The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 46, No. 1 - 48

Autumn K. Wilke, Nancy J. Evans, Charlie E. Varland, Kirsten R. Brown, Ellen M. Broido

disability training for staff (Murray, Flannery,
& Wren, 2008), and social integration, which
DaDeppo (2009) defined as the "interaction
between the individual and the social systems
of the institution, including peer groups,
faculty, and administrators, and extracurricular activities" (p. 124). Social integration
describes the extent to which students feel connected with, and cared for by, other people in
the campus community. DaDeppo found that,
after controlling for GPA and other common
characteristics, social integration remained a
significant predictor of intent to persist for disabled students.
In the broader student population, campus
housing plays a critical role in retention by
promoting social integration (Mayhew, Rockenbach, Bowman, Seifert, & Wolniak, 2016).
However, some authors (Patton, Harper, &
Harris, 2015; Stewart & Nicolazzo, 2018) have
demonstrated how concepts in higher education that are typically perceived as valuable
(e.g., student engagement, high impact practices) have roots within White power structures and therefore may be inaccessible to
diverse student populations. Specifically, living
in campus housing may pose ableist challenges; for example, disabled students reported
doing considerable emotional work to make
non-disabled students feel comfortable during
social interactions (Myers & Bastian, 2010).
Other than one study indicating that living on
campus was a significant predictor of first-tosecond-year retention (Mamiseishvili & Koch,
2011), there is little research on social integration for disabled students (Leake & Stodden,
2014). Rather, the literature on the intersection of campus housing and disabled students
has focused primarily on legal topics (e.g.,

The physical facilities of the four
colleges in this study contributed
in important ways to students'
perceptions of their accessibility (or
inaccessibility).

Bauman, Davidson, Sachs, & Kotarski, 2013),
the perspectives of student affairs practitioners (e.g., Vaccaro & Kimball, 2018), and specific disabilities (e.g., Ackles, Fields, & Skinner,
2013). The perspectives of disabled students,
particularly regarding campus housing and
social integration, are absent from the literature on students' out-of-class experiences.
We conducted this research in order to
understand factors that promote integration
of disabled students (Evans et al., 2017). Specifically, we wanted to know how disabled students experienced living on campus. We were
particularly interested in understanding how
campus housing promoted integration for
these students. Thus, we also explored how
they viewed housing accommodations and perceived interactions with residential staff.

CAMPUS HOUSING AND
ACCOMMODATIONS
The vast majority of literature on disabled students centers on the provision of accommodations. The Americans with Disabilities Act
Amendments Act (ADAAA, 2008) requires
that postsecondary institutions provide accommodations to ensure that disabled students
have equal access to services and programs.
Although accommodations are often thought

THE JOURNAL OF COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY STUDENT HOUSING

The Journal of College and University Student Housing - Volume 46, No. 1

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