Identifying Wheelchair User Needs in Higher Education Environments Related to the ADA Accessible Design Standards Implemented in Higher Education Environments

Abstract

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is one of the most influential civil rights acts that prohibits the discrimination of persons with disabilities. Throughout history persons with disabilities have experienced discrimination, exclusion, and segregation, therefore, the ADA has provided disabled individuals the opportunity to become active and contributing members of today’s society (Henderson, & Bryan, 2011). Higher education institutions have experienced an increase in the enrollment of students with physical disabilities as a result of ADA policy and accessible design standards; therefore, colleges and universities encounter an increase of wheelchair users and other mobility device users on campus (Paul, 1999). Despite the implementation of accessible design standards mobility device users continue to experience environmental barriers within the built environment (Sherman & Sherman, 2012). Environmental barriers within higher education environments prevent students using mobility devices from accessing campus building areas or exhibit some level of physical difficulty when accessing such areas. Therefore, environmental barriers can either deny or limit the participation of mobility device users on campus. The purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between accessible design standards and environmental barriers within higher education indoor environments. This study introduces the accessibility gap which describes the lack of cohesion between design standards and current views of accessibility when using or assisting with a mobility device. The two-part research methodology includes an online survey and field measurements from the selected study area consisting of several campus buildings from the University of Oklahoma Norman campus. An online survey was used to collect qualitative data from mobility device users and persons who assisted mobility device users’ regarding their perceptions on accessibility within the 3 major building areas of the selected study areas; 1) exterior accessible entrances, 2) accessible routes, and 3) toilet rooms. The survey was designed to determine if building areas were perceived as an environmental barrier or facilitator based on the survey responses. If respondents identified a building area as an environmental barrier then they were asked to select design components contributing to their response. The identified design components associated with a building area viewed as an environmental barrier were then measured within the selected campus buildings for quantitative data collection. Field measurements were compared to a campus building’s applicable accessible design standards, 1991 ADA Accessible Design Standards or 2010 ADA Accessible Design Standards, and then used to determine the overall adherence level of campus buildings regarding design standards. The analysis of quantitative data carefully examines the relationship between field measurements and a campus building’s adherence to accessible design standards within the 3 major building areas. Results indicated that some participants perceive some current accessible design standards as environmental barriers and identified the need for implementation of additional design standards. Some environmental barriers indicated that field measurements adhere to the applicable design standards, the 1991 ADA Accessible Design Standards or the 2010 ADA Accessible Design Standards, which suggests that minimum design standards need to be enhanced. Finally, the study findings introduce future research needs to further investigate building areas where there are no current design standards required which mobility device users perceive as environmental barriers.