A study of the effectiveness of public college and university support service programs for students with disabilities in the Commonwealth of Virginia: Do they offer what they purport to offer?

The implementation of Public Law 94-142 (amended in 1990 by Public Law 101-476) guaranteed individuals with disabilities a quality public education. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 opened the doors of postsecondary educational institutions to individuals with disabilities wishing to continue their educations past high school. This influx of diverse individuals to colleges/universities has created a need for support service programs to assist, guide, and ensure the success of this population. Postsecondary institutions have responded to this need by creating offices that provide a variety of services to students with disabilities. It was the purpose of this study to examine: (a) the nature of support service programs provided to students with disabilities, (b) the qualifications of administrators of support service programs for students with disabilities, (c) the level of satisfaction of students utilizing support service programs for students with disabilities, and (d) attitudinal and architectural barriers which might be encountered by students with disabilities. Administrators of support service programs for students with disabilities and students with disabilities in public colleges/universities in the Commonwealth of Virginia responded to this study. Data were analyzed using measures of central tendency and analysis of variance. The results of this investigation indicated that support service programs for students with disabilities in public colleges/universities in the Commonwealth of Virginia offer a variety of services. Administrators of support service programs, who responded to this study, identified the various types of services available to students with disabilities on public postsecondary educational institutions in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The majority of student respondents with disabilities utilizing these services were satisfied with support service programs offered to them