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About 9 percent of undergraduates reported having disabilities in 1999–2000, and 22 percent of these students reported not receiving the services or
accommodations they needed.
The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
of 1973 require postsecondary institutions to make education accessible for students
with disabilities. At the postsecondary level,
disability-related services and accommodations
might include, for example, alternative
examination formats, readers, interpreters, or ramps
for wheelchair access. The percentage of college freshmen reporting disabilities has
increased from just under 3 percent in 1978 to more
than 9 percent in 1998 (American Youth Policy Forum and Center on Education Policy 2002).
In 1999–2000, 9 percent of all undergraduate students in degree-granting institutions
reported having a disability that created difficulties
for them as a student.1 About half of these
students were enrolled at public 2-year institutions,
and another 26 percent were enrolled at public 4-year institutions. The percentage of students
with disabilities was higher at public 2-year and
private for-profit institutions than at public and private not-for-profit 4-year institutions.
Among students with disabilities, 26 percent
reported receiving disability-related services or accommodations. However, 22 percent of
students with disabilities reported not receiving the
services or accommodations they needed. At private for-profit institutions, 11 percent of
students with disabilities reported not receiving the
services or accommodations they needed, compared with 21 to 24 percent of their counterparts
at other types of institutions.
Of the students with disabilities, 29 percent had an orthopedic or mobility impairment;
17 percent mental illness or depression; 15 percent a health impairment; 12 percent a
visual or hearing impairment; 11 percent a
learning disability or Attention Deficit Disorder
(ADD); and 15 percent had some other type of
disability. Students with a learning disability or
ADD were more likely than students with other
types of disabilities to report receiving services
(51 percent vs. 19 to 30 percent). Nevertheless,
32 percent of students with a learning disability or ADD reported not receiving the services
or accommodations they needed (see table 34-1).
1Students were asked several questions
about their disability status. Eleven percent
reported having a disability, 9 percent reported having
a disability that created difficulties for them as
a student, and 4 percent considered themselves to be disabled (NPSAS 2000: Previously
unpublished tabulations [March 2002]).
Supplemental note 11 provides more information on disabilities. (back to text)
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