Increasing the dialogue among stakeholders in New Jersey’s special education system

Snapshot: Students with Disabilities in Higher Education

Nov 12, 2012 | Snapshot

  1. More than 88% of 2-year and 4-year Title IV degree-granting postsecondary institutions report enrolling students with disabilities.(NCES)
  2. Almost all public 2-year and 4-year institutions (99%) and medium and large institutions (100%) report enrolling students with disabilities. (NCES)
  3. Institutions reported enrolling approximately 707,000 students with disabilities in the 12-month 2008–09 academic year, with about half of these students reported enrolled in public 2-year institutions (NCES)
  4. A large percentage of institutions that enrolled students with disabilities during the 12-month 2008–09 academic year reported enrolling students with specific learning disabilities (86 percent), Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (79 percent), mobility limitations or orthopedic impairments (76 percent), or mental illness/psychological or psychiatric conditions (76 percent) (NCES).
  5. According to data reported by U.S. Census Bureau for 2012, students who self-report as having a disability (specify learning disability, visual handicap, hard of hearing, deafness, specific learning disability, orthopedic handicap, health impairment) account for nearly 11% of the nation’s college students. (Census)
  6. 57% of those with reported disabilities in college are women; 43% were men. (Census)
  7. Of those with disabilities enrolled as undergraduates, roughly 35% are full time, compared to 40% of undergraduates without disabilities. (Census)
  8. Of those enrolled in gradate or professional school, 7.6% self-report as having a disability. (Census)

Click here to download the U.S. Census statistics, Students Reported Disability Status by Selected Characteristic: 2007 to 2008.

(NCES) – Raue, K., and Lewis, L. (2011). Students With Disabilities at Degree-Granting Postsecondary Institutions (NCES 2011–018). U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.