Institutional supports and access inequities for deaf college students

Deaf college students frequently encounter postsecondary environments where access is delivered through accommodations rather than through structural inclusion. This study investigates how deaf students experience three validated dimensions of campus climate, accommodating learning environments (ALE), campus connectedness (CC), and deaf-affirming climate (DAC), using data from 193 students at broad-access U.S. institutions. Descriptive, inferential, and exploratory modeling analyses show ALE is rated more positively than CC or DAC, with DAC emerging as the lowest-rated dimension, indicating persistent gaps between compliance-based access and meaningful inclusion. Nonbinary and transgender students reported significantly lower campus ratings than cisgender peers. Deaf-specific supports, particularly dedicated tutors and advisors, were the strongest predictors of higher campus ratings, whereas graduate student status and attending college near home predicted lower ratings. Findings underscore the need for proactive, relational, and culturally responsive institutional practices that reduce student burden and foster access, belonging, and identity.