Coordination of postsecondary transition services for students with disabilities

There are 6,500 postsecondary institutions in the U.S. that enroll about 16 million full- and part-time students, i.e., 14 million undergraduates and 2 million graduates. Only 9% of these students have a documented disability, i.e., the participation of the target population is low. The current study was an effort to identify alterable issues (for example, empowerment, advocacy, accessibility, faculty awareness, and quality of services) affecting university-based service delivery rather than unalterable status or demographic variables from the perspective of students with disabilities and administrators of Office of Disability Services (ODS). The participants were 445 students with disabilities and four ODS Directors/Coordinators at two universities in a southern and two universities in a mid-western state. The respondents reported that there existed a crucial need for collaborative service provision to eliminate duplication of efforts, campus-wide assistive technology laboratories, and assistance to minimize employment barriers. The findings, if implemented with the existing financial resources, hold promise to: (1) change the trajectory leading to low enrollment and high dropout rates and (2) generate a more inclusive provision of transition services and accessible campus ambiance