College Students’ Access to Academic Accommodations Varies as a Function of School Type, Selectivity, and Cost

Abstract

Students with disabilities face many challenges in their pursuit of higher education. Academic accommodations and other educational supports can allow these students to learn, and to demonstrate their learning, in a manner similar to their classmates without disabilities. The purpose of this study was (1) to determine the percent of students classified with disabilities and receiving accommodations in college and (2) to see if students’ access to accommodations varies as a function of their college’s type, selectivity, and cost. Overall 4.6% of undergraduate students are formally registered with their school’s disability office. Contrary to expectations, the highest percentage of students with disabilities receiving accommodations are found in America’s most selective and expensive private colleges and universities. The prevalence of students with disabilities at private, liberal arts colleges in particular is almost three times higher than the prevalence at two-year public (i.e., community) colleges. These findings suggest that public colleges should be more proactive in identifying and accommodating students with disabilities and private colleges should be more judicious in their accommodation granting. Colleges should also use principles of universal design to promote the academic success of all students, regardless of their disability status.

Developing an inclusive campus for autistic students.

“…General student populations perform better academically in environments that offer additional flexibility and choice (Bennett et al, 2006), including presenting information in more than one way (text, images, video, etc.) to support different learning styles (Babbitt & Miller, 1996; Dimitriadi, 2001) and when adequate supports and coping strategies are available for students (Cohen et al, 2020; Gersten & Baker, 2001; Karabenick, 2004; Malmivuori, 2006; Mercier & Frederiksen, 2007). We provide specific suggestions for incorporating a neurodiversity-informed UDL approach to academic settings, and note that most strategies can be incorporated at no or low cost.…”

Twenty Years Into the 21st Century – Tech-related Accommodations for College Students with Mental Health and Other Disabilities

“…Although it has been suggested that Universal Design for Learning can be used to minimize academic accommodations (Gidden & Jones, 2021), there is little data to suggest that this is actually feasible in many institutions. Moreover, data show that fewer than 50% of students with disabilities register to receive accommodations both in Canada (Fichten et al, 2018;2019a) and America (Cohen et al, 2020;McGregor et al, 2016;Newman et al, 2016;Parsons et al, 2021). There are a variety of barriers to registering, as reviewed by Toutain (2019).…”

“…It is also noteworthy that data show that fewer than half of the students who self-report a disability are registered to receive accommodations (Cohen et al, 2020;Fichten et al, 2018;2019b;McGregor et al, 2016;Newman et al, 2016;Parsons et al, 2021). Considering this statistic and factoring in our findings of self-reported multiple disabilities, it begs the question of whether the need for documentation presents a barrier to eligibility and should be reconsidered for government regulations regarding funding and for institutional guidelines to allow for greater access to accommodations for students with a history of academic challenges.…”

“…These involve making alterations to the delivery of services so that these are accessible to more students. While a decade ago a larger proportion (70%) of students with disabilities enrolled in two-year colleges (Newman et al, 2011), currently this trend has reversed, with four-year colleges enrolling a larger percentage of students with disabilities (4.55% vs 3.30%) and with four-year colleges granting more accommodations than two-year institutions (Cohen et al, 2020;Weis & Bittner, 2021).…”

Assessing academic impairment in college students with disabilities: A new measure to promote evidence-based accommodation granting

“…Students with the social awareness to know that accommodations are available; the support of parents, teachers, and other individuals to seek them out; and the cultural, linguistic, and self-advocacy skills to convince disability professionals that they are warranted may be most likely to receive services, regardless of their disability status (Waterfield and Whelan, 2017). In contrast, reliance on interviews, impressions, and instincts may disadvantage students with disabilities who lack these resources (Bolt et al, 2011;McGregor et al, 2016;Lovett, 2020;Cohen et al, 2021). Indeed, the number of students receiving accommodations has increased exponentially at America's most selective and expensive private colleges, whereas access to accommodations at community colleges has remained low (Weis and Bittner, 2022).…”