Research Highlights

Doggone Good? Potential Benefits of Assistance Animals for Students on College Campuses
Citation: Polking, A., Cornelius-White, J., & Stout, T.  (2017). Doggone Good? Potential Benefits of Assistance Animals for Students on College Campuses. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 30(3), 237-250.

Why Is This Study Important?
The legal requirements and terminology around service animals and emotional support animals are frequent topics of conversation in our disability resource offices and on our listservs.  This research study looks at the topic of animals on campus from a different angle.  The authors, Amanda Polking, Jeffrey Cornelius-White, and Tracy Stout from the University of Missouri, wanted to know more about animal assisted therapy and its educational benefits on college campuses. They defined Animal Assisted Therapy (AAT) as “a goal oriented, planned, and structured therapeutic intervention directed and/or adopted by health, education, and human services professionals” (International Association of Human-Animal Interaction Organizations, 2014). They were particularly interested in whether there are benefits to having an assistance animal present for students who access the campus disability resource office. And if so, what those benefits might be.

Research Methods in a Nutshell
The research consisted of an extensive review of the literature using several broad key words (e.g., “therapy animal,” “animal assisted,” “counseling”) and across multiple databases (e.g, Ebscohost, PsychINFO). The researchers also conducted grandfather searches, or searches of the citations in the literature they located to find additional resources.

Some Key Findings
There were no research studies that were specifically set within a disability resource office. The authors, however, gave an overview of a variety of descriptive and research study articles from related areas. For the purpose of focusing on research to practice, the following high lights draw on selected empirical research studies identified by the authors.

Effectiveness of Animal Assisted Therapy. Nimar and Lundahl (2007) conducted a meta-analysis of research on AAT. Meta-analysis is a scientific method for reviewing multiple research studies on a single topic and conducting a statistical analysis of the aggregate findings.  Nimar and Lundahl focused on research participants with medical, mental health, and behavioral reasons for participating in AAT. They also analyzed the research to learn more about the type of animal involved (e.g., dogs, horses), the location of the therapy (e.g., offices, camps, hospitals), and the length of treatment. Across the varied studies, they found that dogs were the most frequently used therapy animal and AAT had a positive effect on participant wellbeing, behavior, and medical symptoms. In office settings the “effect size,” or impact of the therapy was larger than other settings.

Animal Assisted Therapy and Animal Assisted Activities with College Students. Several studies have looked at the use of AAT to help reduce anxiety, stress, and depression with college students. Folse, Minder, Aycock, and Santana (1994) identified 44 college students with depression, and put them in three groups: those who received AAT, those who received AAT and psychotherapy, and a control group.  Using the Beck Depression Inventory before and after the intervention, students who received AAT alone showed the most improved scores. 

In another study, Stewart, Dispenza, Parker, Chang, and Cunnien (2014) examined the effectiveness of AAT on student loneliness and anxiety. Fifty college students voluntarily participated in a AAT program that took place in a residence hall lobby.  Students were permitted to “drop in” any time during a two-hour period to interact with the dogs. Activity with the animals ranged from petting and brushing to playing and taking pictures. On measures given before and after the session, students self-reported significantly less loneliness and anxiety. Other authors have noted that rather than “therapy” this type of program is better described as animal assisted activities or visitation programs.
Daltry and Mehr (2015) examined the use of animal assisted activities by a campus counseling center. The center’s goals in using the activities were to reduce student stress and to increase student awareness and access of the counseling center.  A therapy dog was made available at the center on a monthly basis and students were asked for feedback. Ninety-two percent (92%) of students reported a reduction in stress after interacting with the dog, and 94% of students reported they would not have visited the center if the therapy dogs had not been present.

Camaioni (2013) explored the impact of a Campus Canines Program on social connection and communication. In this program, resident students were provided the opportunity to interact with therapy dogs with a general goal of stress and anxiety reduction. Camaioni observed a recurring interaction pattern of communication between students, volunteers and the dogs. While dogs were the initial attraction, interaction with the dog consistently resulted in increased human conversation including student to student, and student to volunteer exchanges. On an online survey, 71% of the student participants reported it was easier to communicate with others in the presence of a dog. Students also reported having conversations with other family and friends about the CCP experience.

Limitations
The authors discuss a number of limitations to the research on this topic including the frequent use of small numbers of participants, short term data collection, and lack of control groups in intervention studies. The most challenging aspect of interpreting the findings in this literature however are the many different uses of the term AAT, and the frequent interchanging of terms with the more loosely structured animal assisted activities or visitation programs.

Actionable Steps
While research is not conclusive, it does suggest possible findings that are interesting for a disability resource office.  The structure of the animal assisted therapy or activity described in the research varies widely, but there remains a pattern of positive feedback from student participants. The broad appeal of interacting with therapy dogs may help to overcome some of the stigma of visiting “service” related offices such as disability resources. And the potential benefits in reducing student stress and anxiety are appealing given the wide spread presence of anxiety and depression among college students.

Is providing AAT or a therapy dog the role of a disability resource office?  The authors provide a number of logistical considerations for offices that are interested in exploring possibilities for including a therapy dog in their work including some preliminary thoughts about safety, insurance, and the role of staff.

Considering the benefits of a therapy dog within a disability resource office raises some questions: Would an on-site therapy dog in a disability resource office help address the growing number of requests from students for personal emotional support animals in the residence halls?  Would a therapy dog in the disability resource office improve student attendance for appointments? Would communication patterns with students and disability resource staff change as the result of having a therapy dog present? These and other questions would be intriguing to explore and document through office data collection.

Want to Know More?
Read the full report of findings at: https://www.ahead.org/publications/jped/vol_30
Scroll to issue 3 and select your format of choice (Word, PDF, MP3, Daisy).

Double Time? Examining Extended Testing Time Accommodations in Postsecondary Settings
Citation: Sokal, L. & Vermette, L.  (2017). Double time? Examining extended testing time accommodations in postsecondary settings. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 30(2), 185-200.

Why Is This Study Important?
Extended test time is one of the most frequently requested and used accommodations on college campuses. How much time is enough? This is a long standing question for disability resource professionals charged with discussing and approving accommodations with students with disabilities. When extended time is needed, it is common practice to approve 50% more time or, less frequently, 100% more time than students without disabilities taking the same test. And while the authors review a number of articles discussing the fairness and effectiveness of this accommodation, they conclude that there is no empirical evidence that supports these specific levels of additional time.
Laura Sokal, from the University of Winnipeg, and Laurie Anne Vermette, from the University of Manitoba, conducted a study to explore this accommodation further. They were interested in whether students used their full extended time during tests.  They were also curious whether the amount of extended time used varied in lower level compared to higher level courses.

Research Methods in a Nutshell
The authors worked with the disability resource offices on two campuses. One campus had a population of approximately 10,000 students and served undergraduate students. The other campus was larger, with roughly 30,000 students and provided undergraduate, graduate, and professional programs. The researchers did a post hoc analysis of the data collected about student eligibility and use of extended time on tests over a two-year period. They reviewed data from a total of 8,857 exams. The data they reviewed included (1) year in the program to which the test applied; (2) the standard exam time provided to all students; (3) the amount of extended time the test taker was eligible to receive; and (4) the actual time used on the test. From these data they also calculated some additional factors in order to allow comparisons across the two universities.

Some Key Findings
Many students do not use the full extended time they are eligible to receive. Looking at descriptive statistics across the two university settings, the authors found some interesting patterns.  Consider these outcomes:

• For 35% of the tests, the test taker didn’t use any extended time.
• In 55% of the tests, the test taker completed the test within 25% more time than the standard test time provided all students.
• Eighty-five percent (85%) of the tests were completed within the time frame of 50% more time than the standard test time allowed to all students. Yet 42% of students at the smaller university and 30% at the larger university had been approved for 100% more time.

Students used more extended test time in higher level courses. The researchers compared test completion times for exams in different course levels across five broad categories (first year courses, second year courses, third year courses, fourth year courses, and fifth-ninth year courses that included the graduate and professional course work at the larger university). They found that average time for test completion was higher in second year level courses than in first year; and higher test completion times in third year level courses than in second year courses. There were no differences between test completion time in third year and any of the higher level courses.

Comparisons across the two university settings. There were no significant differences between the two university settings on the average standard test time provided to all students. Students at the smaller university were approved for slightly more extended time as an accommodation on average than students at the larger university. When the researchers compared the amount of time actually used on tests, however, they found students in both settings use similar amounts of time.

Limitations
The datasets provided to the researchers had been cleaned of information about individual student disabilities or other demographic details. While appropriate for preserving student privacy, the authors noted that this limited some aspects of their analysis and possible recommendations. 

Actionable Steps
So if most students are actually completing their tests with 25% additional time or less, what does this mean for appropriate recommendations for extended time from the disability resource professional? The authors provide a helpful discussion of this issue.  Abruptly reducing amounts of approved extended time is not recommended. Remember that accommodations should be the result of a conversation with the student about barriers to testing. For some students extended test time is provided to address slower speeds of information processing or reading fluency for example; for others extended time is provided in order to alleviate anxiety and worry about having sufficient time to demonstrate knowledge.  As always, the mantra of our field is that accommodations are determined on a case-by-case basis.
 The authors pose an important question however. How do we honor individual differences and at the same time foster student growth? As part of supporting student self-determination consider giving students information about their own trends in using extended test time.  Is the current level of extended time working? Is it more than needed? Is the student interested in enhancing  her test-taking strategies or stress reduction approaches to support her performance in a test setting? These are conversations that can support students in being active agents in their college learning and education.
 
Want to Know More?
Read the full report of findings at: https://www.ahead.org/publications/jped/vol_30
Scroll to issue 2 and select your format of choice (Word, PDF, MP3, Daisy).