University of Washington

Two critically important resources for disabled students are consistently underfunded and understaffed at the University of Washington, causing significant accessibility problems: the Disability Resources for Students (DRS) office, and the UW Counseling Center.

A recent article in The Daily, UW's student newspaper, examines the accommodations process with DRS and notes that each service coordinator at DRS is currently assigned to between 700 and 800 students, which is about three times the recommended case load of 250 students. According to The Daily, DRS has been staffed at the same level for the past ten years despite an over 300% increase in the number of students registered with DRS during the same time period. "Members of DRS administrative staff have recently reported that their department is facing an unprecedented workload and lacks the necessary resources and support from the university to ensure accessibility for students in need," reports The Daily. The understaffing results in accommodation requests sometimes taking over five weeks to process, according to The Daily. One student commented to The Daily, "I scheduled an appointment [with DRS] but it never happened... It’s kinda frustrating because there are important things I need access to and there’s a timeline for everything at school."

As far as mental health resources at UW, one student tells us, "The psychological counseling center is often overwhelmed and cannot see the amount of students who need their services or have to limit sessions. Because of this, it can take a while to get an appointment." The president of the Associated Students of the University of Washington (ASUW) noted to The Daily that "28% of UW students had a significant mental health concern and the estimated numbers to actually treat this is 200 counselors but we only currently have 36."

In a recent op-ed in The Daily, Melanie Nguyen writes, "It seems as though UW has struggled in the past to make mental health resources feel accessible and genuine to students. In a small survey I created and conducted, seven out of nine students said they don’t use these resources because they feel 'ingenuine' or 'unreliable,' describing them as more of a token effort than meaningful support. For many of us, the university’s current approach feels impersonal — a QR code here, a flyer there. It’s not enough to simply offer resources; they need to be presented in a way that feels approachable, welcoming, and trustworthy."

Despite these problems, University of Washington is one of the most progressive and disability inclusive campuses in the United States. In 2013, UW became only the third campus in the country to establish a Disability Cultural Center, where "students are invited to use the center to unwind, do homework, eat lunch, and connect with other students," according to The Daily. UW is also one of the few campuses in the United States to house a full-fledged program in Critical Disability Studies, and very few other campuses can claim to match the plethora of activities, organizations, and research programs centered on disability that are offered at UW.

The "F*ck the Stairs" movement began at UW in 2018 and has since spread to other campuses.

University of Washington is ranked 46th among national universities by U.S. News. It was ranked 40th last year.