Exciting News!

DSPS will soon become Student Accessibility Services (SAS)!

The name Disabled Student Programs and Services has been around for quite some time and served as a place to support students with disabilities at both CHC and SBVC. Recent studies have shown that names with the words “disabled” or “disability” attached come with a stigma that discourages students that may be eligible for services and supports to follow through because of the negative connotation that is associated with the name. To attract more students to the program, along with aligning the name and program to the District’s current initiatives and goals that include Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), a focus group was developed to change the name to something that would be embraced by all stakeholders of the District including, faculty, staff, management, students and the community at large.

To develop a name that would be embraced by all District stakeholders, the following process was implemented:

  • A focus group consisting of 40 stakeholders from CHC and SBVC, which included current DSPS students, faculty, classified staff, and management.
  • A preliminary survey was sent out in September 2021 to all faculty, staff, management, and students at CHC and SBVC that generated almost 300 responses. An overwhelming majority were in favor of a name change for DSPS and the survey was also used to generate interest for the focus group.
  • The focus group met five times over the course of five months during the fall and spring semesters of 2021 and 2022.
  • In the weeks leading to the final focus group collaborative in April 2022, current CHC and SBVC DSPS were surveyed again with the final four names proposed by the focus group where nearly 200 DSPS students expressed their desire to change the current DSPS name to Student Accessibility Services.
  • A final focus group collaborative was held on April 4, 2022, where the group overwhelmingly agreed with the student voice and recommended Student Accessibility Services for Board approval.
  • The name change will be included in the May 12, 2022 SBCCD Board of Trustees Meeting agenda as an informational item.

You will continue to hear about our name change in the coming months as we work to change our name on all DSPS documentation as well as across campus. Beginning of Fall 2022, DSPS will transition to its new name, Student Accessibility Services (SAS).