CHARACTERISTICS, ENROLLMENT PATTERNS, GRADUATION RATES AND SERVICE USE OF COLLEGE STUDENTS WITH ADHD/LD
Theresa L. Maitland, PhD The Learning Center’s ADHD/LD Services UNC Chapel Hill IRB Approved Study #07-1097
[email protected]
BACKGROUND Brief history IRB reviewed study
Did not constitute human subject research Master set of ADHD/LD students with disability data Obtained high school and UNC records from Office of Research Created de-identified data set
Two private funds supported Erica Richman, Ph.D to serve as research coordinator Many thanks to our collaborators & contributors:
Research Coordinator: Erica Richman Ph.D. Database designer: Steve Robbillard Database consultants: Billie Shambley, Angela Coley and Geeta Menon Leon Hamlet, Registrar’s Office Dr. Lynn Williford, Assistant Provost; Weiguo Jiang, Data Analyst from the Office of Institutional Research: and Dr. Lawrence Rosenfeld from the IRB office were instrumental in the study’s completion.
VERY LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE COLLEGE EXPERIENCES OF STUDENTS WITH ADHD/LD LD/ADHD College Students May have increased rates of academic probation (Heiligenstein et al., 1999)
May have lower GPAs-nearly 1 .0 lower ( Blasé
et al., 2009; Frazier et al., 2007)
May have higher graduation rates (and persistence rates) (Canto et al., 2005;Huber, 2009; Vogel & Adelman 1992)
May have lower overall retention & graduation rates: 11% -50% lower Horn et al., 1999; Greg, 2009; Greenbaum et al., 1995;Lee et al. (2008); Murray et al., 2000)
May have the same graduation rates by may take longer to graduate (Vogel & Adelman 1990, 1992; Jorgeson et al., 2003, Wessel et al., )
OUR VARIABLES Disability Related Diagnosis (LD, ADHD, Both) Amount of ser vice use
Demographics Back ground (Ethnicity, race and countr y of origin) Gender 1 st time Freshmen/Transfer
High School Variables SAT Scores, GPA , Percentile
University Variables Sub-populations (1 st generation, Covenant Scholar, Athlete) Major at Graduation: STEM ver sus Humanities/Social Sciences Cumulative GPA Semesters Enrolled Enrollment Patterns (# of withdrawals, ineligibilities, semesters on probation, academic underloads) Graduated/Not Graduated
ADHD/LD SAMPLE Sample size: n=1938 (1953-2010) n=921 (2002-2010; for comparison analyses) Sample sizes may also vary based on particular analysis
Undergraduates All cleared for services 1976-Sept. 2010 (median of 2001)
ADHD/LD SAMPLE: DIAGNOSES Missing 5% N=91
Both 26%
ADHD 37%
N=508
N=722
LD 32% Total n=1938
N=617
RANDOM SAMPLE N=8994 All Undergraduate Students ADHD/LD removed 2002-2010 Cohorts
RESEARCH QUESTIONS Research Question 1 : Do students in the ADHD/LD Sample have different enrollment patterns than students in the Random Sample Research Question 2: Do the grade point averages of the students in the ADHD/LD sample differ from students in the Random Sample? Research Question 3: Are there differences in the graduation rates between students in the ADHD/LD sample and students in the Random Sample? Research Question 4: Within the ADHD/LD Sample does diagnosis of ADHD, LD or both ADHD/LD impact graduation rate? Research Question 5: Do graduation rates and GPAs of students with ADHD/LD differ based on the frequency of sessions with a Learning Specialist?
STATISTICAL ANALYSES
All descriptive and comparative analyses were performed using StataIC 12 (StataCorp, 2011). Descriptive statistics, including measures of central tendency, cross-tabulations, and chi-squares were used to compare means and characterize the sample with respect to student demographics, high school, and academic success variables. Linear regression, logistic regression, and multi -nomial logistic regression models were employed to examine the relationships among service use, student characteristics, diagnosis, and academic success
COMPARISONS: DEMOGRAPHICS & CHARACTERISTICS
GENDER COMPARISONS:2002-2010 70% 59%
60% 50%
56% 44% 41%
40% 30% 20% 10% 0%
n=400
n=509
n=5338
ADHD/LD
n=3656 RS
Females
Males
BACKGROUND COMPARISONS: 2002-2010 ADHD/LD
