A 2015-2016 study from the National Center for Educational Statistics reported that 19% of undergraduate students reported having a disability in the United States. This report also noted this number has increased and is projected to continue increasing. 

Percentage of Disabled Students in Higher Education

Higher education has historically perpetuated ableism, with early instances rooted in the eugenics movement. During this period, academic research was frequently leveraged to determine who was considered "fit" or a "beneficial" member of society, thereby establishing foundational ableist practices in academia.

Historical Role of Eugenics in Academic Ableism

- Percentage of Disabled Students in Higher Education
- Ableism in Academia
- Models of disability used in Universities

University of Wisconsin - Madison

This paper delves into the personal narratives of students with psychological and learning disabilities to discuss how ableism shapes college students' academic experiences. This paper offers possibilities for how applying the tenets of crip theory as discussed in various crip manifestos outlined in work by Alison Kafer, give practical considerations on how to create accessible academic experiences.

Prioritizing Crip Futures: Applying Crip Theory to Create Accessible Academic Experiences in Higher Education

Abrams, E. J., Floyd, C. E., & Abes, E. S. (2024). Prioritizing Crip Futures: Applying Crip Theory to Create Accessible Academic Experiences in Higher Education. Disability Studies Quarterly, 43(4). https://doi.org/10.18061/dsq.v43i4.8270

Abrams, Floyd, and Abes note that they decided to use the words accessible academic experiences because of critiques by other Critical Disability Scholars like Morstadt and Mia Mingus that inclusion is often framed around allowing disabled people to be part of spaces but not fully engage in those spaces and how often inclusion can be framed by non-disabled people by allowing disabled people into a space begrudgingly and then failing on accommodate, or provide access once someone is in the space.

Language Use: Inclusion vs. Access

Abrams et.al. pull from definitions offered from Mia Mingus and Sins Invalid to offer that access is the practice of solidarity toward disabled liberation that aims to fully enact disability justice.

Language Use: Definition of Access

The narratives analyzed in this article are narratives of authors Emily Abrams and Colleen Floyd about their undergraduate experiences. These narratives are framed by a note that Abrams is a white, queer, first-generation, disabled doctoral student and Floyd is a white, disabled, queer woman, who is a master's student. 

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