Dartmouth College

Hanover, NH

D
Score: 446/1400
4,533
Undergraduate students
97%
Retention rate
$62,658
Annual tuition
0.37
Diversity Index
Data submitted by:
Medium Campus
Medium Campus
private
Private University
Rural Campus
Rural Campus
Four-Year College
Four-Year College
Northeast Region
(Neo)Liberal Campus
(Neo)Liberal Campus
Sports Culture
Sports Culture
Quiet Campus
Quiet Campus
Graduate Students Unionized
Graduate Students Unionized

Description

The years 2018-2019 seemed to be pivotal in Dartmouth's evolution towards a more accessible, disability-friendly campus.

In 2019, Dartmouth settled a lawsuit brought by a disabled student against the university, who claimed that Dartmouth violated her rights under the ADA by failing to provide classroom accommodations and accessible course materials. As part of the settlement, Dartmouth agreed to numerous changes, including streamlining the accommodations process with Student Accessibility Services and professors, while also mandating training for faculty and staff on working with students with accommodations.

That same year, Access Dartmouth was formed by a group of students on campus "to address systematic issues at the College and help Dartmouth move toward a model of universal design."

In 2022, in an effort to reduce wait times and to satisfy students' demands for longer term counseling services, Dartmouth partnered with the third-party teletherapy provider, Uwill, to offer free, unlimited counseling sessions for students. According to The Dartmouth, between November, 2022 and February, 2023, over 800 students at Dartmouth have registered with the service provider. Although teletherapy comes with its own set of problems, it was impressive that students were actively involved in the process of researching and choosing the teletherapy provider that they wanted at Dartmouth.

Despite these positive changes, however, Dartmouth still has a punitive and regressive medical leave policy that lags behind its Ivy League peers, such as Harvard and Yale, which recently reformed some of the worst aspects of their medical leave policies. According to The Dartmouth, when a student takes a medical leave, they "are prohibited from returning to campus or participating in any campus activities, and they are no longer able to access the College’s counseling services." As one student who has navigated Dartmouth's "draconian" system observes, these policies are self-defeating, since "If communicating with a counselor honestly about suicidal ideations or plans results in forcible committal or removal, any student concerned about their education and ability to utilize campus resources will feel pressure to simply lie or avoid counseling in the first place."

Note: Because we did not receive any survey responses from Dartmouth, the information on this page was sourced from The Dartmouth, the student newspaper at Dartmouth.

Are all campus buildings physically accessible to students who use wheelchairs or other mobility aids?

NO

A student tells The Dartmouth that "many buildings, like Dartmouth Hall (which is undergoing renovations), remain inaccessible to students with physical disabilities." Also, most of the multistory residence halls do not have elevators, restricting disabled students to the ground floors of those buildings, and some dorms are completely inaccessible by wheelchair from the outside.

Are class session recordings readily available for lecture courses?

YES

According to The Dartmouth, students report that many professors are recording their lectures. However, to have recordings guaranteed for a course requires accommodations through Student Accessibility Services.

Are students required to provide documentation of disability to qualify for receiving initial accommodations?

YES

Is there required diversity and inclusivity training for faculty/staff/and students, and does training include recognition of neurodivergence and disability?

NO

As part of the Mannella Protocol at Dartmouth, faculty and staff are required to complete training on how to work with students with accommodations. This is not the same as DEI training, however. At Dartmouth, only "faculty, staff and administrative leaders" are required to undergo DEI training.

What types of student-run peer support groups exist on campus?

Disability Cultural Center

NO

Mutual Aid Networks

YES

Peer Support Groups

YES

Other

NO

Have you experienced ableism, discrimination, or witnessed stigmatizing language?

YES

See Negative Experiences section.

Are police involved in responding to student mental health crises?

YES

https://students.dartmouth.edu/health-service/about/get-help-now

Does your college have a Student of Concern reporting page?

Yes (Allows anonymous reporting)

https://students.dartmouth.edu/community-standards/report-concern

Clery Report data: Number of sexual assaults reported on campus per thousand students.

6

Extremely high!

*2021 data

Has the college published an official statement in support of racial justice movements?
Black Lives Matter Logo

Support for Black Lives Matter

YES

Support for Land Back

NO

Does your college offer a Disability Studies curriculum?

NO

Does your college offer a course on Critical Theory?

YES

ENGL 48 Critical Issues in Postcolonial Studies

Does the college engage in morally questionable research?

Animal Experimentation

YES

Cure Autism

NO

Other

YES

NAGPRA: Dartmouth College still holds the remains of 15 Native Americans.

News
Submitted by:
admin
2024-04-30

The College is investigating two students following the alleged racial harassment of a group of Indigenous community members during an Indigenous Peoples’ Day event last fall. One of the students under investigation is Cooper Black ’26, a member of the Big Green men’s hockey team.

...

Hedberg — who characterized the incident as racist — said she was “really disappointed” that the community had to witness a disruption of an event that was considered “sacred” to them.

“It was kind of disheartening to see this happen at a school that I was so excited to attend,” Hedberg said. “This is the beginning of my freshman year. This is my first Indigenous Peoples’ Day as a Dartmouth student.”

Source:Link

News
Submitted by:
admin
2022-05-03

After multiple visits to Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, I met with my professors to explain my prognosis. Not only would I be missing class for surgery, but I would also be taking fentanyl and oxycontin for the pain, along with managing my concussion for the remainder of the term. Despite the physical signs of my injuries and my doctor's notes, one professor found it suspicious that my surgery date lined up with the midterm and suggested that I wasn’t telling the whole truth. Another said that although he empathized with my situation, he still expected me to perform exactly the same as my peers, completing assignments and exams without flexibility.

Furthermore, two professors stated that if I missed class — no matter if it was due to surgery, concussion haziness or pain levels — they would dock my grade for lack of participation. To me, this was the most twisted part of my situation, because these same professors offered virtual participation options anyway for those who had to miss class due to COVID-19. When I was already in harrowing pain, experiencing the mind-altering effects of medication and concussion and struggling to maintain my relationships and daily routine, this harshness felt punitive.

Source:Link

News
Submitted by:
admin
2021-07-16

Once Henrich finally secured a therapy appointment, the Dick’s House counselor mainly tried to discourage him from remaining on campus, rather than expressing a willingness to help him address his mental health concerns, he said. This only exacerbated his already overwhelming anxieties.

“When I actually had the therapy appointments ... I was just blatantly encouraged to go home early, and even to change colleges.” said Henrich. “It’s not good to hear another person in a position of authority as a therapist legitimize everything your anxiety and negative experiences say. I did not feel like I was actually seeking medical help, I was just having someone try to have me not have mental illnesses on campus.”

Henrich felt the counselor was trying to convince him that he could not belong at Dartmouth if he was struggling with mental illness.

“My mom was thinking about me switching schools … but the therapist somewhat legitimized that, suggesting ‘You could definitely start looking at other schools, this place is not for you.’ Henrich said.

Source:Link

News
Submitted by:
admin
2020-02-07

After agreeing to go to the hospital, Hadfield said he was escorted into a Safety and Security car by two police officers.

“It was weird to be in that very depressed state, and then have police officers come to me and tell me, ‘You need to come with us,” Hadfield said. “It felt very much like a punishment.”

Hadfield described riding in the back of the Safety and Security car alone with dispatch calls coming in via the radio as a “very negative” and “scary” experience.

Upon arrival at the hospital, Hadfield said he was patted down and potentially harmful items were removed from his body, including his phone. He said he was then locked in a room where he sat on his own for several hours before he was formally admitted.

According to Hadfield, two police officers also entered his dorm after his departure and removed any potentially harmful items from his room, as well as his “extremely personal” suicide notes, which were never returned to him. He said this felt like a breach of confidentiality, and was concerned that people in his dorm suspected that the officers were there for criminal reasons.

Source:Link

News
Submitted by:
admin
2019-11-06

However, Luo said she did have one particularly negative experience with a professor who objected to the use of the smartpen in class. Luo acknowledged that prior to receiving the pen, she had been told by SAS that not all professors felt comfortable allowing recordings in class — for instance, when the class discussions involved students’ personal beliefs about controversial or sensitive issues. This professor’s objections, however, were for different reasons.

“[The professor’s] concern was that I would spread the audio files around in my class so that people wouldn’t show up to lecture,” Luo said. “[The professor] also gave a lot of pushback when I couldn’t make it to exams or I needed an extension on deadlines.”

After that experience, Luo stopped asking professors for accommodations, and mentioned that this term, she just never picked up her smartpen. Despite her previous positive experiences with other professors, she said that she didn’t want to deal with the potential for that kind of judgment again.

“I think [the professor] was kind of telling me that I wasn’t trying hard enough or I just wasn’t studying effectively enough,” Luo said. “I feel like [the professor] didn’t really understand that I had medical issues that stood in the way of me performing as well as I normally would.”

Source:Link