ERIC Number: EJ1467085
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Mar
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1044-2073
EISSN: EISSN-1538-4802
Available Date: 0000-00-00
A Big Ten Leadership Approach to Service Animal Policy Development in Higher Education
Ryan G. McCombs1; Lisa A. Lambert-Snodgrass2; F. Richard Olenchak2
Journal of Disability Policy Studies, v35 n4 p236-246 2025
There is a deficiency in scholarly research on higher education service animal policy that has created definitive gaps in how disability services office (DSO) directors approach policy development and how higher education institutions (HEIs) ensure access for service animal handlers. This qualitative research study aims to narrow these gaps by investigating the Big Ten Academic Alliance (Big Ten) DSO directors' approaches to service animal policy development and exploring how federal and state legislation influence service animal policies. Participants in this study were five DSO directors from Big Ten institutions in the United States who participated in semistructured interviews. Findings reveal four themes associated with the approach Big Ten DSO directors take when developing and implementing service animal policies: (a) the influence of federal and state legislation, (b) transformational leadership, (c) social justice, access, and equity, and (d) involvement of institutional stakeholders in policy development.
Descriptors: Animals, Educational Policy, Policy Formation, Higher Education, Academic Accommodations (Disabilities), Leadership Role, Students with Disabilities, Administrators, Federal Legislation, State Legislation, Administrator Attitudes, Transformational Leadership, Social Justice, Equal Education, Inclusion, Stakeholders, Accessibility (for Disabled)
SAGE Publications and Hammill Institute on Disabilities. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub-com.bibliotheek.ehb.be
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Purdue University, Fort Wayne, IN, USA; 2Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA