Departmental Accessibility Resource Coordinators

What's in a Name?

A “bottom-up and top down approach” calls for Departmental Accessibility Resource Coordinators (DARC) being visible in every campus department. Hence, the word Departmental is key to the acronym. Some of our ACCESS-ed Partners, who served as inspiration in the development of this concept, have utilized this concept for several years. 

At the University of Wisconsin in Madison, and at UW - LaCrosse, the term for these representatives was and remains AARC, which stands for Access and Accommodation Resource Coordinators.  It was in the advent of the ADA that these AARC representatives were chosen or appointed on their respective campuses. Their purpose was to be a resource to their department regarding individualized accommodations, which became mandated with the passing of ADA and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

It is hoped that in the years to come, campuses will choose to move in the direction of greater accessibility through the use of universal design in student services, instruction, information media and technology, and in physical access.

"...Even though I was flunking English because I couldn't spell; in my high school year book under ambitions I had written 'Author'. When I went off to college I ran into a guy at the University of Oregon named Ralph Salisbury who was my first creative writing instructor and he turned all the lights on for me. He was the first teacher in all my years who actually said I had talent. Some people don't know this, but I have dyslexia."

Stephen J. Cannell, Emmy award winning television producer, writer, novelist