Serendip is an independent site partnering with faculty at multiple colleges and universities around the world. Happy exploring!

You are here

Mid-Semester Project: Haverford Admissions

uwangmo's picture

Link to Prezi Transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XK5cOtRGAJALC0e43j2RTcHBihS-QBsttw0VKfSftyY/edit?usp=sharing 

Link to Prezi: https://prezi.com/view/E65hTbFGKMBlIMnfE7aY/

I hope everyone had a great spring break. Here are links to my project that I have been working on. To remind everyone, I was looking at the accesibility within Haverford Admissions with a focus on their websites for the midterm. I compare how Haverford is doing to Stanford and Bryn Mawr. For the final, I hope to then produce a brochure or handout along with workables for the admissions office with stuff they should change/include! Thanks! 

Comments

lherzig's picture

Hi Urgyen! Thank you for sharing your project! I found it very interesting to consider the ways Haverford could improve accessibility for prospective students. It is clear throughout your project that Haverford does not place enough emphasis on accessibility for disabled students. I found it interesting how you showed ways Haverford seems to be beginning to place an emphasis on anti-racism, but there is no emphasis on disability justice. Given that Haverford, and particularly their admissions office and administration, is very concerned with reputation and rankings, I would be curious if accessibility is considered for college rankings. I am pretty sure that racial diversity and financial aid contribute to a schools rank and their perceived value, which may contribute to Haverford advertising these facts, in addition to their commitment to creating an inclusive community despite their many shortcomings. I would be curious if ranking systems consider accessibility, particularly as this impacts college experience for many students. I would also be interested to see how rankings placing an emphasis on accessibility might influence Haverford to become more inclusive. 

Overall I really enjoyed your project and am excited to continue learning more about ways we can make Haverford more accessible!

sjeffcoat's picture

Hi Urgyen! I found this project super interesting. It has always been pretty clear to me, as a student with a disability. that Haverford frequently falls short when it comes to accessibility. Even beyond the issues you discussed regarding the website, the overwhelming majority of the campus is physically inaccessible. Due to the age of most of the buildings, they have been able to "grandfather out" of the ADA requirements for accessibility - as seen in the many buildings on camous that lack elevators and are only accessible by stair, including Union and every dorm on campus that isn't Kim/Tritton. Ultimately, it just seems like disabled students are not the priority at Haverford, and their website clearly reflects that.

It seems like the college is more interested in convincing prospective students and donors that they aren't a wealthy, exclusive, PWI than they are in actually breaking down the many barriers to inclusion and accessibility for marginalized students.