Experiences That Predict Employment for Students With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in Federally Funded Higher Education Programs

Predictor variables

Two types of variables were entered into the analysis of predictors of employment: student characteristics and student experiences. Student characteristic variables were age, gender, race, ethnicity, disability, and ever employed for pay at or above minimum wage prior to the TPSID program. See Table 1 for data on student characteristic variables. Although the purpose of the TPSID model demonstration program was to serve students with ID, some programs served students with autism only or autism plus ID. A minority of students in the sample (n = 39) attending these programs were reported to have other developmental disabilities.

The following aspects of students’ experiences while enrolled in an inclusive higher education program were examined as predictors of employment: (a) If a student attended a 2- or 4-year IHE. Programs were located at either 2-year (i.e., community or junior colleges) or 4-year (e.g., universities) IHEs. Note that the type of institution (2- or 4-year) was not synonymous with the length of the program a student attended. Students who attended both 2- and 4-year IHEs were enrolled from between 1 and 4 years; (b) If a student was dually enrolled at any point during the TPSID program. Dual enrollment refers to enrollment in higher education during the final years of high school while continuing to receive special education services; (c) The number of inclusive course enrollments for a student. Inclusive courses are typical college courses attended by students without IDD. This variable examined the amount of inclusive coursework taken by a student; (d) The number of specialized course enrollments for a student. Specialized courses are courses designed for, and offered only to, students with IDD, often focusing on topics such as life or social skills or career development. This variable examined the amount of specialized coursework taken by a student; (e) If a student took any specialized courses. This variable examined whether students took either any or no specialized courses. We included this binary variable as a similar binary variable was found to be a significant predictor of employment by Qian et al. (2018); (f) If a student lived in IHE housing at any point during their program. Some TPSID programs were located at campuses that offered housing to all students and some created access to IHE housing for students in the TPSID program. This variable examined whether students lived in IHE housing at any point during their program; (g) If the student engaged in any career development experience during the program. Career development was any preparation for employment that is unpaid (e.g., internships, volunteering, or service learning); (h) If the student earned a credential that was available to all students. A credential is a document that proves a person’s achievements at an IHE education (e.g., transcripts or diplomas) or competence/skills in a particular field (e.g., certificates). Available to all students means that the credential is available for both students in a TPSID program and non-TPSID initiatives to earn. This was a binary variable: 1 = student earned a credential that was available to all students or 0 = they did not earn a credential that was available to all students (i.e., 0 = either they did not earn a credential, or they earned a credential that was not available to non-TPSID students); (i) If a student earned a credential that was awarded by the IHE. A credential awarded by the IHE likely means that the credential has been approved through the IHE’s governance structure and is an official offering of the IHE. This was also a binary variable: 1 = student earned a credential that was awarded by the IHE or 0 = they did not earn a credential awarded by the IHE (i.e., 0 = either they did not earn a credential, or they earned a credential awarded by an entity other than the IHE, for example the TPSID program or local educational agency); (j) Obtained a paid job while enrolled in the program. A student was deemed to have obtained a paid job while enrolled in the program if a record was created for a paid job with a start date on or after the date they began the TPSID program. This variable was the criterion variable for research question one and became a predictor variable in research question two due to prior research documenting the predictive relationship between early paid work experience and later work (see Test et al., 2009); (k) The number of years a student attended the TPSID program. This was calculated based on the number of annual records entered for each student; and (l) The year the student exited from the TPSID program. This was determined by the date of exit entered for the student. See Table 2 for data on the binary or categorical variables. Students enrolled in a median of 13.0 courses across their whole program (M = 17.0, SD = 14.2, mode = 4.0, range = 1–67): a median of 4.0 total inclusive courses (M = 6.0, SD = 4.9, mode = 2.0, range = 1–34) and a median of 7.0 specialized courses (M = 11.0, SD = 13.8, mode = 0, range = 0–58). On average each year, students enrolled in a median of 7.5 courses (M = 8.7, SD = 6.2, mode = 2.0, range = .33–17): a median of 2.0 inclusive courses (M= 3.1, SD = 2.5, mode = 1.0, range = .33–17) and a median of 3.5 specialized courses (M = 5.6, SD = 6.1, mode = 0, range = 0–22.5).

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Table 2.

Sample Description: Program Experiences of Students.

Program experience	n	%
Type of institution attended
2-year	245	35.7
4-year	441	64.3
Dual enrollment at any point
Yes	224	32.7
No	462	67.3
Any specialized course enrollments
Yes	442	64.4
No	244	35.6
Obtained a paid job while enrolled in program
Yes	337	49.1
No	349	50.9
Engaged in career development experience at any point
Yes	595	86.7
No	91	13.3
Lived in campus housing at any point
Yes	244	35.6
No	442	64.4
Earned a credential available to all
Yes	174	25.4
No	512	74.6
Earned a credential awarded by the IHE
Yes	504	73.5
No	182	26.5
Had a paid job within 90 days of exit
Yes	252	36.7
No	434	63.3
Number of years students attended
1	206	30.0
2	317	46.2
3	93	13.6
4	64	9.3
5	6	0.9
Year of exit from program
2010–2011	31	4.5
2011–2012	96	14.0
2012–2013	152	22.2
2013–2014	196	28.6
2014–2015	211	30.8

Note. IHE = institution of higher education.

Criterion variables

The two criterion variables were obtaining a paid job while in the program and having a paid job at or within 90 days of exit. A paid job was defined as any type of employment for which the individual was paid. A paid job while in the program was defined as obtaining paid employment on or after the date on which the student began the program. A paid job within 90 days of exit was defined as having a paid job at any point between the date of exit and 90 days thereafter.

Years attended

A higher total number of years attending a TPSID was associated with higher odds of obtaining a paid job at some point while attending a program. This could be because the longer students were enrolled, the more preparation they received and thus they were better prepared to obtain paid employment. Yet, the majority of students attended programs for 2 years or less, and it is not clear the optimal length of attendance that is needed to secure employment. More likely the impact of time in program may have been connected to the kinds of employment activities (unpaid vs. paid) that comprised the students’ early career experiences.

Specialized courses

Specialized courses were found to be a negative predictor of employment during enrollment, as students enrolled in higher numbers of specialized courses had a slight reduction in the likelihood of obtaining a paid job at some point while attending a TPSID program. There are potentially two explanations for this. First, this could be evidence of a bias presented by programs that have higher enrollment in specialized courses. If higher enrollments in specialized classes are due to a belief that students with IDD need special instruction before they are ready for obtaining paid employment, then it is possible that there could be a corresponding lower expectation for paid employment. Second, it is possible that programs enrolling students in a higher number of specialized courses are prioritizing this instruction over time spent supporting students to find paid employment. A greater devotion of staff time to specialized instruction could mean less staff time targeting employment supports such as job development and establishing employer networks.

The continued use of specialized courses in the TPSIDs runs counter to the expressed purpose of the TPSID model demonstration projects which were funded to create inclusive postsecondary experiences. The finding that specialized courses are a negative predictor of another critical TPSID priority, paid employment for students while in college, should lead to some reflection regarding the nature and use of specialized coursework in these programs. Given the use of specialized coursework is prevalent in the TPSID model demonstration projects, further study is needed to ascertain the evidence base for specialized courses, why they are developed, and their impact on other college outcomes.

Credential awarded by the IHE

As mentioned previously, credentials awarded by the TPSIDs varied significantly in terms of who they were offered to and their level of recognition by the IHE. Some of the credentials offered were program-specific, awarded only to students in the TPSID program and not recognized by the host college or university. Other credentials were available both to students within and outside of the TPSID program. A credential that was designated as “awarded by the IHE” meant that the credential likely had been approved through the IHE’s governance structure and was officially recognized as a credential offered by that educational institution. The finding that credentials that were awarded by the IHE were found to be a predictor of employment at exit could demonstrate that such credentials are more effective in helping students with IDD in the job search process or are more widely recognized by employers than TPSID-specific credentials. Employers may be more familiar with the name of the college or university issuing the credential than they are with the name of a TPSID program. This finding suggests current and emerging higher education programs seeking to support postschool employment would benefit from focusing on developing and implementing credentials that are formally awarded and recognized by the issuing IHE.

Type of institution attended

Attending a 4-year IHE increased the odds of having a paid job within 90 days of exit over attending a 2-year IHE. This finding requires some additional explanation about the structure of the TPSID programs. The length of the TPSID program did not always correspond with the type of college or university that hosted the program. Furthermore, the stated length of the TPSID program did not always correspond with the amount of time students were enrolled. Therefore, students attending a 4-year college may have been enrolled in a 2-year TPSID program at that college and may in reality have been enrolled for a different length of time. In fact, of the 441 students in the sample who attended TPSID programs at a 4-year IHE, 312 (71%) attended for 2 years or less. Almost half (48%) of the students attending programs at 2-year colleges attended for only 1 year. It is likely that the type of institution predictor is influenced both by the length of program, as well as the length of student program attendance. Future studies could examine these variables to identify how these factors interact to influence employment outcomes.

Preenrollment paid employment

Early paid work predicting future paid work for young adults with IDD has been documented by a variety of studies (Gold et al., 2013; Test et al., 2009; Wehman et al., 2015). Our findings extend support for this experience into a college setting for students with IDD, demonstrating that both preprogram paid work experience and paid employment experience during enrollment were positive predictors of paid employment at exit. Students entering TPSID programs with paid employment experience were more likely to exit their program with paid employment. However, employment prior to enrollment was not found to be a predictor of employment while enrolled (see Table 3). Therefore, there must be some characteristic of the preprogram employment experiences that later influences student employability.

It is possible that previously held paid employment may have afforded students greater knowledge about their career interests and this knowledge may have influenced the types of career exploration activities and/or related coursework that comprised the student’s course of study. It is also possible that having additional employment experiences on their resume made these students more desirable to employers at exit. However, only 35% of students entering the TPSID had engaged in paid work prior to enrollment, so the majority of students entering TPSIDs had no prior paid work experience. This may be a reflection that paid employment in high school, although consistently cited as an evidence-based predictor of postschool outcomes (Mazzotti et al., 2016; Test et al., 2009) is not consistently prioritized by transition professionals in high school for students with IDD.

Paid employment while enrolled predicting paid employment at exit

Students who obtained a paid job while enrolled in the TPSID program were almost 15 times more likely to have a paid job at exit than those who did not obtain a paid job while enrolled. This finding again supports findings from previous studies that document that paid work experiences predict future paid work experiences (Carter, Austin, & Trainor, 2012; Gold et al., 2013; Wehman et al., 2015). However, this finding also requires some additional exploration as it is not clear the extent of overlap between the paid jobs held by students during enrollment and the paid jobs held by students at exit. We know that a number of students who were employed during their college program retained those jobs after exit. In reviewing the data, we found that of the 252 students who held a paid job within 90 days of exit, 153 (60.7%) continued working in a job they had obtained while enrolled in the TPSID program and these students did not obtain additional employment beyond this previously held job. About 76 students (30.2%) who were not employed on the day of exit obtained employment within 90 days after exiting. The remaining 23 students (9.1%) both continued in jobs they had while enrolled and secured additional jobs after exiting the TPSID program.

Therefore, the predictor of “employment while enrolled” does not necessarily predict a different employment experience post enrollment. This same dynamic could be said of research conducted on other data sets such as NLTS2 that conducted surveys asking about both high school and postschool employment but did not confirm whether any of the post school jobs were in fact acquired after school (Cameto, Wagner, Newman, Blackorby, & Javitz, 2000). Regardless, it is a promising finding that students with IDD who obtained paid employment while enrolled in a TPSID program were able to maintain that employment beyond the point of exit. The exact timing of when those jobs were obtained and the role the TPSID program played in supporting students to obtain or retain those jobs were beyond the scope of this study and remain to be examined.

Why is employment during the program so impactful? Gold et al. (2013) found that offering paid competitive employment to high school youth enrolled in special education programs prior to school exit addressed obstacles related to labor market participation and led to universally high job placement rates of a large sample of youth with disabilities. The authors suggested that the earlier that work opportunities are offered, the more likely it is that youth with disabilities will exit school with a job. Extrapolating this dynamic to college implies that students should be offered the opportunity for paid work as early as possible in their postsecondary program. However, we also found the longer a student was in the program the more likely they would be employed. Given the high rate of engagement in career development and the lower rate of engagement in paid employment, not all TPSIDs prioritized paid employment to the same extent in students’ college experience.

Access to campus housing

On- and off-campus living contributes to a myriad of positive outcomes for college students, enhancing both academic performance and personal and social development (de Araujo & Murray, 2010). Our findings reflect that about a third of students attending TPSIDs lived on campus at some point in their program. Previous reports have reflected that students who accessed housing had higher levels of participation in social activities, such as going out with friends, attending organized events on campus, and attending sporting events; suggesting that housing fosters socialization with peers (Grigal et al., 2016).

In the current study, access to housing was shown to be a negative predictor of employment at exit. Students who accessed campus housing during their TPSID experience were less likely to have paid employment at exit than those who did not access housing. It is also possible that students who were using campus housing were more likely to be from out-of-state or from regions within the state that were further away from the IHE. The necessity of moving back to their home location after completing the program and the time needed to access employment supports after relocating may have been a factor. Given that the 90-day exit data is a very short window of time after exiting a program, this finding may simply reflect the transition period many students leaving college face as they exit and begin their job search. Further exploration of students’ experiences in housing is needed to understand the long-term impact of living on campus for students with IDD in higher education.