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This research examines the college readiness of Deaf and Hard of Hearing students to determine whether implementing AA degree programs would be ideal, and if this would help boost enrollment numbers, thereby keeping the collegiate institution financially afloat and the reputation that Gallaudet University prepares the D/HH population for the competitive labor market.

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Set up focus groups.
Start interviewing current students about how prepared they think/feel they are for college.
Distribute surveys and ask the hard questions about college readiness.

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college readiness of deaf and hard of hearing students

career preparedness for deaf and hard of hearing students

transition to post-secondary settings for DHH students

educational support for students with disabilities

ACT/SAT prep for deaf students

higher education for deaf students

demographic and achievement characteristics of DHH students

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DISMAL FACTS ABOUT OUR DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING PROSPECTS 

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DISMAL FACTS ABOUT OUR DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING PROSPECTS 

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I have seen more dismal scores on the ACT or SAT reports and poor writing skills than I do of anyone who is deemed college-ready. Alarmed, I started paying attention to the schools I attend and recruit at, more particularly the quality of the teachers and sign language interpreters, the general perception of deafness, and the individual prospects with regard to their auditory level, mode of communication, whether it be in sign language or via the oral method, the social-economic status of the neighborhood in which the school is situated, non-cognitive skills (i.e. confidence and resilience), and whether they wear a hearing aid, a cochlear implant, or not.

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1. What is the best estimate of the number of individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing in postsecondary settings?

2. What is the retention rate at Gallaudet University and at other colleges where D/HH students are enrolled?

3. What is the retention rate of remedial students completing a BA degree at Gallaudet University?

4. How is the Gallaudet University Research Center working with PreK-12 to employ different strategies for college preparation?

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Typically, our students attend National Technical Institute for the Deaf, one of the nine schools at Rochester Institute of Technology, to work on improving reading, writing, and critical thinking skills, while working towards an associates before transferring to our school to obtain a BA degree.  This raises an important question: if a higher  percentage of Gallaudet applicants are scoring below average, would it not make sense to prepare them as well and give them the Gallaudet option?  After all, they account for a large percentage of our community.  They will surely thrive in our ASL-centric community.

My initial research shows that we need more research on whether we need to build associates and career-based certificates programs, but first we need to look at college readiness and figure out where the majority of students is at in terms of academic success, and with that, justify whether we need an associates program.

The median grade equivalent for deaf and hard of hearing seniors is fourth grade. This is due in part to a number of reasons:

1. Deafness is not detected until 2 or 3 years of age, which means a lot of language is missed;

2. Ninety percent of deaf children are born to hearing parents and 75% of the parents do not sign conversationally; and

3. Deaf children do not learn the language incidentally the same way their hearing counterparts do.

This in turn becomes a challenge in terms of attaining jobs, as most require a strong English literacy. All of this impacts Gallaudet University in terms of admission standards and retention.

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The information provided through research would shed light on how underprepared the D/HH students are for college, and how perhaps the ACT and SAT tests for college admission are inappropriate, as English is not exactly their first language. ACT/SAT tests are initially designed for English natives. Should they fall below acceptable scores for admission (which a high percentage is), attending a 4-year college (in this case, Gallaudet) may not be ideal, but a 2-year program might be.

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Gallaudet University’s BA programs are designed with D/HH students in mind when preparing them for the competitive labor market. However, their reading and writing skills are not up to par, and this creates an obstacle when applying for jobs. Should they apply to the AA programs instead, where the expectations of such courses are aligned with their skill level and capability, they may fare better and graduate with an associate’s, and have the right expectations about the existing job market. If they wish to pursue a BA, however, they would need to apply to the program, just like everybody else, but with the understanding they have sufficient skill to handle the college-level work.

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Is Implementing AA Programs at Gallaudet University a Good Idea?

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Is Implementing AA Programs at Gallaudet University a Good Idea?

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By Tami Santimyer

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I admit I'm having trouble finding gaps in the literature because a lot of the areas have been covered, but if I had to choose something, I'd say there's not much information on the retention rate of the remedial students (having arrived at Gallaudet with an ACT test score slightly below 14 in English, but scored very high in math and science) completing a BA degree at GU and what kind of jobs they got as a result of getting their BA degree.