Factors that Affect the Success of Students with Disabilities in Online Postsecondary Education Programs

Abstract

Administrators, faculty, and staff at institutions of higher education (IHEs) strive to provide equal access to all areas of student life, both academic and non-academic. However, IHEs are currently limited in their ability to make appropriate accommodations for the growing numbers of students with disabilities in postsecondary education. Increasingly, these individuals are engaging in online educational environments (Verdinelli & Kutner, 2016). The purpose of this study was to discern the impact of supports provided by IHE administrators, faculty, and staff, and family on graduate students with disabilities enrolled in online courses. In looking at graduate students with disabilities who are enrolled in online courses, the research focused on three guiding research questions. 1. What are the experiences of graduate students with disabilities who are enrolled in online courses? 2. How do graduate students with disabilities report currently existing supports as facilitating or inhibiting their success in an online learning environment? 3. What supports do graduate students with disabilities report are still needed to help them experience success in an online learning environment? This phenomenological research identified 1) the ways that current supports facilitate success, 2) where missing supports can be instituted, and 3) how the experiences of students with disabilities can inform the implementation of such accommodations. The findings from this study benefit both students with disabilities enrolled in online education as well as the administrators, faculty, and staff at IHEs. These benefits come through an examination of the existing and needed accommodations that help students with disabilities experience success in a postsecondary setting. Additionally, this study can assist faculty and staff in IHEs to better understand the needs of students with disabilities enrolled in online courses and how to make these environments more inclusive and supportive.%%%%Ed.D., Educational Leadership and Management – Drexel University, 2018