Pacific University Pursues Autism-Inclusive Campus Designation

Pacific University is committing to making higher education more accessible to people with autism.

Pacific is among seven pilot institutions nationwide, and one of only two in the West, participating in the College Autism Network’s Autism-Inclusive Campus designation program. The two-year program, which Pacific began in July 2025, enables institutions to assess how they can enhance the college experience for autistic and other neurodivergent individuals.

“There are plenty of people who are fully capable of succeeding in college academically but, because academic institutions are structured for neurotypical minds, they just don’t thrive," said Sarah Phillips, Pacific’s vice president for enrollment management and student affairs. “Being part of the Autism-Inclusive Campus program allows us to look at our systems and supports to become the type of place where autistic students can thrive. We want to highlight the advantages that autism can bring, not just its challenges.”

The Autism-Inclusive Campus program is guided by six principles to ensure that autistic and other neurodivergent people can thrive individually and collectively in the higher education environment. Those principles include reducing barriers to accommodations and support services, educating faculty and staff on best practices to serve neurodivergent students, proactively exploring structural and cultural change that incorporates neurodivergent students as contributors, and ensuring that autistic and neurodivergent students are considered when change that affects them is being planned.

The effort at Pacific is being led by a task force of 16 faculty, students and staff members from the university’s undergraduate and graduate programs. The task force will work over the next two years to evaluate policies and support structures to make them more inclusive for autistic and neurodiverse students.

The initiatives of the Autism-Inclusive Campus pilot program will enhance the support services already offered to all students through the university’s Office of Accessibility & Accommodations, which coordinates education accommodations for students with a documented disability or a condition that may limit their activities or academic achievement. Those disabilities may be physical or learning related, and may be permanent or temporary.

The most visible part of the pilot project on Pacific’s campuses is the development of sensory rooms in the university’s Forest Grove and Hillsboro libraries. Based upon a proposal developed by Nicollet Young OT ’25 as part of her education in Pacific’s occupational therapy program, the sensory rooms provide tools for individuals to self-regulate and manage sensory input. The rooms are expected to be opened to students in late January.

Much of the task force’s work, Phillips said, will be focused on making policies more accessible to autistic and neurodiverse students and educating faculty and staff on the best ways to support those students.

“We are looking for systems to educate our faculty and staff, and to make our policies and procedures more inclusive of autistic students,” Phillips said. “We will be asking a lot of questions. What do our students with autism need to succeed? Do we have the right physical supports? Do we have the right support in other areas? How can we ensure that we have identified the accommodations most likely to support student success?” 

The Autism-Inclusive Campus pilot group also includes Arizona State University, Hiram College (Ohio), Rowan University (New Jersey), Towson University (Maryland), St. Joseph’s University (Pennsylvania) and the University of Cincinnati – Clermont College.