Weekly News Update From the National Center for College Students with Disabilities Last Week's Top News Stories about Disability and Higher Education February 11-17, 2024 * A new student loan program<https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2024/02/15/student-loan-debt-relief-biden-new-formula/72612996007/> from the Biden Administration will offer debt relief to students with disabilities or "high-cost burdens for essential expenses" including health care. * Have universities "become senior centers and care homes" run by elderly professors<https://www.chronicle.com/newsletter/the-review/2024-02-12?utm_source=Iterable&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=campaign_9014679_nl_Academe-Today_date_20240213&cid=at>? Maybe not - some people are concerned about associating age and physical conditions with reduced mental capacity. * A Master's in Transition and Accessibility Services in Post Secondary Settings<https://we-ha.com/usj-launches-masters-degree-to-equip-educators-to-meet-transitional-needs-of-neurodiverse-learners/> is a new program available at the University of Saint Joseph. * The final season of the TV show "The Good Doctor"<https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2024/02/13/with-new-season-the-good-doctor-adds-character-with-autism/30742/> will have a new character playing an autistic medical student. * The Jewish practice of Shabat<https://newvoices.org/2024/02/15/shabbat-chronic-illness-radical-rest/> helped University of Washington student Sophie Hulet have new perspectives of their chronic illness and an understanding of what they needed for college. * Fewer than 3% of students with intellectual disabilities<https://mihec.ici.umn.edu/?j=12507293&sfmc_sub=90851814&l=40736_HTML&u=257023678&mid=6379454&jb=0> in Minnesota attend college, but a new Inclusive Higher Education Consortium hopes to change that. * Dartmouth has reinstated a policy requiring standardized testing<https://www.thedartmouth.com/article/2024/02/paolini-pehl-and-caldwell-in-conversations-about-standardized-tests-dont-forget-disability> for admissions, but students say it contributes to structural ableism and "measures students' disabilities, not their abilities." * The University of Michigan student government unanimously passed a resolution<https://www.michigandaily.com/student-government/csg-passes-resolution-in-favor-of-establishing-a-disability-cultural-center/> to set up a disability cultural center. * Alcohol, pot, and mushrooms helped<https://thelumberjack.org/2024/02/11/i-was-california-sober-and-still-unfulfilled/> a college student with epilepsy, who eventually decided to rely on sobriety and "natural charm" to work through social anxiety. * Already understaffed and underfunded<https://www.dailyuw.com/news/uw-drs-report-consequences-of-understaffing/article_68f576de-ca1e-11ee-94d4-0f9edf95ff2c.html>, the University of Washington's Disability Resource for Students office is seeing faculty rely more on them for things professors could do themselves. * A change in policy wording was supposed to clarify disability services<https://dailycollegian.com/2024/02/we-should-be-concerned-about-our-disability-accommodations-policy/> at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, but some students say it actually creates barriers and rigidity. * Learn about The Southwest College for the Deaf<https://www.cbs7.com/2024/02/16/power-communication-pt2-one-three-colleges-united-states-is-designed-deaf-is-west-texas/>, one of only three colleges in the U.S. for deaf or hard-of-hearing students. * If your work and studies are fueled by Starbucks,<https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2024/whats-inside-a-more-accessible-and-inclusive-starbucks-store/> you'll be happy to know Starbucks is starting to design "inclusive" stores, and the first one in DC features art by Ryan Seslow, a Deaf art professor<https://stories.starbucks.com/stories/2024/deaf-artist-hopes-mural-at-dc-starbucks-starts-conversations-about-inclusion-accessibility/>. Click here to subscribe to NCCSD Weekly News Updates and other announcements<https://ahead-listserve.org/mailman/listinfo/dream>. If you have any difficulty accessing the News Update, contact NCCSD@ahead.org<mailto:NCCSD@ahead.org>. The NCCSD does not endorse any opinions in these news articles, nor does it guarantee accessibility of external sites. If you cannot access articles, we encourage you to contact your campus library for assistance. The NCCSD is funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Education to the University of Minnesota's Institute on Community Integration, which collaborates with the Association on Higher Education And Disability and other partners to increase the success of current and future college students with disabilities.