A small community college transforms its disability services from physical folders to a digital-first approach that puts students at the center with Symplicity Accommodate
When Ariel Maturine, Accommodations and Student Resources Coordinator at Jackson College, first stepped into her role, she encountered a system that felt stuck in the past. Physical folders, scanned documents, and manual processes dominated how the small Michigan community college served students with disabilities. But Ariel had a vision—and the determination to make it reality.
The Challenge: Embracing Innovation and Best Practices
Jackson College faced a common opportunity among smaller institutions: modernizing their processes to better serve students. The accommodations process relied on traditional manual methods, presenting an opportunity to enhance efficiency and student engagement.
"When I got into it officially, I realized we had an opportunity to modernize," Ariel recalls. "We had physical folders, and when COVID hit, I had to digitize documents to make them more accessible and user-friendly."
While the institution was serving students effectively, Ariel saw potential to elevate their approach to true best practices. Faculty expressed interest in having better tools to track accommodations, and there was opportunity to increase student engagement through improved processes.
Taking the Case to Leadership
Rather than accept the status quo, Ariel took a bold approach: she went directly to the college president.
"I looked at him and I said, 'Look, we are a college that believes in innovation and best practices and setting the standard. We do that in so many ways, and I saw an opportunity to elevate our accommodations services to that same level of excellence.'"
Her pitch was both practical and passionate. She calculated the cost of hiring additional full-time staff to handle manual processes versus investing in Symplicity Accommodate. The math was compelling: even with the platform's cost, it would take years to equal the expense of hiring the personnel needed to manually accomplish the same efficiency gains.
Implementation: Putting Faculty First
Understanding that successful change requires buy-in from all stakeholders, Ariel prioritized faculty engagement from day one. As a former faculty member herself, she knew their concerns intimately.
"I knew that I had to go to the faculty first," she explains. "Faculty want to support students with disabilities effectively. They're committed to helping students succeed, and they wanted better tools to do so. Any concerns I encountered were more about having the right resources and training rather than lack of willingness to help."
The approach was methodical and collaborative:
- Surveyed faculty about current pain points and desired improvements
- Provided a five-month heads-up about the coming changes
- Offered sneak peeks of the new system before launch
- Asked for input and made adjustments based on feedback
- Created compliance tracking to ensure adoption
Transforming the Student Experience
"We went into this change with the theme of the difference between sovereignty versus saviorism. Those of us who are in this helpful job, we're like, 'I can save you, I can help you, I can fix it for you.' But they have to do all their homework and assignments and email their instructors when they need something. So us doing it for them is hurting them, not helping them."
Ariel Maturine
Accommodations and Student Resources Coordinator, Jackson College
The results speak volumes:
- 230+ new students have applied for accommodations since the May 2024 launch
- Students actively engage with the system, booking their own exam accommodations
- Integration with the learning management system normalizes accommodations as part of the college experience
- Students can independently check their accommodations, submit requests for changes, and access information 24/7
Measurable Impact Across Campus
The transformation extends far beyond individual student interactions. Accommodate has provided Jackson College with unprecedented visibility into their disability services:
- Data-driven decisions: Leadership now actively discusses students with accommodations in budget meetings and strategic planning
- Compliance tracking: Real-time monitoring ensures faculty engagement and ADA compliance
- Streamlined reporting: What once required manual data cleanup now generates accurate reports instantly
- Cross-departmental integration: Title IX office uses the system for pregnancy accommodation tracking
"The leaders at the leadership table now ask questions about students who have accommodations," Ariel observes. "They're now thinking about them because when they're looking at their budget lines and what they're paying money for, there's this whole population now that they are actively thinking about and curating that student experience around."
The Ripple Effect: Cultural Change
Perhaps most importantly, the efficiency gains from Accommodate have freed up time for the kind of meaningful engagement that builds student success. Ariel can now focus on faculty training, student outreach, and proactive support rather than drowning in administrative tasks.
"I had a staff member say, 'I have never seen so many service animals,'" Ariel shares. "And I was like, 'Yeah, that's because they're coming inside now. They're coming into our center and they're engaging with us and they're stopping and they're saying hello.'"
The increased visibility and engagement has led to campus-wide changes, including shifting from the term walk-in advising to drop-in advising to better serve all students, particularly those with disabilities.
Looking Forward
For other institutions considering similar transformations, Ariel's advice is clear: start with your people, focus on the student experience, and don't be afraid to make the case for change.
"Accommodate has revolutionized my job and I love it," she reflects. "It really has made the difference for our students and our faculty as well, who are just super excited about it. They love the features, they love being able to just log in and see at their own time, own pace, and find everything they need."
Jackson College's journey from physical folders to digital empowerment demonstrates that with the right tools, vision, and leadership, even small institutions can create transformative change that benefits everyone—students, faculty, and administrators alike.
