Eastern has declined in number of undergraduate and high school dual credit students registered with disabilities from this fall semester at 4.9%, 340 students, from last fall with approximately 6 percent, 415 students.

In fall 2021, Eastern had 6 percent of students registered with disabilities to the Office of Student Disability Services. However, for fall 2022, the count dropped by approximately 75 students. Yet, Eastern’s 10th count day numbers showed an increase from fall 2021 to fall 2022 with 13 more students.

There is also a decrease in students registered with mobility disabilities from fall 2022 to fall 2015. In fall 2015, there were seven students registered with mobility disabilities, while this year there are only four. This accounts for, of the 340 registered disabled students, only 1.18% have mobility disabilities.

In comparison with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s fall 2021 numbers to Eastern’s 2022 numbers, Eastern has a significant decrease in the percentage of mobility disabled students. 

U of I Urbana-Champaign had 6.6% of undergraduate students with disabilities in 2021, 5.7% in 2018 and 4.7% in 2017. In 2021, there were 2,233 disabled students with 6.4%, 142 students, having mobility disabilities.

If Eastern was equal to U of I Urbana-Champaign fall 2021 numbers this year, there would be approximately 22 students on campus with mobility disabilities.

For 2018, Eastern had around 3 percent, 181, of students registered with disabilities and 4 percent, around 223 students, in 2017.

Then for 2018, U of I Urbana-Champaign had 5.7% of undergraduate students with disabilities, and of those 9.4%, 181 students, had mobility disabilities.

In 2017, U of I Urbana-Champaign had 4.7% of undergraduates registered with disabilities with 10.3%, 164, having mobility disabilities. 

Without knowing Eastern’s exact numbers for disabled students with mobility disabilities and going off estimations of U of I Urbana-Champaign’s percentages and Eastern total number, Eastern should have had approximately 33 students registered with mobility disabilities in 2018 and 27 in 2017.

In comparison with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign’s fall 2021 numbers with Eastern’s 2021 numbers, Eastern has a significant decrease in mobility disabled students. 

In 2021 to match U of I, Eastern would need to have had approximately 28 mobility disabled students. Based on mobility disabled student numbers from 2022 and 2015, this is extremely unlikely.

In comparison with other Illinois public universities, other universities mostly showed an increase in the portion of disabled students in 2021 compared to 2018 or 2017.

Illinois State University had 6 percent of registered students in 2021, 4 percent in 2018 and 5 percent in 2017.

Northeastern Illinois University had 5 percent in 2021, 5 percent in 2018 and 3 percent in 2017.

Northern Illinois University had 5 percent for all three years.

Southern Illinois University Carbondale had better recent numbers compared to its Edwardsville campus with 5 percent in 2021, 4 percent in 2018 and 3 percent in 2017.

Like previously stated, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville had a smaller proportion of disabled students. In 2021, there were less than 3 percent of disabled students, in 2018 3 percent and in 2017 5 percent.

University of Illinois Springfield had 3 or less percent of disabled students in 2021, and 3 percent in both 2018 and 2017.

Western Illinois University had seven percent  of its students registered as disabled in 2021, and 5 percent in both 2018 and 2017.

Numbers from 2021 were provided through the National Center for Education Statistics, and numbers from 2017 and 2018 were reported by the Illinois Board of Higher Education.

Madelyn Kidd can be reached at 581-2812 or at denewsdesk@gmail.com.