This panel session will share what Drexel University is doing to collaboratively develop best practices and guidelines across the institution's 13 colleges and schools to increase online success for students with disabilities. This panel includes online students and alumni with different disabilities (hearing, visual, speech, cumulative trauma disorder), a Dean, a former program director, and instructional designer.

Research reveals approximately 20% of the general population and 11% of postsecondary students identify as having a disability. However, colleges/universities often share that student reporting is less than what is shared nationally. Therefore, many students with disabilities may not be getting the services they need to succeed in their courses and programs. For online students with disabilities, accessibility and support are critical to early engagement and retention. Therefore, accessibility and support services must be at the forefront when developing marketing, application, matriculation, and course content materials. Web accessibility and support cannot be an afterthought.

This session is divided into three parts. The first part will provide a brief overview of statistics on students with disabilities in higher education and the importance of early student engagement and support services. The second part of this session will provide a student perspective of online education from four students with different disabilities including challenges, successes, and considerations. The third part will provide best practices developed by Drexel University for increasing online student success for students with disabilities as well as recommendations from the four students.