The Challenges of Transitional Periods for Students with Disabilities by Megan Workmon

The transition from high school to college is a trying period of time for any student. Yet students with disabilities face inherent barriers in pursuing their education and later entering into the workforce. Transitional periods, moving from high school to college and then college to the workforce, present a variety of complex and difficult challenges for this population. Disabled high school students receive services provided from a wide assortment of government programs, such as Department of Education, Health and Human Services (HHS), Department of Labor and Social Security Administration (SSA) , yet as soon as they are legal adults they must apply and be found eligible to each individual program.  In a 2012 study, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) determined that students with disabilities are unlikely to be ready to transition to life post-high school as they have limited opportunities to gain vocational training or life skills while in school. Further, it is particularly difficult for students and their families to navigate the complex government structures in place to assist those with disabilities, most families unaware of the full range of services available at the government level as well as the institutional level (GAO, 2012).  The GAO study recommends an interdepartmental transition strategy from all government departments, working toward common outcome goals and increasing program awareness. However, as much as these agencies plan on developing a comprehensive program to assist in the transition between high school and higher education, that fact remains that there currently is little to no transitional assistance offered to students with disabilities beyond what little programming exists at the college or university level.

As the student population changes across the country, the enrollment of more students with disabilities in general and the increased presence of disabled veterans (DiRamio, Ackerman & Mitchell, 2008), serving this population efficiently and effectively is in the best interest of institutions especially considering that college completion and post-graduation employment for students with disabilities continues to be a significant challenge. According to the U.S. Census (2002), disabled persons are remarkably underemployed or unemployed when compared to the general population, earning significantly less regardless of their disability type. This disparity is even more extreme when considering gender, as disabled women earn less than disabled men (U.S. Census, 2002). Predating the GAO study, Adelman and Vogel (1990) found that students with disabilities are less likely to have experienced career enhancing activities, simply not having the time to devote to these activities or facing physical or cognitive limitations. Several professional organizations, such as the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) and the Career Opportunities for Students with Disabilities (COSD) currently work to help disabled students become competitive in the career search as well as improve the employment rate of disabled graduates nationwide. However, there still seems to be a programming disconnect between disability offices providing accommodations and assisting students with disabilities through intentional transitional programming and career services.

References

Adelman, P.B. & Vogel, S.A. (1990). College graduates with learning disabilities: Employment attainment and career patterns. Learning Disability Quarterly, 13(3), 154-166.

DiRamio, D., Ackerman, R. & Mitchell, R.L. (2008). From combat to campus: Voices of student-veterans. Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice, 45, 73-102.

Government Accountability Office (GAO). (2012). Better federal coordination could lessen challenges in the transition from high school. GAO-12-594. Retrieved from http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-12-594.

U.S. Census. (2002). Americans with disabilities. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/disability/sipp/disab02/ds02t5.html.

Are Students Enrolled in Massive Open Online Courses Really "Students"? by Christa Steiner

The subject of online education is one that tends to prompt a lot of response.  I recently read an article from Inside Higher Ed, entitled “Formerly Known as Students”.  This article looked at the impact of massive open online classes (also known as “MOOC”s), and questioned as to whether the people registered in these courses could really be labeled as “students”.

MOOCs provide the opportunity for a number of students to participate in courses that may otherwise be unavailable to them, but one has to wonder if they are getting the same education from the experience as would a student in a more personable setting.  With student to faculty ratios sometimes nearing 150,000:1 (Byerly, 2012), it is difficult to say whether the professor may ever have the time to respond to student questions or form any sort of relationship.  Even if a professor responded to only one percent of the students in his course, he would still be taking on over 1,000 students in some cases.

The article discusses whether or not the people taking these courses should be labeled as “students”, or if it would be more appropriate to deem them “online learners” or even “registrants”.  While this focus on terminology may seem petty, it has been argued that the term “student” implies a certain amount of responsibility on the part of the professor (Byerly, 2012), which may not be enacted in such a broad classroom setting.  If a student were to ask a question, seek advice, or request a letter of recommendation, is it even possible for the professor to respond to the student’s needs? 

This is not saying that the student wouldn’t receive any feedback at all.  In the article, the students were provided instantaneous response through automated test grading, and were sometimes offered the option of online discussions lead by alumni volunteers or graduate students.  If the online learners are gaining as much from a course as they otherwise would in the classroom, then who are we to say that they are not technically “students”? And how do you measure how much one student gets out of a class in comparison to their online counterpart?  Is it elitist to say that a student enrolled in an online course is less of a “real student”, or is there something fundamentally missing when enrolled in one of these MOOCs?

What do you think?  Is someone who is taking a course still considered a student if the professor is unable to invest a certain degree of time and effort into her success and progress?  Should an online student be considered comparable to a traditional student?  What, if anything, “distinguishes a course from a set of lectures” (Byerly, 2012)?

Byerly, A. (2012).  Formerly known as students.  Inside Higher Ed.  Retrieved from 

http://www.insidehighered.com/views/2012/10/29/essay-how-moocs-raise-questions-about-definition-student