Page 29 - May JSF Report

GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY REPORT
Report to Johnson Scholarship Foundation on Milestone Report MILESTONE 2 REPORT
Prepared by:
Maxine B. Freund, Ed.D. Elizabeth Tuckwiller, Ph.D.
Contributors:
The George Washington University
Doctoral Students:
Aljawharah Aljunaydil, M.Ed.
Karly Ball, M.P.P.
Tiombe Johnson, M.Ed.
This report documents the work of Project RISE, Researching Institutional Support to Employment: A Study of College Graduates with Disabilities. The report is provided to The Johnson Scholarship Foundation (JSF) as part of the terms of a Research Grant Agreement signed with the George Washington University (GW), May 2022.
SUMMARY OF PROJECT
The goal of the research project is to conduct a study that would support the Johnson Scholarship Foundation’s efforts to improve the employment outcomes of people with disabilities through increased access to higher education. The purpose of the study is twofold: 1) to learn about the college and post-college employment experiences of college graduates with disabilities funded by the Foundation; and 2) to gain insights to leverage points that could benefit from the Foundation’s involvement and further the Foundation’s mission.
GW’s grant application to the Foundation proposed a three-phase study. The Milestone 1 report to the Foundation provided a summary of the work undertaken in Phase 1 of the study. Phase 1 activities included attendance at a June JSF meeting with Disability Services (DS) providers. Dr. Freund and Karly Ball, a doctoral student, led a focus group with DS providers during the June JSF meeting in Tampa, FL. Following the June meeting, 60-minute virtual interviews were scheduled with DS providers and SUSF Career Services representatives who responded to recruitment efforts. Transcripts of the 90-minute focus groups and 60-minute individual virtual interviews were analyzed. The following four themes emerged from the data analysis.
• Offices of Disability Resources (ODRs) on the SUSF campuses offer a hub for individuals who identify with disabilities on the campuses. Services provided by the DS offices vary by campus; unfortunately, DS providers cannot provide every requested service to students.
• Career development opportunities for students with disabilities vary widely by institution and are dependent on funding and resource availability.
• Despite institutional differences in logistical coordination, the Johnson Scholarships with matching funds from the State of Florida offer financial benefits to the students and their families.
• Following the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, ODRs, their universities and colleges are moving on, but the impact of COVID lingers for students who identify with disabilities. Some of the impacted students are reported to be recipients of the JSF funding.
We look forward to seeing how these emerging and new themes continue to develop as we approach the next phase of the study and recruitment efforts.
Page 27 HORIZONS