General Information

http://www.ada.gov/pubs/ada.htm Americans with Disabilities Act
http://www.help4adhd.org/en/education/rights/idea Disabilities Education Act

Legislation that started it all....

General
Approximately 6 percent of all undergraduates reported having a disability.(according to 1995-96 information National Postsecondary Student Aid Study)

Broken down:
29% learning disability
23% orthopedic impairment
16% hearing impairment
16% vision impairment/
3% speech impairment
among these... 21% reported having another health-related disability or limitation

Average Age: 
30 (as opposed to 26 without)

Institution: 
-More likely to attend a 2-year college that public 4 year. but equally as likely to attend private 4 year
-72% of all institutions accept students with disabilities (98% public, 68% private)

Support Services:
-98% that enrolled students with disabilities provided at least one support service or accommodation
-88% provided alternate exam formats or additional time
-77% provided tutors to assist with on going coursework
-69% had classroom note takers or scribes provided
-62% had registration assistance or priority class registration
-55% had textbooks on tape
-58% adaptive equipment and technology
-45% had sign language interpreters
-42% course sub waivers

-public institutions were more likely to provide services than private institutions
-larger institutions are more likely to provide services

Longitudinal Data
Beginning Post-secondary Students Longitudinal Student 1990-1994
-students with disabilities were less likely than those without to have attained a bachelors or associates by 1994.  This was not statistically significant.
-Persistence rates were similar 53% with disabilities graduated or are still enrolled vs 64% without.  A difference but not huge.
(Hurst & Smerdon, 2000)  

When I found this article I was disappoint that mental illness was not included.  I wonder if the "other health related disability was including mental illness.  Even so, this data only shows students that have another disability along with a health illness (not including those without a learning/physical disability that may also have mental illness). In my search I came across an article:

"A significant development in the field of postsecondary disability supports in the last decade has been the proliferation of individuals with psychiatric disabilities. This phenomenon has emerged at a pace that one observer characterized as a “rising tide” (Eudaly, 2002). Measel (1998) found that within one year, five institutions in the Big Ten Conference encountered an increase from 30% to 100% in the number of students served with psychiatric disabilities. At one institution, the University of Minnesota, the number of students reporting a psychiatric disability as their primary disability (285) was more than the combination of students reporting learning disabilities and attention deficit disorders (269). Although there is little systematically collected data to provide a reliable estimate of the emergence of psychiatric disabilities in postsecondary education, information from current sources provides evidence that this issue is likely to come into sharper focus as data from more studies become available." (Sharp, Bruinininks, Blacklock, Benson & Johnson, 2004)

According to Eudaly (2002) higher education institutions are seeing a rise in the number of students with disabilities   Eudaly (2002) explains that there is a lack of data, but plenty of anecdotal evidence. This lack of hard evidence is something I'm seeing quite consistently when it comes to students with disabilities... as I explore this topic further I wonder what I will find.

Mental Illness
In The American College Health Association (2000) in a survey of 16000 students,
-64% reported feeling emotionally exhausted
-38% were so depressed it was difficult to function
-10% had been diagnosed (which is consistent with what I stated in an earlier entry... there may be a rise in students with disability... because more are being reported)

From 1990-2001 at St. Louis Community College, documented psychiatric disabilities rose from 27%-37%.
(Eudaly, 2002)

Eudaly (2002) explains that there is often a misconception by the campus about the role of disability services (not to assess or treat... they are to provide services for those who are already diagnosed).

From this data... it is evident that students with disabilities/mental illness is on a rise... and it is important for institutions to incorporate aiding these students into their mission.

Eudaly, J. (2002). A rising tide: Students with psychiatric disabilities seek services in record numbers. Retrieved October 10, 2007, from http://www.heath.gwu.edu/files/active/0/psychiatric_disabilities.pdf
Hurst, D., & Smerdon, B. (2000). Postsecondary students with disabilities: Enrollment, services, and persistence. Educational Statistics Quarterly, 2(3), 55-58.
Sharp, M. N., Bruininks, B. D., Blacklock, B, Benson, B., & Johnson, D. M. (2004). The emergence of psychiatric disabilities in postsecondary education. Examining Current Challenges in Secondary Education and Transition, 3(1), 1-6.