Disability is an aspect of diversity that is integral to our society and to the Towson University community. Disability Support Services' (DSS) mission is to provide leadership in promoting equal access to educational opportunities to students with disabilities. DSS collaborates with students, faculty, and staff to identify and remove barriers to foster an all-inclusive campus. The office provides individual services and facilitates accommodations to students with disabilities, and offers institution-wide guidance, consultation, and training on disability-related topics.
Disability Support Services at Towson University provides accommodations and services to students with various disabilities and some temporary impairments that substantially limit one or more major life activities. The DSS staff is available to answer questions concerning accommodations and services as well as to provide information about other resources on and off campus.
DSS works with students with disabilities such as:
DSS works with students to determine and facilitate reasonable accommodations based on documentation and a personal interview. Students are encouraged to register with DSS as soon as possible after admission to the university to ensure timely provision of services. DSS encourages new students to maintain regular contact with our office, especially during their first year. This contact provides the opportunity for DSS staff to guide students and to work with them proactively to address any issues that may arise.
A DSS study compared the difference in first semester GPAs between freshmen who used accommodations and freshmen who did not. The difference was significant. The average GPA of DSS students using accommodations was a 3.05 (B grade), as compared to a 2.50 (C+ grade) for DSS students not using accommodations.
A recent DSS study comparing transfer students who attended the DSS Transfer Orientation Program with transfer students who did not attend showed that attending students had an average GPA of 3.03 (B grade) as compared to a 2.78 grade (C+) for non-attending students.