At the recent “Better Options” information event for students with disabilities and specific learning difficulties hosted by UCC, a unique and interesting piece of research was launched. The research was commissioned by Pathways to Education, which is a joint access initiative of UCC & CIT and funded under the Strategic Innovation Fund – Cycle 2. The research was carried out under the guidance and support of the disability services in both institutions.
The report titled“Students with Disabilities Tracking Report – 2005 Intake. An analysis of their progression, retention and success through Higher Education Institutions” investigated the access, retention and success rates of students with disabilities across Ireland. It was launched by Ann Heelan, Executive Director of AHEAD (Association of Higher Education Access & Disability).
The research is the first evidence based research that tracks statistical data relating to access and participation across a number of Higher Education Institutes in any one academic year, in this case the 2005 intake and involved nine institutions. The data provided an interesting insight into the activity of students with disabilities during their studies at higher level.
Commenting on the research Mary O’Grady, Disability Support Officer and Head of Disability Support Service, University College Cork commented that -
“This report will prove to be a valuable resource to the educational sector in addressing the challenges of increasing the access and participation of students with disabilities and specific learning difficulties in higher education in the future.”
Some of the key findings from the report were that:
- The access, participation and retention of students with disabilities is a success story across all nine institutions.
- 99% and 100% of students with disabilities in UCC and CIT respectively achieved either first class or second class honours results in their final year exams.
- Overall students who were visually impaired and with specific learning difficulties have the highest retention rates but those with mental health difficulties has the lowest overall retention rates in the national sample.
- The largest number of student withdrawals occurs in the first year of study. The number of students with disabilities entering particular third level institutions is not reflective of their capacity (that is the students with the largest student populations do not have the largest percentage of students with disabilities).
Echoing the findings, Laura O’Rourke, Disability Support Officer and Head of Disability Support Service, Cork Institute of Technology commented that -
“This report also serves to educate and create awareness amongst academic staff as well as students, and so it is with great pleasure that CIT have become a part of this research project and welcome the findings.”
The full report can be downloaded by clicking on the image above.
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