Appendices - Background
The positive impact of postsecondary education on individuals with disabilities is well documented and profound. According to a U.S. Education Department report, students with disabilities who successfully complete four years of college can expect virtually the same positive career and income outcomes as students without disabilities. According to an analysis of the lifetime earning benefits that accrue to those who complete college, reported in the March 1998 edition of Postsecondary Education Opportunity, those students with four years of college on average can expect lifetime earnings of more than $2 million, compared to $1.3 million for those who do not obtain college degrees. One statement in the document stands out: "The only thing more expensive than going to college is not going to college." Other studies confirm that assertion. According to Disability Agenda, the quarterly publication of the National Organization on Disability (NOD), individuals with disabilities with 12 years of education or less can expect to earn just over $19,000 annually, compared to $45,000 for those with 16 years of education or more. As the NOD publication notes: "Greater educational attainment is perhaps the most powerful route to higher employment and earning levels for people with disabilities."
While an education and a higher income are good for individuals with disabilities, they are also good for society at large. According to the New York State Education Department's Office of Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID), individuals with disabilities placed in jobs in State Fiscal Year 1999 made almost $205 million in first year earnings, saving the public almost $23 million in public assistance expenditures. It is not hard to extrapolate from these figures that hundreds of millions of dollars in income and public savings are in play as we consider policies and programs to increase enrollment by individuals with disabilities into postsecondary education.