You offered some excellent points.  As a parent with a child who has a disability and as a past Principal and a University Professor I find many of these points so very important. The social aspect often causes that student to leave college as they don't find a niche, or a way to fit in.  My students here at GCU are offered extended time on work. They usually don't tell me this though until I remind them of missing work.  I think that the students do not like to point out that they have a disability or need more time  I think that we can be more supportive by asking students to contact us in individual forum if they have special provisions. It is also so important for us to know how to help them.  As we continue adapting and offering more help we will keep more students.  They are not their disability and they have so much to offer. 

Great read and a very intriguing topic.  I was particularly interested in reading about students who fail to self-advocate at the university level...makes me wonder about some of my own students and what I can do to better assist them.

Not sure if it's appropriate to do so (my apologies if it's not), but I had a few formatting questions - attaching them in case they're of any use.

Thanks for a good read!

This theoretically-focused article highlights the importance of recognizing that there are college students that do have disabilities that may or may not be recognized or admitted.  Considering that the number of disabilities has dramatically increased in the past several decades, it is imperative that faculty members learn to recognize when failures in the classroom have the potential to be caused by a potential disability that the student just has not recognized or sought assistance for.  In my own experience, students are not always aware that accommodations are available to them.   Instead of seeking assistance through the disability office, they repeatedly submit late assignments, make requests for extra time, or simply do not stay caught up in the classroom.  These are all signals that there may be something more going on that should be explored.  That the article draws attention to those students who do not ask for accommodations as well as the role faculty can play in student success in this area makes it valuable for publication.  One concern I did have with regard to the article related to numerous grammatical and formatting errors.  The article needs to be edited to meet academic writing standards.  Otherwise, I do believe the article is interesting and has merit. 

Hello Rebekah,

I have reviewed your article and entered comments in track changes format as well as summary comments at the end.  This is the first time I am reviewing an article so am unfamiliar with the process.  I hope the comments are helpful to you.

Regards,

Dr. G

Thank you so much for your feedback everyone! This is very helpful.

Hi Rebekah,

Very nicely done with applicable an pertinent information for today's student! Please find the attached review for your consideration.

Thanks,

Dr. Nancy Walker

2/15/18

Hi Rebekah,

As an individual with disability, disability advocate, and disability consultant, I wanted to provide some feedback regarding your theoretical approach and the emphasis on teacher and college responsibilities. As any disability advocate will tell you, adults with disabilities must advocate for themselves to be successful in life, just like adults without disabilities. During childhood, there are systems in place to identify and support the needs of students. As an adult, those systems are significant diminished and support is often monetarily restricted to supporting those with the most significant needs. Anti-discrimination laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) also make it difficult for colleges and businesses to identify someone with a disabilities because it is against the law to ask if they have a disability. As such, adults/college students with disabilities must increase their level of self-efficacy to become successful in the post-secondary setting(s). I have provided several additional citations in my feedback and am available if you would like to discuss further.

Good luck,

Larry

Hi Rebekah,

Your article does a good job of expressing the need to make students with disabilities aware of their resources and rights in an effort to assist them in succeeding in college, and to prepare them for their future beyond graduation where they must advocate for themselves. 

Others have offered comments on the grammatical issues in this writing, thus there is no need for further comments on my part.

I would offer the following for your consideration.

• Inclusion of the specific data to support the trends noted on page 3 should be included - I.e., how much of an increase was seen between 1978 to 1994?
• I have had numerous students with accommodations in my online classrooms, but none have shared the nature of their disability with me. There have been occasions when I have thought that knowledge might help me better assist the student. This may be an area in which SDS might counsel the student to help them, the student, determine if divulging the specifics would be beneficial to their success. 
• Finally, I have personally known high functioning adults who have learning disabilities. Only after they have felt comfortable with my trustworthiness have they shared their situations. Instructors should help students with disabilities prepare for a future of success. Including how this greater goal can be achieved would enhance your article.

Thank you for allowing me to review you article and considering my comments.

Blessings,

Ron Steadman 

I appreciate you bringing up students coming from IEP and 504 backgrounds. In addition to working here at GCU, I work as a school counselor. The way students are often transitioned from HS to higher ed, the students are often unaware of all of their rights and the processes in place to support them. Having sat through many 504 transitions, I try to make those very clear, but I can also see where information may get lost. This is a very relevant topic. Thank you for addressing it. 

Rebekah, this is an overdue topic that needed research. Kudos to you!!! A specialty for my organization (federal government) is a reasonable accommodations coordinator. While it is not required for individuals to notify me of disability, there is an option on the federal application to self-quality under ADA and prospective employees provided the required documents. After that I start the process of ordering the needed equipment for those employees to be successful in the workplace, which is basically anything the employee wants or needs. 

What I have found is there is no advocate for these individuals, many of such do not know who to contact or where to start. ADA recipients often do not want to be treated differently not knowing there is assistance and the goal is to help them be successful and not make a spectacle of their differences. There are tons of information and assistance available to these individuals that state and federal policies allow, the problem is getting the information to the needed population. I have requested my students who fall behind in my online course for various reasons to contact their advisers if the topic of disability/health concern comes up in a post. I notify my students that I will schedule a mentor session regardless of disability or not. 

Very good research, you have peaked my interest in this topic!