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Despite higher education becoming more accessible for students with disabilities, these students are often still unable to accomplish one of the most basic goals for obtaining a college degree: successfully obtaining gainful employment after graduation. This article provides an overview of a qualitative study which examined the experiences of college students in an internship program designed specifically for students with physical disabilities. The findings of this study indicate students developed vital skills and competencies which facilitated personal and career development. Through their participation in the internship program, students reported feeling better prepared to enter the workforce after graduating. General career services often fail to address the additional barriers students with physical disabilities face when attempting to secure employment after graduating from college. Through hands-on work experience and exposure to real life work environments, students reported feeling more confident about their abilities to not only get hired, but to thrive in the positions in which they were hired. Intentional efforts designed specifically to enhance the career readiness of students with physical disabilities are integral to the continued success of this population of students.

Classroom success and academic integration are essential indicators of academic success (Tinto, 2012). Since students with disabilities, compared to students without disabilities, often face additional transitional academic issues when entering college, Ball State University developed a Faculty Mentorship Program (FMP) for students with disabilities to facilitate their academic integration. This practice brief presents a study of a nine-year longitudinal analysis of 32,409 students in three groups: students with disabilities participating in a FMP, students with disabilities not participating in the FMP, and students without disabilities. Three academic success outcomes were tracked; one-year retention, and four- and six-year graduation rates. The article also provides a thorough discussion of the portability of the program with suggestions for implementation on other campuses.

Creating impactful partnerships across university divisions can enhance the effectiveness and impact of the Disability Services Office. Research has shown the benefits of practitioners and faculty members collaborating; however, careful consideration and communication is needed in order for these collaborations to be successful and beneficial. In this practice brief, successful collaborations are examined and suggestions are made for Disability Services to foster partnerships with faculty members.

The purpose of this study was to examine the pre-enrollment considerations of undergraduate wheelchair users (i.e., the decision to attend college, college selection factors) and their post-enrollment transitions (i.e., adjustments from high school to college, academic and social integration). Qualitative ethnographic research methodology was used to reveal the voices of 10 students using wheelchairs and four of their parents. The determining factors in the college selection process for students using wheelchairs were the academic majors available at the university, coupled with the physical accessibility of the campus and a strong office of disability services. The freedom that is attached to making personal decisions and friends was a new experience to many of them and, after a brief transitional time, they relished it. From being able to get around on their own to and from class, to hanging out with friends, a feeling of independence was the key to integrating into college. Similar to peers not in wheelchairs, these students had learned how to navigate the higher education setting and be vocal about their needs (i.e., self-advocate). A series of recommendations for students in wheelchairs, their parents, and colleges and universities is provided.

Intercollegiate athletics provides an opportunity for improving the societal perceptions and overall quality of life of physically disabled persons. Athletic opportunities in the collegiate atmosphere allow such students to be socially, psychologically, and physically engaged. This study focused on how involvement in a Power Soccer collegiate athletic club using power wheelchairs influenced the collegiate experience of physically disabled students. As a result of participating in Power Soccer, participants reported higher levels of social interactions and independence, an appreciation of the opportunity to compete and participate on a team, and an increased amount of self-confidence.

In this longitudinal study of 11,317 students, the retention and graduation rates of students with apparent and nonapparent disabilities were compared to students without disabilities. The annual retention and graduation rates (six years after matriculation) were similar for all students, regardless of the presence or absence of a disability except for variations during years four and five. The mean number of years required to graduate were similar for all students, regardless of the presence or absence of a disability. Examples of institutional interventions for disability services offices are provided to facilitate student success among students with disabilities. (Contains 2 tables.)

The study sought to determine whether students with disabilities are disadvantaged because of state and institutional performance-based policies providing incentives for 4-year graduation. In a longitudinal study of 32,187 students at a Midwestern Research University, the retention and graduation rates, and mean years to graduation, of students with disabilities were compared with students without disabilities. This study demonstrated that the presence of a disability does not negatively influence eventual graduation, but that it does influence the amount of time to degree completion. However, as the transition to college for students with disabilities can be more difficult, it is important that the institution has interventions in place to assist students with disabilities to assimilate into college. The discussion focuses on policy and practice implications linked to performance-based outcomes related to students with disabilities.

Concern over the transition to postsecondary education for students with disabilities led Ball State University personnel to create the Faculty Mentorship Program (FMP ) in the summer of 2006. The program is a model for collaboration between the disability services office, the faculty members of Ball State, and the Learning Center. The purpose of the FMP is to connect new students with disabilities at Ball State with a faculty member in the student's prospective major or area of interest. Completing its fifth year, the FMP has produced positive results for students and faculty members who are participating and has assisted disability services staff in promoting awareness of the role of the disability services office and the services it provides. Ball State's Faculty Mentorship Program has become an important facet of the university's commitment to serving students with disabilities. In addition, the FMP was the impetus for the university receiving a three-year grant from the US Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education.

Despite higher education becoming more accessible for students with disabilities, these students are often still unable to accomplish one of the most basic goals for obtaining a college degree: successfully obtaining gainful employment after graduation. This article provides an overview of a qualitative study which examined the experiences of college students in an internship program designed specifically for students with physical disabilities. The findings of this study indicate students developed vital skills and competencies which facilitated personal and career development. Through their participation in the internship program, students reported feeling better prepared to enter the workforce after graduating. General career services often fail to address the additional barriers students with physical disabilities face when attempting to secure employment after graduating from college. Through hands-on work experience and exposure to real life work environments, students reported feeling more confident about their abilities to not only get hired, but to thrive in the positions in which they were hired. Intentional efforts designed specifically to enhance the career readiness of students with physical disabilities are integral to the continued success of this population of students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study sought to determine whether students with disabilities are disadvantaged because of state and institutional performance-based policies providing incentives for 4-year graduation. In a longitudinal study of 32,187 students at a Midwestern Research University, the retention and graduation rates, and mean years to graduation, of students with disabilities were compared with students without disabilities. This study demonstrated that the presence of a disability does not negatively influence eventual graduation, but that it does influence the amount of time to degree completion. However, as the transition to college for students with disabilities can be more difficult, it is important that the institution has interventions in place to assist students with disabilities to assimilate into college. The discussion focuses on policy and practice implications linked to performance-based outcomes related to students with disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Classroom success and academic integration are essential indicators of academic success (Tinto, 2012). Since students with disabilities, compared to students without disabilities, often face additional transitional academic issues when entering college, Ball State University developed a Faculty Mentorship Program (FMP) for students with disabilities to facilitate their academic integration. This practice brief presents a study of a nine-year longitudinal analysis of 32,409 students in three groups: students with disabilities participating in a FMP, students with disabilities not participating in the FMP, and students without disabilities. Three academic success outcomes were tracked; one-year retention, and four- and six-year graduation rates. The article also provides a thorough discussion of the portability of the program with suggestions for implementation on other campuses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Creating impactful partnerships across university divisions can enhance the effectiveness and impact of the Disability Services Office. Research has shown the benefits of practitioners and faculty members collaborating; however, careful consideration and communication is needed in order for these collaborations to be successful and beneficial. In this practice brief, successful collaborations are examined and suggestions are made for Disability Services to foster partnerships with faculty members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to examine the pre-enrollment considerations of undergraduate wheelchair users (i.e., the decision to attend college, college selection factors) and their post-enrollment transitions (i.e., adjustments from high school to college, academic and social integration). Qualitative ethnographic research methodology was used to reveal the voices of 10 students using wheelchairs and four of their parents. The determining factors in the college selection process for students using wheelchairs were the academic majors available at the university, coupled with the physical accessibility of the campus and a strong office of disability services. The freedom that is attached to making personal decisions and friends was a new experience to many of them and, after a brief transitional time, they relished it. From being able to get around on their own to and from class, to hanging out with friends, a feeling of independence was the key to integrating into college. Similar to peers not in wheelchairs, these students had learned how to navigate the higher education setting and be vocal about their needs (i.e., self-advocate). A series of recommendations for students in wheelchairs, their parents, and colleges and universities is provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intercollegiate athletics provides an opportunity for improving the societal perceptions and overall quality of life of physically disabled persons. Athletic opportunities in the collegiate atmosphere allow such students to be socially, psychologically, and physically engaged. This study focused on how involvement in a Power Soccer collegiate athletic club using power wheelchairs influenced the collegiate experience of physically disabled students. As a result of participating in Power Soccer, participants reported higher levels of social interactions and independence, an appreciation of the opportunity to compete and participate on a team, and an increased amount of self-confidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of herbivory by Gratiana boliviana Spaeth (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) on the invasive, tropical soda apple (TSA) (Solanum viarum Dunal, Solanaceae), was investigated using exclusion methods and by monitoring the density of G. boliviana and the weed at four locations over a period of 40 months. TSA plants protected by insecticide were taller, wider, and had greater canopy cover that unprotected plants, and plants in closed cages were taller and wider than those in open cages. Survival of plants was higher in plots protected with insecticide than in unprotected plots in both years of a 2-year study. In the population dynamics study, the initial density of TSA was 4-5 times higher at one of the locations than at the other three sites, but within 3 years, TSA density at the high density site had declined by 90%. At the three sites which initially had a low abundance of TSA, density remained low throughout the study. The intrinsic rate of increase of G. boliviana varied between -3.9 and 4.5, but over the 3-year study, was not different from zero, indicating a stable population. The intrinsic rate of increase was lower than zero for the period from October to January, and greater than zero during the January to April period. In the periods from April to July and July to October, the rate of increase was not different from zero. The implications of these results for biological control of TSA in Florida are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this longitudinal study of 11,317 students, the retention and graduation rates of students with apparent and nonapparent disabilities were compared to students without disabilities. The annual retention and graduation rates (six years after matriculation) were similar for all students, regardless of the presence or absence of a disability except for variations during years four and five. The mean number of years required to graduate were similar for all students, regardless of the presence or absence of a disability. Examples of institutional interventions for disability services offices are provided to facilitate student success among students with disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students with disabilities at Ball State University have a unique mentorship opportunity-those who take advantage of it gain considerable benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which editor discusses various articles within the issue on topics including support for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, academic coaching for students with disabilities and challenges of medical students with color vision deficiency.