PPD: Factors Contributing to Success in Recruitment, Retention, & Employment of Eng., Sci., & Computer Sci., Undergraduates & Grad. with Dis. at the Inst. of

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9353085 Seymour The study is designed to identify and examine personal and environmental factors that have supported or discouraged students with Disabilities in entering academic programs and careers in science, mathematics, engineering, and computer science. The investigation seeks to determine why the University of Minnesota's Institute os Technology has been particularly successful in the recruitment, retention, and placement of its students with disabilities in these disciplines and careers. Efforts will be made to distinguish between the factors that originate within the community and those that derive from the structure and culture of the Institute or University. The method of inquiry is based on ethnographic techniques. The study will draw on the cumulative experience, reflections, and recommendations of students and former students with disabilities who have enrolled in the Institute. Fifty juniors and seniors enrolled as full-time students in science, mathematics, engineering, or computer science will be invited to participate in focus group discussions. An additional 20 recent graduates of the institute who have disabilities now successfully employed in their careers, will be interviewed. Verbatim transcripts will be entered into a computer program designed to assist in identifying recurrent themes which subsequently will be used in building a system of domains and hypotheses. The researcher will then develop a set of prioritized recommendations concerning actions that can be taken by 4-year institutions, pre-college educational systems, employers, and other community-based entities to encourage people with disabilities to enter these disciplines and careers. ***