Educating Students With Disabilities in Cyberspace: Ashford University Recognizes National Disability Employee Awareness Month

Educating Students With Disabilities in Cyberspace: Ashford University
Recognizes National Disability Employee Awareness Month

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 28 /PRNewswire/ -- National Disability Employee Awareness
Month in October recognizes contributions made by Americans with disabilities
to the workforce and in society. Online higher education readies this
workforce and makes earning a college degree accessible for more students.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091028/LA00132)

"We believe that everyone who is academically qualified deserves access to a
high quality, higher education," said Jane McAuliffe, president of Ashford
University and senior vice president/chief academic officer of Bridgepoint
Education. "Online higher education brings down barriers and provides
opportunity to overcome obstacles. Educating non-traditional students in the
cyberspace world is becoming increasingly popular."

Specifically for the disabled, the Ashford University Disability Services
Office ensures equal opportunities to student success through accessible
education programs, assigns reasonable accommodations and provides advocacy.

Disabilities served range from visual impairment and hearing loss, to mobility
restrictions such as paraplegia and muscular dystrophy, to traumatic brain
injuries and epilepsy. Some of the university's accommodations include extra
time to complete coursework, assistive technology and disability related
advising.

"To receive accommodations, students are responsible for disclosing their
disability. However, disclosure of a disability is entirely up to the
student," said Ashford University's Disability Service Manager Poppy Fitch.
"Many students that are disabled choose to pursue an online higher education
with no outside assistance. The online classroom doesn't discriminate. For
many students that are disabled it's the first time they feel like they truly
fit in."

"Online higher education equals the playing field among all students,
regardless of whether or not they have a disability," Sidney Crouch, an
Ashford University student who is legally blind, said. "Nobody has an
advantage...or a disadvantage."

Fitch says people with disabilities attend online universities and enjoy many
of the same advantages as their classmates -- primarily flexibility.

"Online students attend classes when and where they want, so long as they are
academically qualified," she said. "I believe education is the best reward a
person can give themselves, not only for their career aspirations, but for the
kind of life they wish to lead."

Back when Candy Scatchell, 55, graduated with an associate's degree from a
community college, advisors told her she couldn't be a teacher because her
disability was a liability. She was crushed but never gave up. "Earning an
online degree is harder than a traditional setting, and you have to be
committed," Scatchell, from Melrose Park, Ill., said. "I graduated last May,
participated in graduation ceremonies at the Clinton, Iowa, campus and have
begun a master's degree program in Education. I still want to be a teacher."

About Ashford University
Founded in 1918, Ashford University is accredited by the Higher Learning
Commission of the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools
(www.ncahlc.org). The University offers graduate and undergraduate degree
programs online and at its Clinton, Iowa, campus. The University is known
for its high quality yet highly affordable online and on-campus programs. For
more information, please visit www.ashford.edu or call Shari Rodriguez,
director of Public Relations, at 858.513.9240 x2513.

SOURCE Ashford University

Shari Rodriguez, Director of Public Relations, +1-858-513-9240, ext. 2513,
shari.rodriguez@bridgepointeducation.com; or Debbie Mitchell of Mullen Public
Relations, +1-602-222-4343, dmitchell@mullenpr.com, both for Ashford
University