Enabling Successful Transitions to Higher Education for Students with Disabilities

Seth Vuletich; Brianna B Buljung; Adeline Greene

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Conference: 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition
Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Publication Date: June 22, 2025
Start Date: June 22, 2025
End Date: August 15, 2025
Conference Session: Engineering Libraries Division (ELD) Technical Session 2
Tagged Division: Engineering Libraries Division (ELD)
Tagged Topic: Diversity
Page Count: 25
Permanent URL: https://peer.asee.org/56343

Paper Authors

biography

Seth Vuletich Colorado School of Mines orcid.org/0000-0002-7086-8687

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Seth Vuletich is the Scholarly Communications Librarian the Colorado School of Mines. Seth provides specialized support to graduate students through all stages of the research lifecycle. Prior to entering the field of librarianship, Seth was a professional woodworker and earned a bachelor's degree in geology from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Seth earned his Master's in Library and Information Science from the University of Denver in 2021.

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Brianna B Buljung Colorado School of Mines orcid.org/0000-0002-3376-0757

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Brianna is the Teaching and Learning librarian at the Colorado School of Mines. She collaborates with faculty to design and implement information literacy throughout the curriculum. Prior to her work at the School of Mines, she was the Engineering and Computer Science Librarian at the US Naval Academy and a contract Reference Librarian assigned to the National Defense University. She earned her MLIS at the University of Denver in 2011 and is currently pursuing a PhD in Information Science at the University at Buffalo.

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Adeline Greene Colorado School of Mines

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Abstract

Background – The transition into higher education from high school presents numerous challenges for students with disabilities. In the United States, regulatory support changes dramatically in this transitional period; students who could previously rely on accommodations guaranteed under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) now must rely solely on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which guarantee fewer educational accommodations. Purpose/Hypothesis - Unique challenges with accessibility in STEM disciplines contribute to a disparity in persistence between students with disabilities and their peers. Libraries are uniquely positioned to provide resources and foster inclusive learning that supports academic success for students with disabilities through their cross-disciplinary involvement in information, technology, and student support. This paper critically examines the literature around the transition to college for students with disabilities to extract meaningful ways libraries can contribute to academic success for students with disabilities entering higher education. Method/Design/Scope – We used advanced search techniques to identify candidate articles related to the transition to higher education for students with disabilities in Web of Science (n=1152). We then used Biblioshiny (an R package) to conduct bibliometric analysis and visualize trends in the literature. Finally, using the most influential of the results, we identified themes that libraries can use to contribute to the academic success of students with disabilities. Results –We evaluated the composition of the dataset, determining the most highly cited authors and publications related to this topic. We also used theme analyses to identify terms that have increased or decreased in usage over time. The results can also provide insights into future research directions related to the transition to higher education for students with disabilities. Conclusions – Our analysis yielded several insights for librarians in higher education, including focus on universal design in both instruction planning and space allocation, opportunities for outreach and engagement with campus entities supporting students with disabilities, and critical evaluation of the terminology used in resource description and access.

Citation
Format

Vuletich, S., & Buljung, B. B., & Greene, A. (2025, June), Enabling Successful Transitions to Higher Education for Students with Disabilities Paper presented at 2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Montreal, Quebec, Canada . https://peer.asee.org/56343

TY  - CPAPER
AB  - Background – The transition into higher education from high school presents numerous challenges for students with disabilities. In the United States, regulatory support changes dramatically in this transitional period; students who could previously rely on accommodations guaranteed under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) now must rely solely on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which guarantee fewer educational accommodations.
Purpose/Hypothesis - Unique challenges with accessibility in STEM disciplines contribute to a disparity in persistence between students with disabilities and their peers. Libraries are uniquely positioned to provide resources and foster inclusive learning that supports academic success for students with disabilities through their cross-disciplinary involvement in information, technology, and student support. This paper critically examines the literature around the transition to college for students with disabilities to extract meaningful ways libraries can contribute to academic success for students with disabilities entering higher education.
Method/Design/Scope – We used advanced search techniques to identify candidate articles related to the transition to higher education for students with disabilities in Web of Science (n=1152). We then used Biblioshiny (an R package) to conduct bibliometric analysis and visualize trends in the literature. Finally, using the most influential of the results, we identified themes that libraries can use to contribute to the academic success of students with disabilities.
Results –We evaluated the composition of the dataset, determining the most highly cited authors and publications related to this topic. We also used theme analyses to identify terms that have increased or decreased in usage over time. The results can also provide insights into future research directions related to the transition to higher education for students with disabilities.
Conclusions – Our analysis yielded several insights for librarians in higher education, including focus on universal design in both instruction planning and space allocation, opportunities for outreach and engagement with campus entities supporting students with disabilities, and critical evaluation of the terminology used in resource description and access.
AU  - Seth Vuletich
AU  - Brianna B Buljung
AU  - Adeline Greene
CY  - Montreal, Quebec, Canada 
DA  - 2025/06/22
PB  - ASEE Conferences
TI  - Enabling Successful Transitions to Higher Education for Students with Disabilities 
UR  - https://peer.asee.org/56343
ER  -