Dr. Bertha Davis

Assistant Dean for Research/Professor
School of Nursing
Hampton University

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Determining the Extent to which Colleges and Universities Provide Equal Opportunities to Eligible Disabled Students from Urban and Poverty Areas

The purpose of this study is to determine the extent to which equal opportunities are provided to eligible disabled students from urban and poverty areas by colleges and universities. Colleges and universities nationwide adhere to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This research will investigate if all reasonable accommodations have been made in four-year colleges and universities in the United States receiving federal funding to eradicate discrimination and promote equal opportunities to handicapped persons. The following questions will be asked (1) What academic program modifications have been made to accommodate the needs of disabled students for program accessibility? (2) What auxiliary aids have been provided to assure total program accessibility? (3) What changes have been made to make programs physically accessible to disabled students? The sample will consist of four-year colleges and universities in the United States participating in Federal Financial Aid programs. Questionnaires will be mailed to participating colleges and universities utilizing a stratified random sampling approach. A panel of experts will review for content validity the questionnaire designed by the researcher. Summary statistics will be used to analyze these data.