Chapter 2:

The Current Status of Accessibility in American Higher Education

The first peer-reviewed chapter from the National Disability Center, published by Oxford University Press.

The chapter appears as the opening contribution in The New Accessibility in Higher Education (edited by Katherine C. Aquino and Adam R. Lalor), an academic volume that examines how colleges and universities can create more accessible futures.

A book cover featuring a group of six diverse young adults, casually sitting together on a wooden bench outside. They are all smiling and appear to be engaged in conversation, creating a sense of camaraderie. One individual has a prosthetic leg, highlighting the theme of diversity and inclusion. In the background, there is a blurred building with large windows. The upper part of the cover contains a mix of bold and regular text, featuring the book’s title THE NEW ACCESSIBILITY IN HIGHER EDUCATION Disrupting the System for an Inclusive Future EDITED BY Katherine C. Aquino & Adam R. Lalor

Led by contributors Stephanie W. Cawthon, PhD, Ryan A. Mata, PhD, Desiree Lama, PhD and Lily Alvarez, MA from the National Disability Center, this chapter is essential reading for educators, administrators, and policymakers seeking to understand how technology, policy, and student experience intersect in the post-COVID era.

What’s Inside:

4 Million

Disabled College Students are Enrolled in Higher Education Across the United States

65-70%

Disabled College Students Don’t Disclose Their Disability to Institutions

College Students Who Apply for Accommodations Ultimately Receive Them

Sources: Mata & Borrego (2024); NCES (2022); Herbert et al. (2014).

Key Findings

Disabled Experiences as the Foundation for an Accessibility Mindset

At any given time, one in four adults in the U.S. experiences a disability.1 This demographic is far from homogenous: disabilities can be cognitive, psychological, physical, sensory, or chronic health conditions, and many emerge during college years. Students often choose not to disclose invisible disabilities due to fear of stigma, leaving institutions with incomplete data on who their disabled students really are.

Ableism in Higher Education

Disabled students encounter barriers almost daily, ranging from inaccessible classrooms to infantilizing attitudes and resistance to accommodations. These barriers reinforce lower expectations and add psychological strain. The chapter emphasizes that ableism underpins many access challenges and must be addressed directly rather than patched over with one-off fixes⁴.

Implications for Higher Education

Certification exams, technical programs, and professional licensure processes often lack built-in accessibility, putting students at a disadvantage. Beyond academics, higher education operates in silos that separate admissions, faculty development, student support, and compliance offices. The chapter argues that breaking down these silos and integrating accessibility into core campus planning is essential for long-term success.

Collaboration and Institutional Change

Student success initiatives rarely address how disabled students fit into broader measures of persistence and degree completion. Research shows that collaborative partnerships — especially when faculty listen to disabled students’ lived experiences — help shift from compliance-driven accommodations toward proactive accessibility. As the advocacy slogan “Nothing Without Us” suggests, centering student voices is key to meaningful change10.

Connecting the Current Status of U.S. Higher Education and Accessibility

Traditional models place the burden of disclosure on disabled students, yet an estimated 65-70% never disclose². During the pandemic, this system broke down further as service offices faced backlogs and students had limited access to required documentation. In fact, fewer than half of those who applied for accommodations ultimately received them⁵. These gaps reveal how fragile the system is when accessibility is treated as individual compliance instead of a shared campus responsibility.

Faculty as Key Players in Accessibility During and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

Faculty hold tremendous influence over how students engage with coursework. The pandemic revealed that strategies like flexible deadlines, multiple assignment formats, captioned lectures, and trauma-aware approaches not only supported disabled students but also improved learning for everyone⁷. Research also shows that faculty attitudes matter: small changes, such as allowing a student to use a stool in a chemistry lab, can have a major impact on whether students feel supported or excluded.

Key Components of Accessible Teaching in Higher Education

The chapter frames accessibility as a three-part mindset:

  1. Knowledge of disability – Faculty often lack insights into disabled students’ real experiences because disclosure rates are low². Training and campus-wide reflection tools can help.
  2. Accessible strategies – Universal Design for Learning (UDL) emphasizes multiple formats and flexibility. For example, recognizing that screen fatigue during remote learning created new barriers, some instructors now provide audio-only or printable alternatives.
  3. Instructor motivation and attitudes – Change is harder when instructors view accessibility as extra work. Yet when faculty see its value, or have personal connections to disability, they are more likely to adopt practices that benefit all students.

Top Recommendations for Instructors and Institutions

There is no one status of accessibility – instead, it is a process that focuses on continuous improvement, learning, and iteration and understanding of its impact across a diverse and dynamic community. This chapter raises foundational issues that are a part of any successful accessibility initiative in an institution of higher education: 

Recognize and understand ableism

Work to discover its impact on campus community members, especially disabled students. This includes addressing systemic barriers to equal opportunity that differentially affect disabled students, faculty, and staff.

Create spaces where disabled students are part of the community

Include places to learn about advocacy, leadership, and connections with intersectional experiences.

Redefine the power dynamic behind student success

Leverage assets that lie within the members of the disabled campus community. Center decision-making about accessibility on the experiences of disabled people and provide opportunities for their input and leadership.

De-silo accessibility efforts to include all members of the campus community

Accessibility is not solely the responsibility of legal compliance offices, of individual faculty, or of disabled students themselves. Build structures for meaningful conversations that have an impact on campus identity, initiatives, and budget allocation.

Create professional development opportunities

Provide a space for the sharing of knowledge around disabilities and barriers to learning faced by disabled students.

Remember that accessibility for disabled people benefits the entire campus

Accessibility is not limited to students; accessible spaces for faculty and staff support them in their role to promote student success across the institution. Create online platforms where campus community members can report accessibility concerns.

image of the National Disability Center for Student Success's website on various devices, phone, tablet and desktop computer

”This chapter should be in the hands of every educator working to improve access and support for disabled students.

Stephanie W. Cawthon, PhD

Recommended Resources

References

  1. Mata, R. A., & Borrego, M. (2024). Disabled Students in U.S. Postsecondary Education. National Disability Center for Student Success, The University of Texas at Austin. Funded by IES Cooperative Agreement #R324C230008.
  2. National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). (2022). Use of supports among disabled students and special needs in college (NCES 2022-071). Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2022071 
  3. Cawthon, S. W. (2022). Transforming higher education from the inside out: The Collaborative for Access and Equity (pilot) impact report. University of Texas at Austin. https://www.stephaniecawthon.com/collaborative
  4. Sievers, J., Mata, R. A., Cawthon, S. W., Vielma, A. G., Yan, Y., Lama, D., Ge, E., Ramesh, G., & Aldaco, S. (2024). “Take a Deep Breath and Re-Center the Student’s Perspective”: Partnering Instructors and Disabled Students for Accessible Teaching. Teaching of Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/00986283241269435 
  5. Resnick, A. (2022, May 9). What is ableism? Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-ableism-5200530 
  6. Herbert, J. T., Hong, B. S. S., Byun, S., Welsh, W., Kurz, C. A., & Atkinson, H. A. (2014). Persistence and graduation of college students seeking disability support services. Journal of Rehabilitation, 80(1), 22–32.
  7. National Deaf Center. (n.d.). Community-driven strategies for improving postsecondary outcomes of deaf people. American Annals of the Deaf, 165(3), 369–392.
  8. Nunes, K., Laliberte, N., & Rawle, R. (2022). The case for flexibility in online science courses: Strategies and caveats. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education, 51(1), 89–93.
  9. Carroll, A., Petrović, J., & Kirkpatrick, D. (2020). Professional development for inclusive teaching: Practical strategies for improving accessibility in higher education. Journal of Faculty Development, 34(3), 45–56.
  10. Charlton, J. (2000). Nothing about us without us: Disability oppression and empowerment. University of California Press.