About The Disabled Students Program

Each year temporarily and permanently disabled students attend classes at the University of California, Santa Barbara. They are attracted by the university's academic reputation, moderate weather conditions, and excellent physical accessibility offered here. The lay of the land is flat and free from environmental barriers and most physical structures are accessible. In addition, the UCSB campus provides excellent barrier free, modified, residential facilities to those students seeking to live on campus.

Providing academic accommodations to students with disabilities is a shared responsibility of the campus. Students with disabilities are responsible for ensuring that the Disabled Students Program (DSP) is aware of their disabilities and for providing DSP with appropriate documentation. DSP is located at 2120 Student Resource Building and serves as the campus liaison regarding academic issues and regulations related to students with disabilities. The DSP staff works in an advisory capacity with a variety of campus departments to ensure that equal access is provided to all disabled students.

Students with disabilities attending UCSB can be assured of receiving the same core support academic services offered throughout the University of California's System-wide chain of campuses.

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Five UCSB students outdoors with arms wrapped around each other's shoulders

Equity Building Considerations

Dear Campus Community,

At this time we are reaching out to you with concerns in relation to mounting stressors in relation to COVID-19, as well as the undeniable systemic inequalities pervasive in our institutions.

These include, but are not limited to: systems of justice, education & learning, and health-related disparity outcomes, as well as economic disparities that heighten and exacerbate one’s ability to engage and have access to support systems that help build community, resilience and enhance outcomes across the systems our students navigate on a daily basis.

We are asking for consideration of the well-being of all of our students in light of the collective challenges which are becoming even more impactful to all students, regardless of disability status.

As such, we are presenting methods and strategies to facilitate building short-term, compassion-based, equity-oriented solutions, as well as long-term considerations for inclusive curriculum design that may not only decrease the need for accommodations but will also work to ensure that all students have access to educational infrastructures as a way of dismantling systemic inequities in higher education.

We respectfully ask for your active engagement and participation in mindfully imagining how we all might improve upon the ways in which we support our students. 

Please consider our suggestions on implementing social justice strategies within the classroom.

In solidarity,

DSP