Tuesday, November 10, 2026
11:00 am – 12:30 pm ET

Create Legally Sound Programs That Expand Support & Improve Engagement

As the number of college students with disabilities continues to grow, institutions are looking for innovative ways to provide meaningful support while managing increasing caseloads, limited staffing, and heightened expectations for individualized services. Peer mentoring offers a powerful opportunity to enhance student belonging, confidence and persistence, but many disability services professionals are left wondering how these programs fit within the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Questions surrounding confidentiality, mentor roles, accommodations, training, boundaries, and equitable access can make implementation feel complex and risky.

Join us on November 10, 2026 when our expert presenter will provide a practical roadmap for developing or strengthening peer mentoring programs that are both ADA-compliant and student-centered. You will learn how to design sustainable program structures, recruit and prepare peer mentors, establish appropriate roles and expectations, protect student privacy, and integrate mentoring into existing disability support services. You'll also gain strategies for navigating common legal and ethical challenges while expanding support without overextending disability services staff.

Rather than treating ADA compliance and peer mentoring as separate conversations, this session brings them together to help institutions create programs that strengthen student engagement, foster belonging, improve retention, and extend the impact of disability services. Walk away with practical tools, implementation strategies, and proven practices you can immediately apply to build a legally sound, effective peer mentoring program that supports both students and your institution.

Topics Covered

Gain tools and strategies to help you:

• Evaluate current peer mentoring efforts to ensure they align with ADA requirements, institutional policies and best practices.
• Develop clear role descriptions, boundaries, and training expectations for peer mentors to support students effectively while protecting confidentiality.
• Implement practical strategies to recruit, train, supervise and sustain a successful peer mentoring program that complements disability services.
• Increase confidence in addressing legal and ethical questions related to peer mentoring, accommodations, privacy and student support.
• Incorporate peer mentoring as a strategy to improve student engagement, sense of belonging, persistence and overall success for students with disabilities.
• Identify measurable outcomes and assessment methods to demonstrate the impact and effectiveness of peer mentoring programs on campus.
  

Presenter

Leigh Davis Fickling is the Deputy Director of the Title IX and Clery Compliance and an Accommodations Consultant at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.
Click here for full bio.