Postgraduate students with disabilities - how are they getting on? Postgraduate Lives—Challenges and Opportunities in Postgraduate Support and Education May 9th 2019 Dr Declan Reilly

Outline UG and PG Students with disabilities in HE in Ireland   UG and PG Students with disabilities in HE in Ireland UG and PG Students with disabilities in Trinity Why are there fewer PG students with disabilities? UG and PG outcomes by disability type Challenges facing PG students with disabilities

UG and PG Students with disabilities in HE in Ireland – Ahead 2019 https://www.ahead.ie/userfiles/files/shop/free/Numbers%20of%20Students%20with%20Disabilities%20Studying%20in%20Higher%20Education%20in%20Ireland%202017-18.pdf

UG and PG Students with disabilities in Trinity – DS 16/17 to 18/19

UG and PG Students with disabilities in Trinity – DS 15/16 to 17/18 https://www.tcd.ie/disability/assets/doc/pdf/Annual-report-statistics/17-18/DS_KPIs_Statistics_2017_2018.pdf

Postgraduates with disabilities 2018-19

Postgraduates with disabilities by faculty 2018-19

Postgraduates with disabilities by country 2018-19

Why are there fewer PG students with disabilities? Additional time and cost of additional time (in years) spent at UG level – students applying at UG level via DARE are 1 year older than the CAO average Less time and energy available to work part time – pay for PG fees No access route to PG education (like DARE) Higher non completion rate of some disability categories; deaf/hard of hearing, mental health and ASD Less need of specific supports (such as exam accommodations for PG courses that don’t have written examinations) Having completed at UG level – many students with disabilities learn to better self manage and rely on less supports – less need for supports

PG participation by disability type Comparison – current UG and PG students by disability type - May 2019   PG Current % of total UG Current ADHD 11 5% 113 7% ASD 59 4% 103 Blind VI 6 2.5% 29 2% Deaf HoH 3 1% 34 DCD 5 75 Mental Health 44 18% 390 26% Neurological 9 70 Physical 32 13% 80 Significant Ongoing Illness 36 15% 233 16% Specific Learning Difficulty 86 35% 354 24% 238 1481

PG and UG participation by disability type 2018-19

Undergraduate outcomes by disability type Data for graduates and withdrawn UG students by student number 2005 to 2017   Graduates (Grad) Withdrawn (WD) Total: Grad & WD % Grad of Total ADHD 75 20 95 79% ASD 47 17 64 73% Blind VI 25 3 28 89% Deaf HoH 60 26 86 69% DCD 42 5 Mental Health 308 145 453 68% Neurological 49 7 56 87% Physical 115 24 139 83% Significant Ongoing Illness 193 41 234 82% Specific Learning Difficulty 602 118 720 84% 1516 406 1922

Postgraduate outcomes by disability type Data for graduates and withdrawn PG students by student number 2005 to 2017   Graduates (Grad) Withdrawn (WD) Total: Grad & WD % Grad of Total ADHD 21 4 25 84% ASD 12 3 15 80% Blind VI 19 79% Deaf HoH DCD 6 100% Mental Health 58 17 75 77% Neurological 11 1 92% Physical 44 8 52 85% Significant Ongoing Illness 50 86% Specific Learning Difficulty 184 22 206 89% 422 71 493

Challenges facing PG students with disabilities Common PG Challenges: isolation, stress, conflict with supervisor, finances, lack of work/life balance, time management, lack of personal support, lack of institutional support, concern for the future, motivation https://inomics.com/insight/10-biggest-struggles-of-phd-students-610514 The Irish Survey of Student Engagement for Postgraduate Research Students http://studentsurvey.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/ISSE-PGR-Report- 2018final.pdf

Disability specific challenges: Direct impact of disability on course: attendance and academic work Indirect impact of disability on course (exacerbation of all of the common PG challenges above) Disclosure to department/school Requesting Reasonable Accommodations Resolving issues related to impact of disability or accommodations Issues with meeting deadlines & managing workload Employment – transition to employment

Supports for Postgraduates at Trinity

Thank you Dr Declan Reilly Disability Service Trinity College Dublin reillyde@tcd.ie