DePaul University

Equal Educational Opportunity for Learning Disabled College Students

Purpose of the Project:

This project sought to become a model program of support services for learning disabled (LD) college students. It is an optimistic response to the growing recognition that many students with learning disabilities can benefit from a college education, given appropriate support. Ultimately, the aim is to increase college access and reduce attrition for LD students.

Innovative Features:

DePaul's program built upon a FIPSE project at Central Washington University, expanded its range of student services to include academic instruction, advocacy, accommodations, personal and academic counseling, and diagnostic testing. Very few current programs are so comprehensive in scope. For example, the academic instruction services include one-to-one instruction with an LD specialist and specific course tutoring. Accommodations include test proctors, notetakers, and tape recorders in class. Students are free to select only those services they feel they need, but most opt for one-to-one learning sessions two hours a week.

The program calls itself Project Learning Strategies (PLuS) to reflect its unique approach not only to tutoring students in specific subject matters but also to helping them understand their own learning patterns and adopt individualized ways of studying. PLuS also assists University faculty gain a broader perspective about the problems LD students face.

Different issues are confronted by those students applying to college and already identified as LD, and those students who have already gained access to college but have not yet been identified as LD. For the first group the main issue is admissions; for the second group the main issue is testing to identify the disabilities.

Evaluation:

A tracking system links student entry characteristics with academic performance data so that progress can be documented systematically and needs can be served promptly. Using this system, academic performance of LD students is measured by tracking both grades and enrollment behavior, i.e., persistence of enrollment and credit hours per semester. The level of student success-academic performance and persistence-implies the level of program success. An annual survey studies student satisfaction with the quality and adequacy of support services.

Entry interviews gather information about educational and career goals, expectations of the support program, and students' self-assessments. Prior to graduation, these interviews are repeated to identify changes attributable to the program. Graduates are followed up a year later to chart any enduring changes.

Impact or Changes From Grant Activities:

Now into its fifth year, the program has served 96 students. It claims ten graduates with several employed, two in law school, two in MBA programs, and one working on a Ph.D. Other students expect to graduate this year. This is a promising early record considering that at least 50% of the students are on academic probation (or "at risk") when they enter.

The grade point averages of program students have held steady over the years. Their GPA for 1988-89 was 2.8, ranging from 1.61 to 3.83. Only three students have been dismissed, and a few have been lost through transfers or financial problems. Thus far, the program has an attrition rate considerably lower than the 37.8% drop-out/transfer rate for De Paul as a whole.

Students report they are satisfied with 92% of the program services, especially the one-to-one tutorials, academic and personal counseling, and small group instruction. The one-to-one sessions with an LD specialist and academic counseling are the most used services, followed by accommodations and advocacy, and specific course tutoring.

These findings reinforce the notion that, with only a few hours a week of supportive services, LD students can survive in college; they refute the idea that learning disabilities are synonymous with lack of intelligence or lack of high school preparation.

As an offshoot of the program, DePaul has launched a national survey to compare their program model to others serving the learning disabled, and they plan to disseminate useful ideas and solutions. Because of the variety of assumptions about the population, the project director cautions those staffing similar programs to consider carefully the backgrounds, knowledge, and philosophies of those chosen to serve it. Crucial too are early structural decisions about where the program is to be housed, to whom the program will report, and what other University resources may be tapped. Comprehensive programs are usually found in schools of education where a variety of support services already exist.

What Activities Worked Unexpectedly?

Overall, the program progressed very much as planned. However, the project staff was astonished by the number of students referred to them who were already enrolled in the University. These students were struggling to survive in college, never suspecting that they were doing it with learning disabilities.

What Activities Didn't Work?

During the three years of the grant, the program served fewer undergraduate LD students than originally projected, although current enrollment is growing sharply. The program was also unable to accommodate the participation of graduate students as tutors. Furthermore, group instruction in spelling and reading comprehension was discontinued. Students' needs were so diverse that they were not able to make good use of group instruction.

In organizing a parent support group, staff misjudged interests of their older program students, and the group was never formed. Generally, the more personal services, such as the student discussion group and personal counseling, were the least used, perhaps for age reasons as well. However, the discussion group was restructured for the 1988-89 school year. By making attendance mandatory for incoming students in the first quarter, the group has become a viable resource for LD students struggling with being in college.

What Do you Have To Send Others And How Do They Get It?

Two booklets listed below, one to help college faculty understand learning disabilities and another to help LD high school students prepare for college, were produced and are available at minimal cost. Because project staff and FIPSE want these booklets to reach as many people as possible, those wishing to duplicate them may do so in unlimited quantities free of charge, as long as certain requirements are met. Please write for a copy agreement so that De Paul can keep track of distribution:
Carol T. Wren or Alisa Padzensky
DePaul University 2323 N. Seminary, #220
Chicago, IL 60614
312-341-8100

College Students with Learning Disabilities: A Student's Perspective (20 pp. Contrasts a student's narrative with professional interpretation and background information. Both the student and service provider describe the path from prediagnosis to accepting and understanding the LD diagnosis. Suitable for college faculty, staff, and students.)

College and the High School Student with Learning Disabilities: The Student's Perspective (36 pp. Depicts two LD students' experiences in high school, their successes and failures, and their encounters with college life. Suitable for high school students, parents, teachers and counselors.)

An article drawn from program work with LD students, "Studies in Diversity: Strategies for Students with Organization Problems," appears in Academic Therapy, Volume 23, Number 2, pp. 157-165.

Cost Efficiencies

Many of the key structures and services used in the program were already in place within the University, so it was not necessary to create a new office. Costs were minimized by using existing resources and by working closely with programs whose resources were previously under used, e.g., the Department of Support Services, the Mental Health Service, the Writing Lab, the School of Education's Reading and Learning Disabilities Program, and the Center for Reading and Learning. Tuition dollars of currently enrolled LD students who would otherwise have dropped out, and new tuition dollars of LD students coming to De Paul expressly for the program, also helped to offset costs.

What Has Happened To The Program Since The Grant Ended?

After FIPSE funding ceased, the project continued essentially as designed, fully supported by the School of Education, but with a new project director. Continuing goals are to serve more learning disabled students each year, secure full-time staff, and expand distribution of program materials even further.

One of the program's booklets, College Students with Learning Disabilities, has been sent to more than 285 colleges and universities (11,000 copies), 135 other school and parent organizations (1,200 copies), and 100 individuals (175 copies). Thus, 12,375 copies have been sold or reproduced; 8,455 copies of the other booklet entitled College and the High School Student with Learning Disabilities have been distributed to high schools and relevant consultants at State Boards of Education in each state. Another 1,000 were sent to every local chapter of the Association of Citizens With Learning Disability. Together, then, more than 20,000 booklets have been distributed.

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