This paper examines the effect of completing college on increasing employability and earnings, and decreasing reliance on federal subsidies by way of Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance. In collaboration with the Social Security Administration, the study analyzes the economic status of deaf and hard-of-hearing graduates and non-graduates of the Rochester Institute of Technology's National Technical Institute for the Deaf. Findings indicate that graduation from college results in major economic benefits for deaf and hard-of-hearing persons. Baccalaureate graduates in this study will earn about 68 percent more over their working lives than students who attended but withdraw without a degree. Sub-baccalaureate graduates will earn 29 percent more than those who withdraw. With respect to labor force participation, non-graduates experience to 5 times the rate of unemployment as baccalaureate graduates and nearly twice that of sub- bachelor graduates. For the subjects of this study, withdrawals or those denied admission were found to be 2 to 3 times as likely to be receiving benefits from either SSI or SSDl than were graduates. It is abundantly clear that a large percentage of students who do not complete a college degree, continue to depend heavily on the federal government for basic income support throughout their lives.
Walter, G. G., Clarcq, J. R., & Thompson, W. S. (2019). Effect of Degree Attainment on Improving the Economic Status of Individuals Who are Deaf. JADARA, 35(3). Retrieved from https://nsuworks.nova.edu/jadara/vol35/iss3/6