Experiences of Students with Disabilities Transitioning from 2-Year to 4-Year Institutions

ABSTRACT

Individuals with disabilities are attending postsecondary institutions and successfully completing both 2-year and 4-year degrees. Although current literature identifies numerous factors associated with success for 2-year college transfer students in general, given the unique needs of individuals with disabilities, it is possible that other factors play important roles in their postsecondary experience. Through phenomenological research, we explored the experiences of a diverse group of 10 academically successful students with disabilities who transferred from 2-year to 4-year postsecondary institutions. Our findings reveal that although their experiences in many ways paralleled those of students without disabilities, our participants identified positive and negative experiences specifically related to their disabilities. We offer recommendations for 2-year college programming and support services.