education Abroad and Center for Global Engagement will take an ADS representative to conduct an accessibility evaluation of an overseas site
Director of Education Abroad Mandy Reinig said “no ADS staff has been abroad. Without firsthand abroad experience, ADS staff cannot determine the access barriers a student may encounter, which affects their ability to prepare students. CGE and ADS devised the concept to work with a program provider and have an ADS staff member conduct a site visit to understand what accessibility means abroad.”
Haslam College of Business University of Tennessee
The Haslam College of Business of the University of Tennessee Knoxville is one of the highest ranked business schools in the United States. Each academic term, students can choose between a selection of faculty-led and affiliate education abroad programs through the business school. For the CCI, it will organize a strategic planning session with representatives from Haslam, the Center for Global Engagement and Student Disability Services to develop a process for supporting disabled education abroad participants.
Program Manager for International Programs & Partnerships Rachel Gatsche said “in order to formally establish and strengthen collaboration between offices, Haslam IPP is applying for the Campus Collaboration Initiative, which will be directly used to support the execution of a Strategy Session after which it is hoped that each office will leave with a deeper understanding of international education and student disability services, strengthened interdisciplinary relationships, and initial crossover points of collaboration and deliverable options between the offices.”
The Campus Collaboration Initiative is organized by the National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange (NCDE). NCDE is a project of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, designed to increase the participation of people with disabilities in international exchange between the United States and other countries, and is supported in its implementation by Mobility International USA.’
