The new program aims to provide mentorship and financial assistance to students with disabilities pursuing careers in STEM fields.
The new program aims to provide mentorship and financial assistance to students with disabilities pursuing careers in STEM fields.
Utah State University joined The Alliance of Students with Disabilities for Inclusion, Networking, and Transition in order to promote inclusion and collaboration among students with disabilities in STEM fields.
The initiative aims to assist students with disabilities in their education and transition from higher education to the workforce.
TAPDINTO-STEM is a program at Utah State University spearheaded by the Institute for Disability Research, Policy, and Practice. The project is led by Executive Director Matthew Wappett together with Autumn Cuellar as student mentor. More students will be added in the fall of this year.
The strategy is to start small and provide a supportive framework. Cuellar sees the program as an opportunity to give back. “I started at the University of Nevada-Reno, getting my bachelor’s and master’s in computer science. I always like helping people however I can. I just wanted to give what I received,” she said.
As a student with a disability, Cuellar received assistance while completing her degrees. Currently, she is pursuing her PhD in engineering.
USU has grown in accessibility and awareness since the COVID-19 pandemic with more stringent standards on digital and web accessibility. This includes captioning online videos and remote delivery of courses.
Furthermore, Wappett stated that many USU faculty members, including those in STEM fields, are involved in disability-related work.
Wappett and Cuellar have collected data on students with disabilities who study STEM disciplines at USU, finding that only one-fifth of them graduated in 2022.
According to David Pruden, director of USU’s Disability Resource Center, seniors are identified by the number of credits earned. Many USU students, however, begin their university careers after taking concurrent enrollment classes in high school, indicating that they have earned a number of university credits but have not yet begun a degree program.
He stressed that as per the available research, approximately 20 percent of students have a disability. However, only five to 10 percent of students in the United States register with their local disability resource center.
The number of participants at USU is expected to grow and the project will continue to track and assess the needs of STEM students with disabilities.
TAPDINTO-STEM is a national collaborative effort involving 29 colleges and universities to provide mentorship and financial assistance to students with disabilities pursuing careers in STEM fields. Some of the universities include Ohio State University, the University of Hawaii-Manoa, the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and the University of Washington.
