Exploring Experiences and Academic Outcomes of First-Year University Students with and without Perceived Disabilities or Impairments

ABSTRACT

The current study was conducted to understand better the university experiences and academic outcomes for students with and without self-reported disabilities or impairments. The project explored responses to an online questionnaire on early university experiences of first-year students (n = 1019) within one New Zealand university. A cross-sectional design was used to explore patterns in academic self-perceptions, subjective well-being, and GPA between groups who categorised themselves as having or not having a disability, impairment, or long-term condition (yes or no) and those who were or were not registered with the institution’s disability support service. Our results provide initial evidence that non-registered students with disabilities reported higher university-related anxieties and lower academic outcomes when compared to registered students with disabilities and students with no perceived disabilities. Well-being and academic self-efficacy did not significantly differ across the groups. The discussion section focuses on possible challenges that may arise for non-registered students with disabilities at university and possible future directions.

KEYWORDS:

• Academic performance
• disability services
• disability support
• disability
• impairment
• self-perception
• university student
• well-being

Disclosure Statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest in preparing this article.

Notes

1. At this institution, registered students are typically be required to provide medical support indicating a formal diagnosis that include: physical, hearing, and visual impairments; temporary impairments; medical conditions; mental illness; Autism Spectrum Disorder; ADHD; and Specific Learning Disabilities (SLD).