California community college administrators' perception and understanding of the needs of students with disabilities to access the learning environment

The increasing number of students attending postsecondary educational institutions makes it essential for college administrators to have the knowledge they need to effectively lead their campus to serve a diverse population, including the student with a disability. Administrators must possess the knowledge of legislation, legal precedence, and current procedures for providing services to students with disabilities. This study examined the knowledge and determined training and resources needed for college administrators to guide their campus in serving this population.; This study compared and contrasted the level of knowledge regarding serving students with disabilities, interest in receiving more information on accommodations for students with disabilities, and types of training and resources that should be made available about serving students with disabilities as self-reported by California community college Disabled Students Programs and Services directors and other administrators.; A one-way ANOVA found there was no statistical significance in two sub-questions investigating the “level of knowledge” of Directors and Administrators regarding support services mandated by legislation, F (1, 135) = 3.42, p = .0667 and F (1, 135) = .67, p = .4128. However, incorrect responses indicated there was a need for training. There were a number of questions marked incorrectly, which indicates a need for training in disability specific “accommodations,” “institutional commitment to a barrier free access,” and the “Americans with Disabilities Act.”; Statistical differences were found when conducting a one-way ANOVA to reveal differences for both Directors and Administrators on two sub-questions regarding how necessary it is to inform themselves and others about policies and procedures for accommodating students with a disability, F (1, 130) = 123.86, p = .0001 and F (1, 122) = 76.21, p = .0001. Both groups indicated training resources, such as “faculty handbook about students with disabilities” and “guides to developing accessible websites” would be helpful.; Recommendations for future research are to expand the study to include four-year institutions and institutions in other states. The impact of this study will be to strongly encourage community colleges to provide administrators the training and resources to lead their institutions in meeting the legal mandates of serving students with disabilities.