ECAR Study of the Technology Needs of Students with Disabilities, 2020

Overview

Among the 2,224 students who identified as having a physical and/or a learning disability that required technology for their coursework,1  1,819 answered the open-ended question What is ONE thing you would like your instructors to do with technology to enhance your academic success?" Of those who responded to this question, the majority (63%) reported that they had one or more learning disabilities, while a quarter said they had a physical disability (26%), and 11% had both a physical and a learning disability. More identified as female (63%) than male (37%), and most (75%) were between the ages of 18 and 24. Most respondents identified as white (65%), followed by Hispanic/Latinx (15%), black/African American (10%), Asian/Pacific Islander (9%), American Indian/Native American/Alaskan Native (4%), and 3% identified as other." Additionally, 11% of these respondents identified as being of more than one ethnicity. About a third (29%) of our sample are first-generation college students. Thirty-seven percent reported they were eligible for Pell Grants, and 39% told us they didn't know if they were eligible. In terms of these demographic characteristics, respondents from our 2019 student survey who did not report a disability were generally similar to respondents who did. One notable difference, however, is that respondents reporting disabilities were slightly older: 25% were 25 or older (mean age 24), compared with 16% among students without disabilities (mean age 22).

Survey question for students with disabilities: What is ONE thing you would like your instructors to do with technology to enhance your academic success?

Note

  1. A total of 53,475 students participated in the 2019 ECAR study of undergraduates.

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