This project is a collaboration between the faculty and staff of CSU, LA, and Fullerton and the Office of Disabled Student Services. The purpose of this project is twofold:

• to create a Braille Transcription Center (BTC) to produce instructional materials in Braille, and
• to provide faculty/student development in strategies and accommodations for print disabled students in college and university classroom settings.

A recent study of the 18 of 20 CSU campuses indicated that many campuses may not be providing a sufficient level of Braille accessibility for their Braille reading students (Senge, 1993). This is impacting a large number of students as one-fourth of disabled freshmen reported they were visually impaired or blind (Henderson, 1992).

Currently, instructional materials such as course syllabi, class handouts, and examinations are not distributed in Braille at the same time these materials are distributed in print. While it is difficult to measure the impact of these delays (access to instructional materials) on a student's opportunity to achieve, this practice undoubtedly reduces program accessibility to a significant degree.

This innovative model offers a solution to the problems of providing individualized instructional materials in Braille to students throughout the CSU system in a timely manner. The creation of the BTC and the faculty/student development component will not only provide an increased opportunity for students who use Braille to achieve in their academic endeavors, but will enhance their opportunities in the workplace.

The specific objectives of the project will be:

• Faculty and student development in the areas of awareness and practical instructional strategies to help students access the ongoing classroom instruction,
• Production of Braille documents quickly, accurately, and efficiently,
• Provisions for support and technical training to other postsecondary institutions,
• Documentation and dissemination of all project set-up and operation procedures and evaluation data so other postsecondary institutions can collaboratively establish regional Braille Transcription Centers, and
• Dissemination of faculty and student packets to other postsecondary institutions and dissemination of student packets to secondary students and educators to facilitate the transition to postsecondary education.