The full participation of individuals with disabilities in the economic, political, and social life of the United States is a goal that has driven a great deal of activity over the last 25 or more years. Indeed, advocacy, major legislation such as PL 94-142, and its subsequent editions and reauthorizations and ADA are testimony to the fact that considerable progress has been made. However, individuals with disabilities remain underrepresented in higher education. This is especially true in university education that leads to four-year bachelor's degrees, which is the gateway to most professional, technical, and high-level business careers. Individuals with disabilities who are also members of underrepresented cultural, ethnic, and linguistic groups are even more severely underrepresented in university education.

This project will develop a model program for students with disabilities and for students with disabilities who are also members of underrepresented groups in university education. There are five components proposed for this project:

• special recruitment programs to attract students with disabilities to USU and
• especially those who are members of underrepresented groups,
• an articulated network of on-campus support services for students with disabilities to enhance retention and graduation-including training and technical assistance to faculty in accommodation,
• a cooperative education, career exploration, and job placement support service to help students with disabilities find and obtain employment in their chosen fields, and finally,
• dissemination of information about the project to other institutions of higher education in such a way as to help interested colleges and universities replicate all or part of the program.