Pathways to Trinity:
The Disabled Student Journey – a new transition model is
emerging
Alison Doyle, Declan Reilly, Declan Treanor
DS background
• The Disability Service currently supports 911 students
with a disability with a retention rate of 93%; in
addition 66% of graduands with a disability achieved
a first class or upper second class degree last year;
• 346 student registered with the service in 2011-12;
• 240 students graduated in 2011-12;
• Demographics – all countries represented except
Derry (51% Dublin);
• International students – 11% with 16 countries
represented (UK 5%, USA 2%...)
Disability profile
• Breakdown by disability type differs from national data
(Ahead 2011);
• Dyslexia (SpLD) 34% (60%);
• Mental Health 17% (9%);
• S O Illness 10% (10%)
• Physical 10% (7%);
• ADHD 7% (2%)
• Asperger’s Syndrome 4% (2%)
• Deaf/HH 4% (3%)
• Blind/VD 2% (2%)
Shift from Reactive
Model
Proactive Model
The Student Journey
Pathway to
College
Stage 1:
Pre-entry,
admission and
the first year
experience.
Pathway
through
College
Stage 2:
Building and
maintaining
a college
career.
Pathway to
employment
Stage 3:
Transition to
further study
or
employment
Disability Service Outreach, Transition, Retention and Progression
Plan 2011 – 2014
Policy context
National Policy – HEA Access Plan 2008-2013
TCD Strategic Plan - 2009-2014, TCD Access Plan 2009-13
The OECD (2011) final review of international policy and practice for
students with disabilities engaging in higher education and / or
employment activities post-secondary school.
•
•
•
•
Promoting equity as a responsibility of educational institutions
Empowering second level students and schools to ensure inclusion
Promoting an education system that focuses on every student’s success
Making a move towards integrated transition systems
Stage I – Pre-entry &
1st year experience
The Student Journey
Pathway to
College
Stage 1:
Pre-entry,
admission and
the first year
experience.
Pathway
through
College
Stage 2:
Building and
maintaining
a college
career.
Pathway to
employment
Stage 3:
Transition to
further study
or
employment
Disability Service Outreach, Transition, Retention and Progression
Plan 2011 – 2014
Stage 1: Pathway to
College
Disability
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Asperger's
Syndrome /
Autism
36
76
68
94
129
ADHD
40
107
70
114
148
Blind / VI
24
54
36
36
42
Deaf / HoH
67
110
70
77
68
Dyspraxia
32
74
88
143
151
Mental
Health
49
115
89
129
206
17
94
62
94
92
178
72
189
226
247
1152
1560
1108
1197
1221
Physical
Disability
Significant
Ongoing
Illness
SpLD
DARE applications 2008 - 2012
Transition
planning
tools
Targeted
participation
Skills
development
Successful adjustment
Pathways to Trinity: a modelled pre-entry and first year initiative to
support disabled students in the process of transition from school
to college.
http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/assets/
documents/what-works-studentretention/What_Works_Compendium
_Effective_Practice.pdf
Pathways to Trinity
(www.tcd.ie/pathways-to-trinity)
1) Act as a repository for
information relevant to all
aspects of the application and
admissions process for students
with disabilities.
2) Provide access to study skills
and assistive technology
resources which will facilitate a
level of academic competency
and confidence around transition
into the first year of college.
2) identify issues related to
transition from senior cycle
education.
Research
• Concurrent-transformative-triangulatedconvergent Mixed Methodology.
• Equal quantitative and qualitative weighting.
• Merged results from two sequential phases.
Respondents n = 71
Respondents n = 43
Respondents n = 1
Academic
‘readiness’
http://www.palgrave.com/skills4studycampustaster/An_introduction.html
Transition support
workshops
Monthly workshops, Wednesday 2pm – 4pm, 6th year students and
parents October 2011 – May 2012.
Opportunities to:
•
•
•
•
•
Explore the nature of their own learning style,
Develop effective study skills,
Actively partake in planning their own transition to college,
Navigate through the Disability Access Route to Education (DARE)
process,
Succeed during the exam period including effective use of reasonable
accommodations, exam technique and stress management techniques.
Schedule September 2012
Date
Wednesday 19th
September 2012
Workshop
Planning your transition to college. Subject choices in
LC.
Meet the Student’s Union Officers.
Wednesday 24th
October 2012
Learning styles and using the SMART approach to study
and revision http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria
Wednesday 21st
November 2012
Organising your study time: pacing, planning and
procrastination, goal setting. Individual study timetable
for all subjects.
Wednesday 12th
December 2012
Introduction to revision checklists. Using exam
accommodations, answering the question paper
effectively, understanding the marking schemes.
Wednesday 16th
January 2013
Applying to DARE and the CAO. Choosing college
courses.
Wednesday 4th April Exam stress, relaxation techniques, setting up an
2012
effective study environment.
Transition assessment and
planning tool
https://blogs.tcd.ie/pathwaysto-trinity/
Stage II – Retention
and Progression
The Student Journey
Pathway to
College
Stage 1:
Pre-entry,
admission and
the first year
experience.
Pathway
through
College
Stage 2:
Building and
maintaining
a college
career.
Pathway to
employment
Stage 3:
Transition to
further study
or
employment
Disability Service Outreach, Transition, Retention and Progression
Plan 2011 – 2014
Stage 2: Pathway
through College
Stage 2. Building and maintaining a
college career … striking a balance
Support
Declan Reilly
Independence
Support
Supports for students with disabilities are defined by
policies and practices which provide reasonable
accommodations at individual, course and College level.
Independence
• Independence is defined as greater self autonomy in
decisions which affect a student.
• Striking a balance between ‘providing support’ and
‘encouraging independence’ need not be a conflict of
interests if the supports offered adjust to the student’s
needs as they proceed through College.
Retention and
Progression
Retention and progression are recognised as
important outcome measures of higher education
internationally (Tinto,1993), (Yorke,1999), (HESA,
2011), (Seidman,2012).
DS Policy over 10
years
• Responded to the needs of students over the short to
medium term (up to 6 months).These practical
supports were successful in assisting students and
developing the service.
• But policy neglected problems prior to 3rd level, limited
scope for independence and neglected issues of
employment.
• New policy is to continue to provide supports to
students with disabilities but develop new initiatives in
line with the 3 stages of transition into, through and
from TCD.
Retention in TCD
The retention rate of students in TCD is 85% annually.
The retention rate of students with a disability in TCD is
93%.
Overall, more students withdraw from College after
attempting to repeat JF year than withdraw during
their first year!
www.tcd.ie/vpcao/council/senior-lecturer-reports.php
Persistence and
disability
• Students with mental health difficulties or who are
Deaf or hard of hearing are most likely to withdraw.
Students with ADHD, DCD or who are blind or visually
impaired are least likely to withdraw.
• 9.5% of students with disabilities are international
students compared to 21.5% of the general student
population in TCD.
• Students with disabilities from the US are more likely
to withdraw than students with disabilities from the UK
by a ratio of 7 to 1
Grade comparison
• Students with disabilities in TCD are less
likely to achieve a 1st or 2.1 exam result and
more likely to achieve a 2.2 or pass.
• Reasons: supports are more sought after by
students who are at risk of failing and the
facility to repeat on medical grounds is more
likely to be taken up by students with
disabilities
In common with
other HEIs*…
• Students are more likely to leave in their first year.*
• Students with disabilities are more likely to take
longer to graduate.*
• Students with disabilities are more likely to graduate
than their non disabled peers.
*Students with Disabilities Tracking Report – 2005 intake
Students with
disabilities in TCD...
• ..have a higher rate of retention and course
completion than their peers.
• ..with a mental health difficulty have the highest risk of
withdrawing.
• ..are more likely to take longer to complete their
degree.
• ..are more likely to attain grades of 1 and 2.1 in
proportionately lower numbers than their peers.
Develop new
systems
• Early identification: pathways website, DARE, needs
assessment.
• Identify ‘at risk’ students based on previous students
in TCD with difficulties.
• Work with other areas in TCD to enhance current
supports.
• Develop new systems to reflect new DS strategies.
• Self assessment system to alert students to seek
support.
• Improved data management to enable greater student
autonomy i.e. Student ownership of supports.
• Anticipate needs as students progress.
• Academic skills modules.
Stage III – T2E
The Student Journey
Pathway to
College
Stage 1:
Pre-entry,
admission and
the first year
experience.
Pathway
through
College
Stage 2:
Building and
maintaining
a college
career.
Pathway to
employment
Stage 3:
Transition to
further study
or
employment
Disability Service Outreach, Transition, Retention and Progression
Plan 2011 – 2014
Stage 3: Pathway
into employment
Aims
1. To investigate the experiences of disabled
students in transitioning into employment.
2. To evaluate the transition to employment tool and
determine if it will work in a university to
employment setting.
3. To critique employer issues in the employment of
disabled graduates and determine national policy
issues required to allow for greater employment
opportunities.
Lack of data
• HEA First Destination Report (FDR) does not ask any
specific disability questions;
• Data is gathered in different ways amongst the few
HEIs that do so;
• UCC, UL & TCD: ‘Were you a student with support
requirements (for example disability)’. Yes/No
response choice.
FDR 2010 TCD
• Total completed 1, 743 (59%).
• 85 (2.9%) were disabled graduates.
• Of this group:
–
–
–
–
–
29% did not respond
39% were in employment
25% were in further study
2% were not available for work
5% were seeking employment
• Graduates with disabilities more likely to go into
employment (55% against 42% of total final year
cohort) but less likely to go into further study (35%
against 49% of total final year cohort);
• There is a slight difference in unemployment rate, with
7% of graduates with disabilities seeking employment
compared to 5% of total final year cohort.
EU –
Leonardo Project
Project aims
Develop an employment support and guidance
assessment tool for students with disabilities which
combines success in higher education and access to
employment.
Key Employment
Needs
Interview Preparation
and Skills
Dealing With
Disclosure
Student
Employment
Needs
Application
Preparation
•Cover Letters
•CV Preparation
Reasonable
Accommodations
and Information on
Funding
Fitness to Practice
Identifying
Potential Employers
Success of Project to Date
• Employment Offers
TCD
UCC
Mentoring Phase/Undecided
2
2
Job Offer
11
9
Internship
2
Total
15
11
Proactive structure:
strategic plan
The Student Journey
Pathway to
College
Stage 1:
Pre-entry,
admission and
the first year
experience.
Pathway
through
College
Stage 2:
Building and
maintaining
a college
career.
Pathway to
employment
Stage 3:
Transition to
further study
or
employment
Implement – Review - Develop
• Paper and presentation downloadable
at:
• http://www.tcd.ie/disability/banner/Links/
Conf-papers.php