International Students who Use Disability Services Report Satisfaction at U.S. Universities

When it comes to supporting international students with disabilities studying in the United States, how are we doing?

In a recent survey, 5% of the international students to the U.S. said they use disability services.

The majority (88%) of these students reported they are satisfied with overall learning, living and support services overseas. This is the same as other USA-destination international students in the survey who do not use disability services. They also report a satisfaction rating of 94% with disability services, 93% with counselling, and 90% with learning support while in the United States.

International students in the U.S. who use disability services are least satisfied (67-75%) with housing/living costs and with financial support/earning money, though are more satisfied when compared to other international students at U.S. universities in the survey (56-66%). They also are more satisfied (over 10% greater) with making host friends, career services and work experience.

Students with disabilities worldwide who are trying to decide what country to choose for their higher education degree, can find some useful information from this survey.

Among students who use disability services and are studying outside their home countries, those studying in the United States rated higher the following:

• Overall learning, living and support (2% higher) and disability support (2%)
• Employability (6% higher), careers advice (6%), teaching opportunities (9%), chance to earn money (10%) and work experience (10%)
• Course organization and performance feedback (each 7% higher)
• Sports facilities (9% higher) and Internet access (7%)

The only areas where the U.S. rated less satisfaction (3% lower) included: "good place to be", safety and transportation.

This information is from i-graduate’s International Student Barometer 2010, a globally benchmarked study of international students.

Each category is based on at least 430 international students in the U.S. who use disability services. There were 230 bachelor, 143 masters/professional, and 108 doctoral students in the survey who said they use disability services and studied at U.S. university.

Comparison groups included: at least 3700 international students who use disability services studying in other countries and at least 7300 international students in the U.S. who do not use disability services.