Scott, ShelleyannWaisman, Teresia TC2020-11-232020-11-232020-11-18Waisman, T. T. C. (2020). How Higher Education Leaders, Faculty Members, and Professional Staff can Enhance Services and Outcomes for Autistic Students (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.http://hdl.handle.net/1880/112780The purpose of this research was to explore how Canadian higher education leaders, faculty members, and professional staff can enhance services and outcomes for Autistic students. This study was situated within the pragmatic paradigm and employed a multilevel, sequential, mixed method design. The mixed methods approach included a total of 111 responses, namely, online questionnaires (n=74) and synchronous or asynchronous, semi-structured interviews (n=37). The sample included a total of 79 participants across four stakeholder groups: university middle level leaders (n=23), faculty members (including two who were themselves Autistic, n=16), professional staff members working with Autistic students in offices such as accessibility services, equity and inclusion services, human rights, or student advocacy (n=10), and Autistic students or individuals who had experienced university studies (n=30). Six major findings emerged from this study: 1. The necessity of inclusive leadership to create the vision and inspire others to enhance services and educational outcomes for Autistic students; 2. The importance of including Autistic voices in the development of relevant, person-centred, outcomes-based autism policies; 3. The necessity of person-centred university policies to adequately attend to the spectrum nature of the Autistic condition; 4. The inclusion of a key strategy – Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and assessments – to ensure genuine and equitable teaching and learning systems that can meet the needs of the greatest number of students, particularly Autistic students; 5. The benefit of campus-wide education about autism led by and/or informed by Autistic individuals to create environmental changes that strengthens a university community’s understanding and acceptance of differences; and 6. The advantage of having Autistic students integrated within higher education communities. The Waisman Model of Best Practice for Autistic Inclusion and Success in Higher Education and a set of recommendations were developed from the findings. This model was designed to provide a pragmatic strategy for leaders to facilitate greater empowerment to all stakeholders, to inform policy and practices, and to innovate teaching, learning, and assessment strategies to benefit all students, but especially those who have unique learning needs, namely, Autistic students.engUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.higher educationleaderfacultystaffUDLpoliciesCanadaperson-centredmixed methodsautismEducation--Higherdoctoral thesis10.11575/PRISM/38404