Course Syllabus
REHAB 712
REHAB J112
Occupational Analysis and Placement in Rehabilitation
Fall 2006

Course Description
Specific vocational information can be useful to persons with disabilities as they make vocational/career decisions. This course focuses on knowing, understanding, and implementing methods and tools for gathering and analyzing specific vocational information, and use of that information in the job placement process. Students gather appropriate occupational information, and learn how to establish relationships, apply resources, and implement strategies that meet the employment needs of individuals with disabilities, in a way that meets the needs of potential employers.


Goals
The purpose of this course is to provide professionals who work with persons with disability with an understanding of vocational issues involved in vocational decision making by persons with disability. These vocational issues include the nature of jobs, demands placed on the worker, and the individual aptitudes, temperaments, and other worker characteristics contributing to an appropriate person-job match. Through hands-on analysis and synthesis of job characteristics and worker characteristics, students will identify appropriate employment for specific individuals with disability.


Course Objectives

1. Students will identify and use a variety of resources and strategies in assisting persons with disability to secure appropriate job matches.

2. Students will complete an analysis of a job using techniques and strategies discussed in class.

3. Students will identify and select for implementation appropriate accommodations and/or job modifications that will enable a qualified individual with disability to perform, at minimum, essential job functions.


Textbooks

Bissonnette, D. (1994). Beyond traditional job development: The art of creating opportunity. Granada Hills, CA: Milt Wright and Associates. ISBN: 0-942071-29-8

Pimentel, R. (2001). Working with people with disabilities in a job placement/job retention environment. Granada Hills, CA: Milt Wright and Associates. ISBN: 0-942071-50-6


(You will not need to purchase the following books, though we will discuss them in the course. The DOT and OOH been largely replaced by the O*Net, found online at http://www.onetcenter.org/ . We will be using the O*Net extensively.)

U. S. Department of Labor (1991). Dictionary of Occupational Titles Fourth Edition (DOT).

U. S. Department of Labor (1998), Classification of Jobs, 5th Edition.

Farr, J. M. & Ludden, L.L. (2000). Enhanced Occupational Outlook Handbook, 3rd Edition (OOH).


Assumptions and Expectations
All students enrolled in this course are adult learners with personal and experiential backgrounds relevant to the class. Further, many students at the graduate level have prior career experience in fields related to rehabilitation and other counseling, or personal and/or personal experience with the populations discussed in this course. Finally, each individual enrolled in this course has personal goals he/she would like to achieve and specific information he/she would like to gather during the semester.
Therefore, each student is expected to be an active participant in all class projects and discussions, and a portion of the course grade will reflect the degree to which the student has actively participated in the course. Graduate-level performance is expected on all projects, as is graduate level initiative, curiosity, and personal responsibility. Coursework will be highly challenging but also highly applicable to each student’s personal situation. Students who fail to complete any assignments in the course will receive a reduction in grade.
Instructor assistance is available upon request. Students may schedule individual appointments at any time and can generally expect to find instructors available during posted office hours. To ensure instructor availability at a specific time, please make an appointment. A professional level of courtesy and mutual respect is expected both on the part of the student and instructors at all times.

Academic Honesty

[The following in bold is taken verbatim from Carolina Community - Rule of Academic Responsibility, found online at http://www.sa.sc.edu/carolinacommunity/housing.htm#Academic%20Responsibility ]
Rule of Academic Responsibility
It is the responsibility of every student at the University of South Carolina Columbia to adhere steadfastly to truthfulness and to avoid dishonesty, fraud, or deceit of any type in connection with any academic program. Any student who violates this rule or who knowingly assists another to violate this rule shall be subject to discipline. …
The following sanctions may be imposed upon a student found to have violated the Rule of Academic Responsibility:
1. permanent expulsion from the University;
2. definite suspension from the University for a period of not less than one semester;
3. reprimand to be administered orally by the Chair of the College Committee to the student upon the exhaustion of any appeals, with a record of the reprimand to the maintained in the Office of Student Judicial Programs;
4. a Letter of Warning to be recorded in the Office of Student Judicial Programs (First Offense Only); and
5. a combination of the above sanctions.

INSTRUCTOR’S NOTE: Copying from any source, including cutting and pasting from the internet, without appropriate attribution, is considered academic dishonesty. It is expected that NO material will be cut and pasted from web sites for any purpose as relates to this class without proper attribution of that source.
INSTRUCTOR’S NOTE: “Appropriate attribution” requires that you give credit for ideas taken from a source other than your own mind. If you use the exact words from another source, they must be within quotation marks, and the source must be cited. If the ideas come from another source but you do not use the exact words, you must still cite the source of those ideas.
INSTRUCTOR’S NOTE: Obtaining assignments or parts of assignments (e.g., a paper, part of a paper, take-home tests, etc.) from another source (e.g., another students, an internet source, etc.) and submitting it as your own work, is academic dishonesty and may result in a lowered grade, a grade of F, and/or expulsion from the university.
INSTRUCTOR’S NOTE: For instructions on the format of “appropriate attribution”, please see the section on APA Publication Manual, particularly p. 120-121, p. 207-214, and p. 292-293.


COURSE REQUIREMENTS

Assignments:

O*NET Assignment:

Following instructions provided, students will explore the O*NET, the on-line replacement for the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (DOT), and a couple of the more pertinent links provided on O*NET.

This assignment will constitute 10% of the entire grade for the class.


Job Proposal Assignment:

Using information from the Bissonnette book and a handout, students will prepare a job proposal.

This assignment will constitute 5% of the entire grade for the class.


Principle Project I, Transferable Skills Analysis:

Using a case study selected by the group, students will conduct a transferability of skills analysis on a client using the process discussed in class. The group will submit a completed analysis by no later than the announced date. This analysis will be used to complete Principle Projects II and III, so it is important that group work be current with class discussions.

This assignment will constitute 20% of the entire grade for the course.


Principle Project II, Job Analysis:

Building on the transferability of skills analysis described above, the group will explore and analyze five potential jobs that are appropriate for the person/case study selected. Students will use a format described in class.

This assignment will constitute 20% of the entire grade for the class.


Principle Project III, Labor Market Survey:

Students will select two jobs that are the most appropriate for the selected case study. Using a format provided in class, each student will conduct a Labor Market Survey in his/her own geographic area to explore
• availability of these jobs
• possible income
• needed training
• any other information that would be important in securing and maintaining the job.

This assignment will constitute 20% of the entire grade for the course.


Principle Project IV, Accessibility Inventory:

Using a format provided at http://www.nobarriers.org/asp/survey.pdf , students will conduct an accessibility inventory of a public building.

This assignment will constitute 15% of the entire grade for the course.


Attendance, Participation, and Presentation

Attendance

Students will attend all class meetings. Missing class meeting time will result in a reduction of grade


Participation

Students will be active participants in class discussion.


Presentation

Students will post regularly on the class website as directed by the Instructor.

These activities will constitute 10% of the grade for the class.


“Percentage of grade” refers to completed assignments. All assignments must be completed or course grade may be adversely affected.


Grading

In effect, each student “chooses” his/her grade, and expresses that choice through behaviors related to the course. All students choosing to complete all minimum requirements for the course, of an ACCEPTABLE (content, depth, breadth) quality, and in a timely manner, will receive a grade of “B +” for the course. Students who wish to may “choose” a grade of “A”; however, this grade is reserved for those students who submit EXCELLENT (content, depth, breadth) work showing initiative and interest, and demonstrating excellent understanding of the subject matter. Students who “choose” AVERAGE OR BELOW grades (below “B +”) will submit AVERAGE OR BELOW (content, depth, breadth) work, or will submit work after the deadlines, or will fail to submit one or more assignments (regardless of percentage of course grade).

Grades shall be determined by the number of points earned. Students may schedule a meeting with the instructor to discuss a point award on a particular project.

Students are encouraged to discuss their progress on their projects prior to submitting them for a grade. Students’ choices regarding availing themselves of this help would be expected to be reflected in their acquiring the grade they choose for the course.

Assignments
Points
(Percentage of grade)

O*NET Assignment
10
Job Proposal Assignment
5
Principle Project I, Transferable Skills Analysis
20
Principle Project II, Job Analysis
20
Principle Project III, Labor Market Survey
20
Principle Project IV, Accessibility Inventory
15
Attendance, Participation, and Presentation

10

100



Rehab J712 Fall 2006 – Tentative schedule

1 Aug 29 Course intro Syllabus

2 Sep 5 Occupational analysis;
Accessibility survey O*NET
O*NET Assignment due

3 Sep 12 Philosophy of job placement re: employers Buys & Rennie;
Stensrud;
Pimentel: Note from author; Introduction
Bissonnette: Preface

4 Sep 19 Relationship with employers and potential employers

Bissonnette: Scan ch. 2 & 6
Pimentel ch 3
Due: Project IV, Accessibility Survey

5 Sep 26 Employment proposals Bissonnette Ch 3.


6 Oct 3 Forming job-placement partnerships with employers Bissonnette Ch 5
Due: Job proposal


Oct 6-8
Distance Education Weekend Occupational Analysis:
DOT; GOE;
Transferable skills

7 Oct 10 Assistive Technology: Jonathan Cruce, Engineer, SCDVR TBA

8 Oct 17 Assignment – class does not meet Due: Project I, Transferable Skills Analysis

Oct 24 DOT – Using what we have learned DOT simulation (on CD, available at Dx Ed Weekend)

10 Oct 31 ADA Pimentel: Talking about your disability in the interview
Handouts:
ADA Terminology

Reasonable Accommodations
A guide for people with disabilities seeking employment;
The ADA: Your employment rights as an individual with a disability;
Reasonable accommodations for deaf employees under the Americans with Disabilities Act

11 Nov 7 Placement plan;
In-class case study Pimentel Ch 2
Due: Project II, Job Analysis

12 Nov 14 Making the contact with employers Pimentel: Ch 3 (review)
Bissonnette: Ch 7, 8

13 Nov 21 Job placement: The placement Pimentel: Ch 4
Bissonnette: Ch 9

14 Nov 28 Maintaining employment Pimentel Ch 5
Bissonnette Ch 10, 11
Due: Project III, Labor Market Survey

15 Dec 5 Last class: Presentations –
Job analysis;
Labor Market Surveys http://disability.law.uiowa.edu/itworks/online_ed/login.asp
Handouts;





Rehab J712 Fall 2006 – Tentative schedule

1 Aug 29 Course intro Syllabus

2 Sep 5 Occupational analysis;
Accessibility survey O*NET
O*NET Assignment due

3 Sep 12 Philosophy of job placement re: employers Buys & Rennie;
Stensrud;
Pimentel: Note from author; Introduction
Bissonnette: Preface

4 Sep 19 Relationship with employers and potential employers

Bissonnette: Scan ch. 2 & 6
Pimentel ch 3
Due: Project IV, Accessibility Survey

5 Sep 26 Employment proposals Bissonnette Ch 3.


6 Oct 3 Forming job-placement partnerships with employers Bissonnette Ch 5
Due: Job proposal


Oct 6-8
Distance Education Weekend Occupational Analysis:
DOT; GOE;
Transferable skills

7 Oct 10 Assistive Technology: Jonathan Cruce, Engineer, SCDVR TBA

8 Oct 17 Assignment – class does not meet Due: Project I, Transferable Skills Analysis

Oct 24 DOT – Using what we have learned DOT simulation (on CD, available at Dx Ed Weekend)

10 Oct 31 ADA Pimentel: Talking about your disability in the interview
Handouts:
ADA Terminology

Reasonable Accommodations
A guide for people with disabilities seeking employment;
The ADA: Your employment rights as an individual with a disability;
Reasonable accommodations for deaf employees under the Americans with Disabilities Act

11 Nov 7 Placement plan;
In-class case study Pimentel Ch 2
Due: Project II, Job Analysis

12 Nov 14 Making the contact with employers Pimentel: Ch 3 (review)
Bissonnette: Ch 7, 8

13 Nov 21 Job placement: The placement Pimentel: Ch 4
Bissonnette: Ch 9

14 Nov 28 Maintaining employment Pimentel Ch 5
Bissonnette Ch 10, 11
Due: Project III, Labor Market Survey

15 Dec 5 Last class: Presentations –
Job analysis;
Labor Market Surveys http://disability.law.uiowa.edu/itworks/online_ed/login.asp
Handouts;