University of Cincinnati Clermont College becomes pilot institution for Autism-Inclusive Campus Designation

The University of Cincinnati Clermont College has received an Autism-Inclusive Campus Designation by the College Autism Network. UC Clermont is one of seven institutions across the United States to have received the inaugural designation, which recognizes the colleges and universities that strive to create inclusive and welcoming environments for neurodivergent students.

According to an article on UC Clermont’s website, Patty Goedl, a professor at the university, was quoted as saying of the initiative, “We don’t want to just accommodate these students, we want to welcome them. When you institute evidence-based neuroinclusive practices to course design and teaching, all students benefit. It’s a groundbreaking approach to build every course within an academic degree program from the bottom up to comply with neuroinclusive course design standards, rather than the current piecemeal approach of trying to adapt existing course content to meet student needs retroactively.”

Goedl is spearheading the university’s neuroinclusive efforts alongside faculty members Kim Hunter and Meera Rastogi. Goedl and Rastogi are co-editing an academic text that will be released in the near future, called “The Handbook of Evidence-based Neuroinclusive Teaching, Course Design and Student Support in Higher Education.” The team is embarking on an effort to redesign courses specifically with neurodivergent students in mind. The goal is to make course content more accessible for all types of learners, with content presented via text, video, and images, and designed to be “digested” in smaller pieces to allow for more breaks and review time.

The College Autism Network’s inaugural Autism-Inclusive Campus Designation has been given to Hiram College, Pacific University, Rowan University, Towson University, and St. Joseph’s University, in addition to Clermont College.

According to an article on the organization’s website, Dr. Brittany Jackson, who serves as the College Autism Network’s Director of Training and Technology, was quoted as saying, “Seven neurodivergent (primarily autistic) CAN members, consisting of faculty, staff, and students or recent graduates, have spent the last year and a half creating principles and a rubric to evaluate and provide guidance to institutions on how best to serve their autistic students. We are excited to see this designation come to fruition with our pilot institutions.”

For more information about UC Clermont, visit the school’s website.