The retention of college students with disabilities: what encourages them to stay in college?

摘要

This study explored the retention rate of college students with disabilities and the factors that encourage this population of students to successfully persist to graduation. The study explored the current lack of information in regard to the comparison of the retention rates of college students with disabilities to that of the general college population and the population of other minority college students. Through this qualitative study, disability-service offices at medium-sized, and four-year public universities in the southeast region of the United States were explored. Directors of these offices and students with invisible and apparent disabilities were interviewed. This study has determined that there are several factors that influence the retention of college students with disabilities. These factors range from the individual resiliency of students to the philosophy of service delivery adopted by directors in disability-service offices. The information gathered through this study is limited due to the size of the sample, but the gained information can be used as a starting point for further research.