New State-of-the-Art College Dorm Opens for Students with Disabilities

The University of Illinois at Chicago is leading the way in personalized care for students with disabilities along with the integration of living quarters with other students on campus.  17 new students with disabilities will live on the first floor of Nugent Hall along with 150 students on the floors above them.  When the building is complete in two years, the number of students will be around 500.  The building is connected to a new dining hall, convenience store, and meeting spaces.

The features in each of the accessible rooms is nothing short of state-of-the-art.  You can close the window blinds with the press of a button.  The sinks, thermostats, and light switches are at an accessible height.  Dorm rooms open by waving a wireless card.  Faucets are sensor activated.  And the roll-in showers come with chairs.

There are also personal assistants, known as PAs, who live in the building.  They help students shower, use the bathroom, and hook backpacks on their wheelchair before leaving for class. Most of them are college students themselves.  Residents learn how to hire, schedule, and manage their PAs for the allotted 5 hours per day.  Residents are also given a wireless pager to call for help 24 hours a day.

Currently there are only around 5 colleges in the US that provide personal assistant services.  The University of Illinois at Chicago charges $11,000 for room and board along with $18,000 more for the support services that may be covered through the state’s vocational rehabilitation program.

The hall was named for Ted Nugent, who founded the university’s division of disability services in 1948 which was the first higher education program of its kind in the world.  The University of Illinois at Chicago was also the first to introduce curb cuts, offer bus routes equipped with wheelchair lifts, and have a wheelchair sports program.