COMPLIANCE OF POSTSECONDARY INSTITUTIONS WITH PROVISIONS FOR DISABLED STUDENTS MANDATED BY THE ARCHITECTURAL BARRIERS ACT OF 1968 AND THE REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973

The purpose of this study was: (1) to determine the extent of compliance of two-year and four-year postsecondary institutions, as perceived by their student services officers, with provisions for disabled students mandated by the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; (2) to identify provisions of the legislation for which steps need to be taken to achieve greater compliance; and (3) to suggest actions needed by federal and educational institutions to secure fuller compliance. A four-page self-administered questionnaire was mailed to a randomly selected study population of 644 student services officers at two-year and four-year accredited postsecondary institutions in the continental United States to elicit their perceptions of the extent to which institutions employing them were complying with selected provisions of the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Four hundred eighty (74.53 percent) individuals completed and returned usable questionnaires. When considered altogether, the 480 institutions, as perceived by their student services officers, were not in full compliance with any one provision of the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 or the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Collectively, the sample of student services officers perceived compliance by their employing institutions to be within the range of "noncompliance" to "full compliance" with the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 and "partial compliance" to "full compliance" with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Significant differences in the extent of compliance with selected provisions of the Architectural Barriers Act of 1968 were found for institutions categorized by institutional type (two-year or four-year), ownership (private or public), and enrollment size. Significant differences regarding the extent of compliance with the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 were found for institutions categorized by institutional type and ownership. Governmental action in the form of monetary assistance would appear necessary for institutions characterized as four-year, private, and/or having small student populations to achieve fuller compliance to the Acts of reference.