General Statistics about College Students with Disabilities

​National Databases with Information on College Students with Disabilities
Lauren Avellone and Sally Scott
Volume 1, Issue 1 (March, 2017)

Transition to College

Research by the National Longitudinal Transition Study (NLTS-2) on high school students in special education transition to higher education, the types of colleges they attend, how many identify as having a disability, percentage in different disability categories

Undergraduate college students with disabilities

• "Fast Facts" from the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education (2015)
• "Students with Disabilities at Degree-Granting Postsecondary Institutions" report from the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education (2011)
• Undergraduates with disabilities in science and engineering fields, from the National Science Foundation
• Students with disabilities in the social and behavioral sciences, from the American Psychological Association's research using federal data
• There is no consistent way to track retention and graduation rates of students with disabilities in the U.S., and much of the research uses special education disability terms or incomplete disability categories (instead of higher education disability categories), or only tracks high school students with special education services (and not 504 plans) as explained in the NCCSD research brief on databases.  For the most complete current picture of college students with disabilities and their retention rates, please see the NCES report on college students with disabilities published in 2019.

Graduate students with disabilities

• ​A summary of data sources from the Council of Graduate Schools (2011)
• Data from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (see Table 15) (2007-2008)
• Data on graduate students in science and engineering fields from the National Science Foundation (2015)
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Older data and statistics

• From a survey of U.S. disability services providers - Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD) (2008). This information is collected on a regular basis for use by its members. Contact AHEAD for current reports.​
• The first and second National Longitudinal Transition Study (NLTS and NLTS2) compared changes over time in postsecondary attendance for high school students who received special education services (not including students with 504 plans)
• The HEATH Resource Center has archived papers about their research on students with disabilities.  Additional papers are available through the ERIC database.

​Data on people with disabilities in the U.S.

• Disability Statistics resource at Cornell University with data from the American Community Survey (ACS) and Current Population Survey (CPS)
• Annual Disability Statistics Compendium reports from the University of New Hampshire
• U.S. Census Bureau statistics on disability
• The LEAD Center has updated statistics on employment of people with disabilities, including state-level data​

Specific Types of Students

Reports and statistics on students with intellectual and developmental disabilities attending transition programs in higher education from Think College.

Open Doors (R) ​Statistics on U.S. College-Level Study Abroad Students with Disabilities from Mobility International USA 

"College Students Speak: A Survey Report on Mental Health" by NAMI includes statistics about how many students with mental and emotional conditions are using disability services offices