Introduction - Pennsylvania State University



Veronika (Nika) AncukiewiczPSU ID: 943475631October 25, 2015Benchmarking Report – Registered Disabilities in Undergraduate StudentsTable of Contents TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u Introduction PAGEREF _Toc433551869 \h 2Methods PAGEREF _Toc433551870 \h 2Enrollment PAGEREF _Toc433551871 \h 2Enrollment Figures PAGEREF _Toc433551872 \h 3Demographics PAGEREF _Toc433551873 \h 4Demographics at Boston University PAGEREF _Toc433551874 \h 4Demographics Benchmarking PAGEREF _Toc433551875 \h 6Rates of Registered Disabilities PAGEREF _Toc433551876 \h 8Registered Disabilities for 2013 PAGEREF _Toc433551877 \h 8Registered Disabilities for 2008-2013 PAGEREF _Toc433551878 \h 8Conclusion PAGEREF _Toc433551879 \h 10References PAGEREF _Toc433551880 \h 10IntroductionMy previous position was at the Boston University Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation. During my time there, I was involved in the Niteo program. This program facilitated successful college re-entry for students on psychiatric-related medical leave from their home institutions. The program sought to build skills and supports that would enable students to finish their undergraduate education. One of the specific goals of students’ time in Niteo was to connect with Disability Services at their home institutions. Students that registered their disability could receive accommodations from their schools that would allow them to succeed in their coursework. Through this experience, I came to see the formal registration of a disability as a proactive step to help ensure student success. The proportion of students having disabilities is an important indicator of inclusiveness in higher education. In this report, I will analyze rates of registered disabilities among undergraduates at Boston University and a comparison group of peer institutions. To put the disability rates into context, I will also look at enrollment data and demographics for these institutions.MethodsThe report focuses on Boston University. The desired comparison group was similarly-ranked, private universities. To select a comparison group, I used the U.S. News & World Report National Universities Rankings (2015). Boston University is currently ranked #41. I selected private universities ranked #30 through #50. This yielded a comparison group that included Boston College, New York University, University of Rochester, Brandeis University, Case Western Reserve University, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Tulane University, Lehigh University, and Northeastern University.The main indicator is the rate of registered disabilities among undergraduate students. Additional indicators include undergraduate enrollment figures and student demographics (gender, race/ethnicity, and international student status.)The data is obtained from the National Center for Education Statistics. A custom data file including enrollment, demographic, and disability data was downloaded through the IPEDS Data Center (2013). Data was obtained for the last year available (2013) for all indicators. For rates of registered disability, data was downloaded for all previous years available. This included the years 2008 to 2013. The data is for all undergraduate students.EnrollmentBoston University has 18,164 undergraduate students. It is the second largest institution among the comparison group. The other institutions range from 3,614 students (Brandeis University) to 22,566 students (New York University).Full-time undergraduate enrollment at Boston University is 91.4%. Boston University has a larger share of part-time students than all other universities in the comparison group, with the exception of Tulane University (78.3% full-time students). The share of first-time, full-time degree-seeking students is also analyzed. Boston University has 21.0% of these full-time degree-seeking freshmen. The rate for the other universities varies from 19.4% for Tulane University to 26.9% for Case Western Reserve University.Enrollment FiguresDemographicsDemographics at Boston UniversityOut of 18,164 students at Boston University, 59.5% are female and 40.5% are male. In terms of race and ethnicity, there are several categories of data that make it difficult to assess the race and ethnicity of all undergraduates. The race and ethnicity for a large number (n=1779) of students is unknown. Non-resident alien students (n=2833) also do not have race or ethnicity reported. Among the remaining categories, white students form the largest group with 62.3% of all students. Asians and Pacific Islanders are the second-largest group, comprising 16.8% of all students. Hispanic students make up 11.8% of students. 4.7% of students report two or more races/ethnicities. Black students make up 4.3% of students. The smallest category is American Indian students, who represent only 0.1% of the student population.International students make up 15.6% of the undergraduate student population at Boston University. Demographics BenchmarkingBoston University has a lower proportion of male students than many of the universities in the comparison group. Most of the peer institutions have less male students than female students, with the exception of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (70.4% male), Case Western Reserve University (54.8% male) and Lehigh University (56.2% male). Gender Distribution by UniversityUniversityMale% MaleFemale% FemaleBoston University734840.5%1081759.5%Tulane University347641.9%481458.1%Boston College453046.7%516853.3%Brandeis University156843.4%204656.6%Northeastern University642748.6%679651.4%New York University906640.1%1354959.9%Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute384070.4%161229.6%University of Rochester296147.9%321652.1%Case Western Reserve University255554.8%210645.2%Lehigh University277356.2%215843.8%The universities report differences in the racial and ethnic makeup of their undergraduates. However, it is difficult to compare race and ethnicity directly across the different institutions. There are widely varying numbers of students of unknown race and international students (who do not report race). The table on the next page lists the numbers and proportions of different racial and ethnic categories for all of the universities.Rates of Registered DisabilitiesRegistered Disabilities for 2013The data for 2013, the most recent year available, shows large differences in the proportion of students with registered disabilities. The data on disabilities in IPEDS is reported in two variables. First, there is a binary variable that shows whether the rate is 3.0% or less, or greater than 3.0%. Only if a university reports more than 3.0% of students with registered disabilities is the actual rate reported in a second variable. As a result, the true rates of students with registered disabilities are not available for universities that report a rate of 3.0% or less.With this data limitation in mind, the rates of registered disabilities are displayed in the graph below. Institutions reporting 3.0% or less students with disabilities are displayed as having a 3.0% rate. For 2013, five universities have a rate of 3.0% or less, including Boston University, Boston College, Northeastern University, New York University, and University of Rochester. The highest rate of students with registered disabilities is at Brandeis University (10%).Registered Disabilities for 2008-2013Boston University has a rate of registered students with disabilities of 3.0% or less every year that data is available. Three other institutions have a rate of 3.0% or less for all years, including Boston College, Northeastern University, and New York University. The remaining universities have rates that vary slightly every year. The two graphs below illustrate the change in the rate of students with registered disability for six years. The first graph shows the fluctuations for the different institutions while the second graph shows the average rates for the institutions where the rate is greater than 3.0%. The takeaway from the second graph is that the rates appear to rise and fall slightly year to year, but are fairly flat overall. When interpreting these graphs it is important to remember that the 3.0% rate for Boston University is actually 3.0% or less; the true figure is not available. ConclusionBoston University is among the largest universities in the peer comparison group. It has more part-time students and more female students than many of the other universities. There is a high proportion of international students. The varying numbers of international students and students of unknown race make it difficult to compare the racial and ethnic makeup of the student body across the different institutions.At Boston University, the rate of registered disabilities for undergraduate students is 3.0% or less for all years available. Three other institutions have rates this low. The remaining institutions have significantly higher rates, averaging about 5% per year. This puts Boston University among the lowest rates for registered disabilities. If the university is seeking to become more inclusive and accessible to students with disabilities, it should consider the low rate and perhaps be more proactive in supporting students who may be underserved.ReferencesDepartment of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. (2013). IPEDS custom data file [Data file]. Retrieved from . News & World Report (2015). National Universities Rankings. Retrieved from ................
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