A 20/20 analysis of postsecondary support characteristics

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Sharpe, Michael N. | Johnson, David R.

Affiliations: University of Minnesota, Institute on Community Integration, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA

Abstract: A 20/20 analysis was conducted with data obtained from a national survey to study institutional characteristics of support services that reflect high and low levels of capacity based on supports and accommodations available to students with disabilities. In this analysis, 2-year and 4-year public and private institutions (N = 259) were partitioned into two groups representing High Capacity and Low Capacity institutions. The analysis examined issues related to institution size, disability types of students served, staff-to-student ratios, and other elements of services that reflect "capacity". The purpose of 20/20 analysis is to "look to the margins" of programs to better understand the nature and range of supports which are currently provided to students. Results of this study indicate that High Capacity institutions provide significantly more supports and accommodations to a more diverse range of students with disabilities, even with staff-to-student ratios about the same or higher than Low Capacity institutions. Also, supporting other research conducted in this area, large, public institutions were found to reflect a greater level of capacity than small, private institutions.

Keywords: postsecondary education, postsecondary supports, disabilities, 20/20 analysis

Journal: Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, vol. 16, no. 3-4, pp. 169-177, 2001