Students with disabilities achieve success at Citrus College

By Cheryl Alexander, Citrus College Governing Board Member

Earning an associate degree is a notable achievement for any student, but it was especially meaningful for Cerina Moreno. "It took me a little longer to finish due to a few surgeries – seven years total – but I finally made it," she explained. A member of the Citrus College Class of 2023, Cerina has cerebral palsy and hydrocephalus. She credits much of her success to the support she received from the college's Disabled Student Programs and Services (DSPS) department.

Created in 1976 by California Assembly Bill 77, DSPS provides support services, accommodations and specialized instruction to community college students with disabilities. To qualify for services, a student must have a verified disability that inhibits their ability to participate in the college's general education program. These can include acquired brain injury, attention deficit disorder, autism spectrum, deaf/hard of hearing, intellectual disability, learning disability, mental health, mobility issues, vision and others.

At Citrus College, the DSPS department seeks to provide a welcoming environment. It is staffed by a team of individuals who care about the wellbeing and success of students. A department director, two full-time counselors, one part-time counselor, a DSPS specialist, an alternative media specialist, an interpreter specialist and a secretary work together to advocate for each individual and help them achieve their goals.

According to Cerina, this team was instrumental in her transferring to the nursing program at the University of La Verne. "[My counselor was] always helpful and supportive, even when I had questions about things outside of DSPS," she said. "She told me I was doing a great job all the time, and even though it took me longer to finish, I finally did it!"

To aid in her academic progress, Cerina received accommodations, such as preferential seating in class, extended time on exams, use of e-text, and use of a recorder in class. "Students with physical, mental or learning disabilities must study and remember the same amount of information as students without disabilities. We just do it slower or differently," she explained. "It is so much harder for us."

Additional services offered by the department include test proctoring, learning disability assessment, specialized counseling, interpreter or captioning services, scribe services, reader services, access to adaptive equipment, and specialized instruction called Educational Assistance Courses.

According to the DSPS team, Citrus College students who have medical conditions or other types of disabilities are encouraged to register with the department to develop an accommodation plan. And they have been doing so in impressive numbers! DSPS has experienced a 10% increase in enrollment every year since July 2021. In fact, more than 800 students received services each semester during the 2023-2024 academic year.

Looking to the future, the college's DSPS department is expected to grow even more. In the upcoming months, an additional counselor will be added to the team to generate more appointment availability. The team is also hoping to add a DSPS assistant to support the effort to fill scribe accommodation requests in a timely manner. At the same time, outreach activities will be scheduled to increase awareness of the DSPS services, and the team will continue to explore new assistive technology.

As vice president of the Citrus Community College District Board of Trustees, I am proud of the campus community's efforts to help students with disabilities realize their educational potential. I am confident that the DSPS department's passionate advocacy and unwavering commitment will ensure that many more students will receive full and equitable access to the Citrus College experience in the years ahead.