Nearly a fifth of college students say they have a disability

Some 18 per cent of college students state that they have a disability such as a learning difficulty, psychological condition or other form of impairment.

The findings are contained in a Higher Education Authority (HEA) study which is the first profile of students with a disability in higher education in Ireland based on a survey of undergraduate students over the past three years.

Of the 18 per cent of overall students who stated they had a disability, the most common were learning conditions (37 per cent) followed by psychological/emotional conditions (31 per cent), multiple conditions (14 per cent), other conditions (13 per cent), physical disabilities (3 per cent) or blind/deaf (2 per cent).

The survey shows the Institute of Art, Design and Technology in Dún Laoghaire and Dublin’s National College of Art and Design have the highest proportion of students with disabilities (both 35 per cent), followed by Atlantic Technological University Sligo (31 per cent) and South East Technological University, Carlow (28 per cent).

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Colleges with the lowest proportion of students with disabilities included University of Limerick (7 per cent), University of Galway (9 per cent) and Mary Immaculate College in Limerick (11 per cent).

While male students make up a majority of those with learning conditions, women outnumber men in all other categories.

Just 28 per cent of new entrants with a disability say they entered higher education through an access route known as Dare (Disability Access Route to Education), which allows students entry to courses on lower CAO points requirements.

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A large proportion enter through end-of-school exams (42 per cent), while others enter through further education or post-Leaving Cert courses (9 per cent).

Arts and humanities is the most common field of study for new entrants with a disability, while business, administration and law is the least common.

Socioeconomic differences exist between new entrants with different types of disability, the report shows.

Those with a physical condition are more likely to be living in disadvantaged areas (14 per cent) compared to the general student population (10 per cent).

Those with a blind/deaf condition are less likely to be from disadvantaged areas, with 7 per cent of these students living in more deprived areas.

Wicklow has the highest rate of new entrants with a disability, at 23 per cent, while Cavan and Limerick have the lowest at 12-13 per cent.

The HEA study says understanding the profile of students with a disability is pivotal to improve equity of access and to promote accessibility to third-level education for all.

The data was gathered from a voluntary survey disseminated to first-year students in HEA-funded institutions. Almost three in four full-time undergraduate new entrants responded.

These questions were asked as part of the registration process at the start of the academic year and are conducted by the institutions and returned to the HEA.

The authority said the surveys are a vital source of information to measure progress on national targets, aimed at improving equity of access to higher education, and to develop the evidence base and inform policy in this area.