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Running head: IMPROVING OUTCOMES

Improving Outcomes for College Students with Disabilities

Brooke Bell

Arizona State University

PPE 310: Healthy Learning Communities

Professor Janet Barrone

Signature Assignment

April 18th, 2018

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Improving Outcomes for College Students with Disabilities

I. Introduction

II. Review of Current Literature

A. Reducing Test Anxiety and Improving Academic Self-Esteem

B. The Impact of Stress on Academic Success in College Students

C. Qualitative Analysis of the Barriers College Students with Disabilities Experience

D. Coping Styles and Strategies

III. Synthesis of Information

IV. Practical Implications

A. Successful Students Club

B. Engagement

C. Educational Components

D. Recognition

E. Scheduling

F. Marketing

V. Conclusion

A. Importance of topic

B. Project Sustainability

VI. References

VII. Appendix
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Improving Outcomes for College Students with Disabilities

At the university level, students are required to exert a high level of effort and energy in

order to be successful. College students face an increase of independence, but they are required

to spend more time on their studies. As a result, stress is common among college students, and

research has shown that the stress these individuals undergo is unique (Murff, 2005). The

transition from high school to college can be difficult for any young person, but for students with

disabilities, this experience can be even more difficult and stressful (Hong, 2015). Stress can

pose negative health effects for every individual, and students with disabilities in college are

likely to become overwhelmed and anxious (David, 2012). Along with stress, college students

with disabilities often face academic, social, and personal skills, which can directly prevent them

from being successful (David, 2012). Within the last three decades, the number of students

attending secondary education has more than tripled, but the graduation rate among students with

disabilities is only 28% (David, 2012). In order to help these students be successful and earn

their college degree, support is needed to help them cope with the stress of college. By helping

students with disabilities cope with the stress of college and by providing them with resources to

be successful, these students will benefit in many different areas, setting them up for life-long

success.

Review of Current Literature

Reducing Test Anxiety and Improving Academic Self-Esteem

Research done by Wachelka and Katz (1999) focused on how test anxiety affects high

school and college students with learning disabilities, as well as techniques that improve

academic self-esteem among this population. Before this study was conducted, there was a lack
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of literature on how test anxiety affected high school and college students with learning

disabilities. Test anxiety can have debilitating effects among students in general, but there is a

much higher prevalence of students with learning disabilities who experience anxiety from test

taking (Wachelka and Katz, 1999). High test anxiety is commonly associated with nervousness,

failing grades, low self-esteem, and many other adverse effects, and since academic success is

frequently based on test scores, the researchers in this study found it to be crucial that students

with learning disabilities have the skills necessary to prepare for tests without feeling anxious

(Wachelka and Katz, 1999).

The effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral treatment for reducing test anxiety and

improving academic self-esteem was tested among a randomized pretest-post-test controlled

group of high school and college students with learning disabilities. The eleven students who

participated in the study finished the 8-week program, which contained progressive muscle

relaxation, guided imagery, self-instruction training, and training to enhance study skills/test-

taking skills. Of the treatment methods that were used, the results showed that relaxation training

was the most helpful to reduce test anxiety, and students reported the treatment to be helpful in

reducing test apprehension, increasing their confidence, as well as positively improved their

attitudes toward school (Wachelka and Katz, 1999).

The Impact of Stress on Academic Success in College Students

Murff explains in the article, The Impact of Stress on Academic Success in College

Students (2005) that everyone experiences stress in their life at some point, but college students

specifically possess a unique set of stressors, which impact their everyday lives. Stress can have

both physical and physiological effects. For college students, academic success can be negatively

impacted from the stress they experience (Murff, 2005). Although, research suggests that
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strategies to help students cope and manage their stress may be beneficial for college students.

The research in this article suggests that programs which help identify stressors, and focus

dropout prevention and teach students coping strategies can enhance student success (Murff,

2005).

Qualitative Analysis of the Barrier College Students with Disabilities Experience

Within the last twenty years, there has been a significant increase in the number of

students with disabilities enrolling in higher education in the United States, and many times,

different levels of support are necessary for these students to be successful throughout their

college experience (Hong, 2015). In order for universities to provide the support students with

disabilities require to be successful, it is important to understand the barriers and challenges that

these individuals face. The study conducted by Barbara Hong was intended to get a deeper

understanding of how students with disabilities view their experiences in college in an effort to

identify transitional issues that affect their postsecondary academic outcomes. A total of sixteen

college students with disabilities participated in the ten-week long study where the participants

used reflective journaling to describe their experiences at school. Students were asked to write

about both their positive and negative experiences they encountered each week, and examples of

topics suggested by researchers included events, persons, offices, classes, faculty, administration,

assignments, friends, families, and anything that effected their college experiences related to

their disability.

From the entries of each student over the course of the ten weeks, four major themes

appeared: faculty perceptions, fit of advisors, stressors, and quality of support services (Hong,

2015). The most frequently discussed topic the students discussed in their journal related to how

students think faculty would perceive them if they were to reveal that they needed
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accommodations, and many students said they felt judged, humiliated, and embarrassed by their

instructors. Students cited that they felt as though their instructors would treat them differently

after they found out they had a disability. Some students did not feel comfortable disclosing to

their instructors their need for accommodations, and many would wait until further on into the

semester to inform their teachers (Hong, 2015). Participants also reflected on feeling stressed out

in their journal, and described their daily experiences to upset and frustrate them. These

experiences were caused by a few different factors, including medications, physical demands,

mental and emotional struggles, and social stigmatization. Stress was also brought onto these

students due to a lack of time management skills, and reported they did not have enough time to

do their academic work. The findings from this study outline the critical barriers students with

disabilities face at a college campus, mainly which have to do with a lack of self-awareness and a

lack of self-advocacy skills (Hong, 2015). The results of this study show the need for higher

education administrators, faculty, and support personnel to develop programs that aim at creating

a socially inclusive, culturally supportive, and academic challenging environment for all students

to increase positive outcomes for students with disabilities (Hong, 2015).

Coping Styles and Strategies

Research shows that learning disabilities are currently associated with the risk for

negative life outcomes. Although, it is becoming more evident that it is the associated coping

patterns and not the learning disabilities themselves that have the greatest influence on adult life

outcomes (Firth, Greaves and Frydenberg, 2010). The research conducted by Firth et al. (2010)

investigated the coping patterns used by adolescent students with learning disabilities in order to

investigate interventions that encourage students to use adaptive coping strategies by these

students. 98 students from four schools, aging from 12 to 16 years old participated in the study.
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The researchers found that students with learning disabilities often used physical activities to

cope and participate in activities in which they were successful, and that positive thinking could

also be used to take the focus away from the source of stress. They also found that successful

children with learning disabilities had a higher motivation for learning than those who did not

have learning disabilities (Firth et al., 2010).

Synthesis of Information

Based on the information and findings from the articles, it appears that helping students

with learning disabilities cope with the struggles that they face from their disabilities and

understanding on a deeper level their needs is important for academic success and reducing

overall stress. The population of students with learning disabilities enrolling in higher education

is growing across the United States, but the outcomes for these students are significantly lower

compared to the general population of students (Hong, 2015). Test anxiety and other stress

associated with school and the transition to college is common among older students with

learning disabilities, and considering that academic success relies greatly on testing, it is

important to improve academic self-esteem among this population of students (Wachelka and

Katz, 1999). A common theme among the articles discussed shows students with learning

disabilities experience higher levels of stress, and exposes a need for different types of

interventions and support services at higher education institutions in order to create positive

academic and life outcomes for individuals with learning disabilities.

Practical Implications

Successful Students Club

College can be an extremely stressful experience for students with disabilities, and being

overly stressed poses negative health outcomes for those individuals. With the growing number
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of individuals with disabilities entering in higher education institutions, an increased amount of

resources is necessary to help these students be successful. In order to help accommodate college

students with disabilities, Arizona State University (ASU) TRIO offers tutoring and mentoring

opportunities. The Successful Students Club is an extension of what TRIO previously offered,

but also provides participants much more to help cope with stress and be successful at ASU. In

the Successful Students Club, each participant is matched with a student volunteer mentor, who

works one-on-one with them throughout the semester, not only as a tutor, but as a guide to make

sure all of their needs are being met, they are engaging in physical activities, and provide

participants with skills to cope with stress and live a healthy lifestyle.

Engagement

Students within the TRIO program, or any other ASU student with a disability can

participate in the program and join events/activities the program puts on throughout the semester.

Successful Students provides those participants with a peer mentor, who will work one-on-one

with their assigned student throughout the duration of the semester, providing individual support.

ASU students can apply for an internship to become a mentor for the program, which provides

them with great experience in the field. Also, any ASU student or staff member is welcome to

volunteer at any event.

Each semester, Successful Students will host an event for all club members and friends to

attend. The event is a time for everyone to come together and celebrate the accomplishments and

success of students and mentors within the program. Awards are distributed to outstanding

students who showed improvement in their courses, as well as an award for mentors who

provided excellent support to their students by going above and beyond the expectations. During

this event, there is also a presentation to promote living healthy lifestyle habits and ways to stay
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stress-free. Any ASU student or faculty member can volunteer at these events, but each

organization member is limited to two guests to bring.

Educational Components

Successful Students creates a welcoming and caring environment for students with

disabilities, and is an opportunity for them to meet new people and be more engaged in ASU’s

student life. The program provides the participants with a peer mentor to turn to whenever they

need help with their homework, need help staying organized with their homework assignments,

have a question, or are experiencing a stressful situation, as well as physical activity events and

advice for stress-management. All mentors receive training before they start working to learn

techniques and strategies to best serve their assigned student, and expectations will also be stated

during their training. Mentors are required to reach out to their assigned student at least once a

week to check-up with them, and can set up tutoring or mentoring appointments. In order to

reduce stress, mentors will have to plan an activity once a week to do with their student. For

example, their stress-reducing activity can include going on a hike, attending a fitness class at the

Sun Devil Fitness Complex (SDFC), going to a yoga class, and much more. All activities must

be approved by a supervisor beforehand.

In order for mentors to best serve their student, they will learn how stress can impact a

person and the negative side effects stress poses on health. Mentors will be provided with details

about their student and their preferences when it comes to learning, areas of interest, and what

activities they like to do. This helps the mentor have an understanding on how they should go

about helping their student and come up with activities to engage in with their student.

Recognition
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Successful Students can attract the attention it deserves by informing school and local

news outlets about the services and opportunities our program provides. Stories of student

success can be reported to the school newspaper, who can also feature articles about our events

and the positive influence the program serves to students with disabilities. News and information

about Successful Students can reach the community through social media outlets, such as

Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat. We can also inform the community about what the

program has to offer by posting flyers on campus, around student residential halls, and local

shops/restaurants.

Scheduling

The program lasts throughout the entire semester, and each mentor/student pair will work

together all through this time. Each mentor is required to engage in a physical or stress-reducing

activity with their assigned student at least once a week, and must stay in contact with them as

well as their supervisor. Academic and other tutoring is all scheduled on an as-needed basis, and

depends on the demands of the student participant. Before working, the mentor must go through

a training session, which is about three hours long. The event for everyone to attend is held at the

end of the semester, where guest speakers will conduct presentations and awards will be handed

out for outstanding students/mentors.

Marketing

In order to get inform students about the Successful Students Club, flyers and information

will need to be posted and handed out to students around campus and at resources centers for

them to access (see Appendix A and B). Students as well as parents of students can learn more

about the Successful Students Program through email blasts sent out by the resource department

(see Appendix A and B). In order to engage student mentors to work with the program,
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information (see Appendix B) can be effective when sent through email, or could be printed to

post around campus. Participants in the program, as well as mentors can help the marketing

efforts of this program through t-shirts which are given to them for free when they start working

with the program (see Appendix C).

Conclusion

Having a learning disability as an individual has been commonly associated with negative

life outcomes (Firth et al., 2010). College can be a stressful experience for any individual, and

the transition can be difficult for most people. Students who have disabilities can have an even

harder time with this transition, and they often feel more anxious and overwhelmed than other

students (Connor, 2012). In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of students

with disabilities entering college, but the graduation rate among these students has not increased

(David, 2012). The reasoning behind the low percentage of this population of students

graduating from college can be because these individuals are not getting the proper assistance

they need in order to be successful. Schools can help students with disabilities by providing them

with programs and resources which will keep them engaged to their college community and help

them stay on top of their coursework. By providing students with opportunities and resources

that they need can help reduce stress and create a positive and healthy college experience for

each individual.
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References

Connor, D. J. (2012). Helping Students with Disabilities Transition to College. Teaching

Exceptional Children, 44(5), 16-25. Retrieved From:

http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=7

4695064&site=ehost-live

Firth, N., Greaves, D., & Frydenberg, E. (2010). Coping Styles and Strategies: A Comparison of

Adolescent Students with and Without Learning Disabilities. Journal of Learning

Disabilities, 43(1), 77-85. Retrieved From:

http://journals.sagepub.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/doi/pdf/10.1177/0022219409345010

Hong, B. S. S. (2015). Qualitative Analysis of the Barriers College Students with Disabilities

Experience in Higher Education. Journal of College Student Development 56(3), 209-

226. Johns Hopkins University Press. Retrieved From: https://muse-jhu-

edu.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/article/581703

Murff, S. (2005). The impact of stress on academic success in college students. ABNF

Journal, 16(5), 102-104. Retrieved From:

http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=rzh&AN=1

06406562&site=ehost-live

Wachelka, & Katz. (1999). Reducing test anxiety and improving academic self-esteem in high

school and college students with learning disabilities. Journal of Behavior Therapy and

Experimental Psychiatry,30(3), 191-198. Retrieved From: https://www-sciencedirect-

com.ezproxy1.lib.asu.edu/science/article/pii/S0005791699000245
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Appendix A

DO YOU NEED EXTRA HELP KEEPING UP

WITH COLLEGE?

Join ASU TRIO’s Successful Students Club!

ASU Student Success Services strive for every student to thrive throughout their time here
at ASU. This program offers one-on-one mentoring for students with disabilities to make
their college experience stress-free!

Students can:

• Be assigned a student mentor to work with throughout the semester

• Receive academic and organizational assistance
• Participate in weekly physical activities with their mentor
• Get more involved in the ASU community
• Learn how to manage stress through various activities and events
• …And MUCH MORE!
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Appendix B

ASU

J OI N TODAY!
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Appendix C
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