A two-year comparison of support provision for persons with disabilities in postsecondary education

The nature and frequency of educational support provision in postsecondary education represents an area about which a critical need for information has emerged. In order to fulfill the need for research, the National Center for the Study of Post Secondary Educational Supports (NCSPES) at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa Center on Disability Studies (CDS) conducted a national survey that administered two surveys to a national sample of more than 1,500 disability support coordinators working in postsecondary education institutions. The surveys focused on the status of educational support provision for students with disabilities in postsecondary education [21]. Their goal was to assess the types and frequency of educational supports, accommodations, and services offered to students with disabilities attending two-and four-year postsecondary education institutions. The first survey was administered in 1999 with a follow-up survey in 2001. This article compares the two surveys in order to assess the present status and measure the development of the various support services. The paper presents and compares significant changes in specific support services in postsecondary education.