Computing Services for Disabled Students in Institutions of Higher Education

Computing Services for Disabled Students in

by

of the requirements for the degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

University of Washington

©1992

In presenting this dissertation in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Doctoral degree at the University of Washington, I agree that the Library shall make its copies freely available for inspection. I further agree that extensive copying of this dissertation is allowable only for scholarly purposes, consistent with "fair use" as prescribed in the U. S. copyright Law. Requests for copying or reproduction of this dissertation may be referred to University Microfilms, 1490 Eisenhower Place, P.O. Box 975, Ann Arbor, MI 48106, to whom the author has granted "the right to reproduce and sell (a) copies of the manuscript in microform and/or (b) printed copies of the manuscript made from microform."

Institutions of Higher Education

College of Education

University of Washington
Individuals with disabilities have faced substantial barriers in pursuing higher education. Few institutions made serious efforts to be accessible until legislation demanded nondiscrimination on the basis of handicap. Federal legislation is generally interpreted to mean that schools must provide access to computers with appropriate adaptive technology to students with disabilities when such access is required to pursue academic studies. Accommodations are to be made in the most integrated setting appropriate. However, for many disabled students, discrimination in access to computing resources persists.

This study explores issues surrounding the provision of computing services to disabled students in institutions of higher education. The results of a survey of schools with enrollments of 1,000 or more students reveal that computing services for students with disabilities are underdeveloped at many schools, with some schools providing no services in this area. The office of disabled student services is the organizational unit most involved in the selection, funding, and management of the services that are provided. Two-year, public, and larger schools tend to provide a greater number of computing services for disabled students and a greater number of types of adaptive devices and to assign staff to specifically support disabled students than four-year, private, and smaller schools, respectively. Access to electronic services for students with disabilities is very limited at most schools. Those who provide some computing services for students with disabilities tend to integrate them into facilities used by other students and this integrated model is generally preferred by staff. Staff generally rate moderately high both the abilities of disabled students to make productive use of computers and the contribution computers make to the academic success of these students. They consider funding the greatest barrier to providing computing services to students with disabilities.

The results of this study may help administrators make better decisions regarding the provision of computing services to students with disabilities and thereby better serve these students. The results suggest that institutions must make greater efforts to assure nondiscrimination on the basis of disability regarding access to computing services.
Table of Contents
Page

List of Figures ii

List of Tables iii

Chapter I: Introduction 1

The Research Problem

The Research Question

Definition of Terms

Chapter II: Review of the Literature on Discrimination in Higher

Education 6

Treatment of Individuals with Disabilities

Treatment of Other Underrepresented Groups

Summary

Analysis and Conclusions

Summary

Chapter IV: Discussion of Computing Services for Disabled Students 81

Online Services

Summary

Chapter V: Research Purpose, Methodology, and Demographics 96

Methodology

Demographics

Chapter VI: Research Results and Discussion 110

Responses and Discussion

Limitations of the Study

Chapter VII: Conclusions and Recommendations 154

Survey Conclusions

Recommendations

Epilogue

Appendix A: Data Collection Instrument 194

Appendix B: Summary of Responses 199

Appendix C: Statistical Tables 241

List of Figures
Number Page
1. Proportion of Two-Year School and Four-Year School Respondents 106

2. Proportion of Public School and Private School Respondents 107

3. Total Enrollment of Schools Responding to Survey 108

4. Total Disabled Student Enrollment of Schools Responding to Survey 108

5. Number of Respondents with Various Self-Ratings of Computer Skills 109

6. Number of Schools with Adaptive Technology in Various Locations 135

List of Tables
Number Page
1. Sources of Research Studies 64

2. Characteristics of Research Studies 65

3. Research Questions Addressed by Studies 66

4. Number of Research Studies Published Each Decade 66

Four- Year Schools 128

Disabled Students: Comparison of Two-Year and Four-Year Schools. 135

Services to Disabled Students: Comparisons By Size of School 144

57. Perceived Contribution of Computer Access to the Academic Success of