Predictors of Graduation among College Students with Disabilities.

Abstract

This exploratory study determined which set of student characteristics and disability-related services explained graduation success among college students with disabilities. The archived records of 1,289 unidentified students with disabilities in three public universities were examined ex-post-facto to collect demographic data on the students, the disability-related services they qualified for while enrolled in the institution, and student graduation status. A hierarchical logistic regression framework was used to compare models predicting graduation among students with disabilities in college. A model selection procedure was then used to construct a parsimonious model of the data. The final model constructed included predictors related to gender, age, disability type, and several disability-related services. Given the limitations of this study, more research is needed to validate this model using a similar sample of students with disabilities in 2-year and 4-year institutions.