Transition: a change in status from behaving primarily as a student to assuming adult roles in one‘s community (Halpern, 1994).
Persistence: the re-enrollment of a student from one semester to the following semester (Summers, 2003).
Retention: completion of a certificate or degree program in the same institution (Berger & Lyon, 2005).
Successful: the first-year student who navigates his/her transition into college by making connections on campus, earning credits by completing coursework, and persisting from first to second semester.
Accommodations: actions or services such as extended time or sign language interpreters that provide individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate fully in all aspects of the educational environment.
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The literature will show the importance of the laws that enabled students with disabilities to attend college with accommodations to ensure access both in and out of the classroom. Throughout the review, persistence and retention, as well as contemporary issues of interest, will be examined more closely, particularly by comparing four year institutions to two year institutions (community colleges). Another important factor to be examined will be the role of transitioning into higher education both for the general student population and students with disabilities. In addition, student development theories and their impact in identifying strategies that are important for increasing persistence/retention during students‘ first year of study will be explored. Some of the strategies reviewed will be the advisor/counselor contact, freshman …show more content…
The original GI Bill, which ended in 1956, provided the opportunity to continue education for those servicemen who became disabled during their service. Their increased enrollment gave rise to the recognition of students with disabilities participating in higher education (U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, http://www.gibill.va.gov/).
After the GI Bill, the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed to prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color or national origin in programs or activities receiving federal funds (U. S. National Archives and Records Administration, http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/civil-rights-act/ ). However, disability was not included. Not until the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 were civil rights expanded to include people with disabilities. Additional legislation (Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and ADA Amendments Act of 2008) was passed to ensure equal access. Today, higher education continues to experience a growth in attendance of students with disabilities due to the combination of these laws that are designed to facilitate