The Postsecondary Center will conduct a focused program of research, consisting of multiple studies, to explore factors that affect access to, progress through, and completion of postsecondary education for students with disabilities. Studies conducted by the Postsecondary Center must be exploratory; IES will not support intervention development, measurement, or efficacy work under this competition.

Exploratory research for this competition should examine relationships between student-, educator-, institution-, and/or policy-level characteristics and student academic outcomes as well as factors that influence these relationships. A variety of approaches are appropriate, including (1) primary data collection and analyses, (2) secondary data analyses, (3) meta-analyses that go beyond a simple identification of the mean effect of interventions, or (4) some combination of these. IES also encourages the use of mixed methods research, defined as the integration of qualitative and quantitative methodologies in a single study. Findings from this exploratory research should ultimately help the community of postsecondary administrators, faculty, staff, and researchers better meet the needs of the students with disabilities. Findings should also set the context for new research in this area, for instance by developing improved theories of change and identifying targets for future intervention or assessment.

Examples of research questions:

• What factors support or hinder access to, persistence in, and completion of postsecondary education for students with disabilities?
• What institutional policies and programs and educator practices facilitate student engagement and positive academic outcomes?
• What factors influence students' self-disclosure of disability and decisions around accessing disability-related accommodations and universal supports?
• How do factors such as race/ethnicity, gender, and type of disability influence the experiences and outcomes of postsecondary students with disabilities?
• What are the relationships between different types of postsecondary instruction—such as remedial and developmental education, instruction incorporating universal design principles, or online remote instruction—and the academic outcomes of postsecondary students with disabilities?
• What are the postsecondary experiences of students with intellectual disabilities and other low-incidence disabilities? 

General Requirements: https://ies.ed.gov/funding/pdf/2023_84324C.pdf#page=6

• City or township governments
• County governments
• For profit organizations other than small businesses
• Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
• Nonprofits that do not have a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS, other than institutions of higher education
• Private institutions of higher education
• Public and State controlled institutions of higher education
• Others (see text field entitled "Additional Eligibility Criteria" for clarification)
• Special district governments
• State governments