Student Disability Services’ PREP Program Helps Students Transition Into College
From the first day students arrive on campus to final exams, Saint Mary’s Student Disability Services (SDS) works hard to help students who may benefit from extra support. This summer, SDS hosted PREP (Providing Resources for Educational Progress), a transition program for incoming first-year and transfer students receiving accommodations through the SDS office. During the two-day event, students attended presentations, information sessions, and fun social activities to help them get acclimated to the College.
One student participant, who wished to remain anonymous, shared his experiences from PREP this summer: “The SDS PREP Program was a phenomenal experience as it allowed me to smoothly move into campus, get more comfortable with navigating SMC, and helped me understand how to utilize the SDS center and my accommodations to do my very best in my classes!”
Students in the PREP Program moved into their residence halls two days before the incoming first-year class, which gave them time to get situated before Weekend of Welcome. “Being able to move into campus a few days before the other students allowed me to settle in a bit easier,” he said. “I felt like there was a more calm environment since there were less students moving in, and therefore I was able to focus all of my attention onto the other aspects of the PREP Program. Additionally, the PREP Program allowed me to make friends and helped me locate all of my classes. On top of teaching me about the functions of the SDS center, I felt ready to hit the ground running on the first day of school since PREP made me more confident in my ability to navigate campus and helped me make meaningful friendships.”
The SDS office works to provide equal access and reduce barriers for students with disabilities at Saint Mary’s by providing individualized accommodations, assistive technology, and programming. “Since the PREP program did a great job at familiarizing me with the SDS center and my accommodations, I can confirm that I’ve been able to utilize all my accommodations and SDS throughout all my classes,” said the student. “Additionally, it was these accommodations and the support that SDS provided me that helped me perform at my best during my exams, essays, and understanding the material being taught in class.”
SDS Director Julie Scaff spoke to PREP’s success: “PREP is always a favorite program our team looks forward to planning and running each year, as it gives us the chance to meet students and their families as they first start their time at SMC. We get to spend quality time getting to know the students and start building relationships with them. The program offers students a chance to interact with others and learn about SMC in a quiet and safe environment where we are all learning together, with our goal being to give students a chance to get to know the campus itself, including the location of their classrooms and important buildings on campus; a chance to get to know other students; and a chance to learn about the resources SMC has to offer. I see students come out of the few days we spend together feeling more confident and ready to start their academic year. It is very rewarding to watch the students continue to grow and develop over the years and we are glad we are able to offer this extra layer of support. We are very grateful to the Wang family, whose son graduated from SMC and used SDS services before we had a PREP Program, for their generous annual donation, which fully funds the program.”
For more information about Student Disability Services and accommodations, visit its website.