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The U.S. Department of Education on Thursday released its latest data on students with disabilities in higher education. As of the 2008-9 academic year, 88 percent of two- and four-year institutions reported enrolling students with disabilities. Specific learning disabilities were the most common (31 percent), followed by Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (which were counted separately) at 18 percent, then mental or psychiatric conditions at 15 percent. About a tenth of the reported learning disabilities were related to physical health and illness. Students who have trouble seeing accounted for 3 percent. The survey also revealed deficits between the needs of students with disabilities and what their college are providing. For example, while nearly every college has a main website, only 24 percent of them said they accommodated disabled users "to a major extent." About half of institutions cited financial barriers to training faculty and staff to accommodate various disabilities and buying "appropriate technology" for students with impairments.
