What’s Driving the Spike in College Students with Disabilities

Universities from Harvard to Hampshire have admitted significantly more students with disabilities over the last decade, as diagnoses for A.D.H.D. and anxiety increase

By Mark Arsenault and Steven Rich of The New York Times. Excerpts:

"The number of college students reporting disabilities rose more than 50 percent over the last decade"

this "meant an increase in the number of students requiring accommodations, such as more time to take tests"

"it has raised worries that some could be gaming the system"

"The proliferation in accommodation plans, known as 504 plans after a section of federal law that prohibits discrimination based on disability, has made even the most academically rigorous universities more welcoming to students with disabilities."

"What is causing the increase is not entirely clear, but experts named a number of factors, including a rise in A.D.H.D. and autism diagnoses, as well as an uptick in diagnoses of severe anxiety, particularly since the Covid pandemic."

"Many of the college students arrive on campus after having a 504 designation in their high school years; data shows those accommodations are offered more liberally in affluent areas."

"Macalester College, a private liberal arts school in St. Paul, Minn., reported that 29 percent of students in 2024 had a disability, up from 5 percent a decade ago."

"Harvard recently established a centralized testing facility for students requiring accommodations during exams, so that professors do not have to scramble to find rooms for students who need them, said Steven Pinker, a Harvard professor of psychology.

Dr. Pinker added that as more people cite disabilities, the label “is being stretched into meaninglessness.”"

"“Everyone benefits from more time and fewer distractions, though to varying degrees along a continuum,” Dr. Pinker said"