HBCU DISABILITY CONSORTIUM

1. HBCU DISABILITY CONSORTIUM Presented by Dr. Sislena Ledbetter- Co-Principal investigator, Dr. Wendy Harbour- Co- Principal Investigator and Denize Stanton-Williams- Project Director

2. History of Historically BlackColleges and Universities (HBCUs) There are 105 historically black universities and colleges. The majority were created after the Civil War. They were defined by the Higher Education Act of 1965 as any college or university established prior to 1964 whose main mission was (and is) to educate Black Americans and were accredited-or made strides towards being accredited-by nationally recognized agencies.

3. Overview of Project The HBCU Disability Consortium focuses on matriculation, retention, and graduation rates for Black and African American students with disabilities and addresses gaps in research on this population. This project is a collaboration including Syracuse University (primary grantee), The University of the District of Columbia (base) and Howard University (advisor).

4. Project Goals 1. Create an online consortium of disability providers at Historically Black colleges and Universities and Predominately Black Colleges and Universities to promote dialogue and exchange best practices 2. Conduct research with Black and African- American students with disabilities and DS providers at HBCUs to discover best practices that can be modeled or replicated at other schools

5. Project Goals cont. 3. Create and pilot a website that promotes culturally relevant, universally-designed transition and college materials.

6. Research Methods • Surveys conducted: • Disability service providers (inviting all 105 HBCUs) through project list serve -N=42 • Students with disabilities through their Disability Service providers (incentives offered) • Focus groups conducted: • HBCU’s by self selection/geographic location, public or private status (incentives offered); 5 completed • In-Depth interviews: • Disability Service providers • Students • Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis (SPSS and Nvivo) • Team/Co-PIs-PD-Graduate Student

7. Preliminary DSP Survey FindingsType of Campus 53% Urban – located in a large city 33% Suburban or small town 14% Rural – not located near a major city 76% 4-year university 19% 4-year college not offering graduate degrees 5% 2-year college offering associates degrees

8. Preliminary DSP Survey FindingsDemographics 78% Female 22% Male 85% Have no disability 11% Have one, prefer not to say 89% Black; 8% White

9. Preliminary DSP Survey Findings cont. Where does your office fit within the institutional organization? • 70% student affairs • 27% Academic affairs • 3% Human Resources

10. Preliminary DSP Survey Findings cont. What other types of jobs have you had? 43% College Administrator 39% Counselors etc. 39% professors or instructors 17% Business or Corporate

11. Preliminary DSP Survey Findings cont. How many students do you serve with the following disabilities? Top 4 Mean N 47% Learning Disabilities n=1,164 20% ADHD n=536 19% Health med. n=472 15% Psychiatric illness n=297

12. Preliminary StudentFocus Group Findings • Self Advocacy is reinforced and received by many, but not all students • Wanted to attend college • Had a family member who attended • Know what they intend to do after college (i.e. music, education, government policy) • Limited participation/excessive participation • Most proud to share disability/some guarded • Extremely limited resources at most schools, although minimums met

13. Opportunities Focus on research that drives resources to schools Research on students with disabilities at HBCU’s and Predominantly White Institutions (PWI’s) Research on how students respond to culture sensitivity (both disability and racial) Research on best practices in disability services regardless of type of institution Research on existing and potential partnerships Create Cultural Model of Disability Service delivery