Decoupling And Disability At Cornell University

Abstract

This study explores the interactions between students with disabilities and faculty members at the postsecondary level of education. Drawing on Bromley and Powell's (2012) description of decoupling, this work explores the ramifications of means-ends decoupling within organizations as an institutional response to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). This research suggests that problems in the accommodation process for students with disabilities can be traced to loose coupling within organizational subunits, resulting in faculty questioning of the validity of student disability diagnoses when these students register for legally mandated academic accommodations. This work concludes by providing practical suggestions for improving these experiences in future interactions. This study is one of the only articles focusing on students with disabilities and faculty members to combine both quantitative and qualitative research; furthermore, the data collected for this research is vital because it has been collected from participants who were all able to benefit from recent relevant legislation, providing new insight into the lived experience of students with disabilities under the ADA and the subsequent Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act.