Cooling Out Undergraduates with Health Impairments: The Freshman Experience

Abstract

Students with health impairments represent a growing sector of the college population, but health based disparities in bachelor's degree completion persist. The classes students pass and the grades they receive during the first year of college provide signals of degree progress and academic fit that shape educational expectations, potentially subjecting students to a cooling out process (Clark 1960). Using the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS 04/09), we compare signals of degree progress and academic fit and changes in educational expectations between students with and without health impairments during the first year of college. We find that net of academic preparation, type of institution, enrollment intensity and first year experiences, students with mental impairments are more likely to lower their educational expectations after the first year of college, due partially to negative signals of academic fit. We find limited evidence that gaps in learning are related to the use of academic accommodations for students with health impairments. Our results suggest that students with mental impairments are disadvantaged in reaching first year benchmarks of degree progress and academic fit and are disproportionately cooled out.Bachelor's degrees have become essential for future success in health and the labor market. More people have access to college than ever before, but bachelor's degree completion rates are not equal for all students who hope to complete a degree. College attendance has risen for students with health impairments since the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act [ADA], which supports equal opportunities and combats discrimination, but gaps in degree completion remain. i "We have yet to experience the full impact of [ADA]. The dreams and ambitions of many young people with disabilities have yet to be realized" according to Lex Frieden, a disability rights advocate (Frieden, 2014). Four out of five high i ADA defines a disability as "a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities." Both "disability" and "health impairment" are used in the literature (Wells 2003). We use "health impairment" because it coincides with the ADA definition and the BPS questionnaire. HHS Public AccessAuthor manuscript J Higher Educ. Author manuscript; available in PMC 2017 November 01. Author Manuscript Author ManuscriptAuthor ManuscriptAuthor Manuscript school students with health impairments hope to go to college, but only one third matriculate (Wagner & Blackorby, 1996;Sanford, Newman, Wagner, Cameto, Knokey, & Shaver, 2011). Of the over two million students with health impairments who do enter postsecondary institutions, only 16% receive a bachelor's degree, compared to over half of students without health impairments (Kochhar-Bryant, Bassett, & Webb, 2009). Without successful early college experiences, dreams of receiving a bachelor's degree may go unrealized. Students who pass classes and earn high grades during the first year of coll...

College Counselors' Perceptions of Working With First‐Year Students With Chronic Illnesses

“…Despite improvement in the attendance rates of students with chronic health issues, disparities in college readiness and completion persist, with a 16% graduation rate for undergraduate students with chronic illnesses versus a 50% graduation rate for students without such illnesses (Carroll et al, ). First‐year students with disabilities such as chronic illnesses are of particular concern because they often deal with personal, social, and academic adjustment problems that may result in lower completion rates and difficulty maintaining career goals (Cholewa & Ramaswami, ; Knight, Wessel, & Markle, ; Melzer & Grant, ).…”

“…First‐year students with disabilities such as chronic illnesses are of particular concern because they often deal with personal, social, and academic adjustment problems that may result in lower completion rates and difficulty maintaining career goals (Cholewa & Ramaswami, ; Knight, Wessel, & Markle, ; Melzer & Grant, ). First‐year students with health issues are also at more significant need for assistance in addressing social, physical, and emotional barriers; dealing with stress of self‐managing health tasks and issues; and accessing disability services for appropriate accommodations (Carroll et al, ; Eaton et al, ; Leonard, ).…”

“…At‐risk students (e.g., those with chronic illnesses) have even greater difficulty with this transition (Hughes et al, ; Lawson, Gould, & Conley, ). For example, students with chronic illnesses reported significantly lower college preparation in high school than did their peers without such illnesses (Carroll et al, ). Furthermore, unmet personal and social needs often result in poor college outcomes for this population (Lapan, Poynton, Marcotte, Marland, & Milam, ).…”

“…As a result, the responsibility often falls on college counselors to provide preventive, crisis, outreach, and consultation services to all students (Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education [CAS], ). Additionally, the Americans With Disabilities Act (1990) addresses the need for aid to improve attendance and persistence for students with disabilities such as chronic illnesses (Carroll et al, ). Furthermore, the American Counseling Association (ACA; ) states in the ACA Code of Ethics that all counselors are responsible for assisting clients in promoting mental health and well‐being as well as seeking fairness and equality.…”

“…A n emerging area of concern for today's college population is the readiness of students with health concerns such as chronic illness (Carroll, Muller, & Pattison, ; Eaton et al, ). Chronic illness is defined as a disease that is persistent over time (at least 3 months); results in an overall decrease in quality of life; and includes conditions such as asthma, diabetes, and cancer (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, n.d.).…”