As a physical campus, the University of Vermont is both majestic and historic, a neatly planned clutch of buildings where 18th century red brick nestles cheek-by-jowl with modern masterpieces of glass, concrete, and light -- all connected by walkways, underpasses, and skywalks, and punctuated by lush gardens and public art installations.
But with both history and expansion come the occasional elevator outages, pedestrian detours, and construction-related interruptions. That's where the newly formed Office of Accessibility Services (OAS) plays a critical role.
Beginning this past summer, OAS has begun offering a real-time notification system to alert campus community members of potential physical accessibility barriers. Any student, employee, or visitor can opt to receive short, plain-language email alerts identifying the location of the barrier, its type, and its expected duration.
These notifications are much more than a convenience. For many disabled people, especially those who rely on mobility supports, elevators and accessible routes are essential—not optional. Elevator outages, for example, can completely prevent access to classrooms, workplaces, and campus resources.
To reduce disruption, OAS collaborates closely with Physical Plant to prioritize service calls, assist with alternative access planning during an outage, and advise on construction projects that may affect accessibility. When a barrier is reported, OAS staff verify the situation, coordinate support, and issue alerts to subscribers — often within minutes.
Central to the success of this service is the campus community itself. Anyone can report an accessibility issue through the online Report an ADA Barrier form. Submissions are routed to multiple OAS staff simultaneously, ensuring that reports are seen, validated, and acted upon quickly.
OAS Director Sharon Mone encourages the community to report both temporary and ongoing issues that affect access. “What we don’t know about, we can’t fix,” Mone explained. “And it’s a big campus.”
OAS shares data on the accessibility barrier reports on their website to improve transparency and foster campus-wide dialogue on disability, access, and continuous improvement.
Members of the UVM campus community who'd like these physical accessibility notices in their email can sign up via this simple two-step process:
- Please email listserv@list.uvm.edu with the following format: subscribe ELEVATORS [first_name] [last_name]
- Click the link in the confirmation email to activate the subscription.
And, while many do find it convenient to get these updates via email, OAS has their sights set on an even more up-to-date technology: this spring, they're planning on adding an SMS (phone-texting) outage reporting service.