Don’t miss the latest from CHEPP. Sign up for our quarterly newsletter here.
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month, a reminder that the promise of higher education is not simply access to learning but access to opportunity.
Every learner deserves the chance to build new skills, pursue their goals and create a better future for themselves and their families. For learners with disabilities, success depends on more than opening the door to higher education. It requires accessible systems, supports and experiences that make it possible to fully participate and thrive from enrollment through graduation and beyond. It requires participants across our education and workforce systems to play their part in supporting accessibility.
While higher education has made important progress, barriers still exist for many learners. A new report published by SNHU’s Center for Higher Education Policy and Practice (CHEPP), Creating Accessible Career Connectivity for Learners with Disabilities in Higher Education, explores how colleges, employers and policymakers can work together to create more seamless pathways to meaningful outcomes for learners with disabilities. Meeting learners where they are requires systems that work together across the learner experience.
Earlier this fall, I joined learners, advocates, policymakers, and higher education practitioners and leaders at SNHU for a discussion on the RISE Act convened by Senator Maggie Hassan. The legislation supports making the transition into higher education more accessible for learners with disabilities by reducing unnecessary barriers and creating a more consistent process for students to qualify for accommodations. Under the leadership of Chairman Cassidy, Senator Hassan and Senator Banks, the bipartisan RISE Act was passed by the HELP Committee. The conversation underscored why higher education should design systems around learners’ needs rather than rely on learners to figure things out.
To realize its promise, higher education must strengthen career connections for all learners. Today’s learners are often balancing school alongside work, caregiving, military service and other responsibilities, making it increasingly important that educational pathways are flexible, relevant and connected to workforce needs. A recent fact sheet released by CHEPP on workforce pathways highlights practical steps to strengthen career advising, expand work-based learning and create clearer connections between higher education and careers. When learners can see how their education connects to their future, they are better positioned to translate learning into opportunity.
As we approach Veterans Day, I also want to recognize the military-affiliated learners we are privileged to serve. Veterans bring extraordinary experience, resilience and leadership to their educational journeys and to the communities they touch every day. At SNHU, we remain committed to supporting veterans in achieving their educational goals and helping them turn their experience and determination into new possibilities for themselves, their families and their communities.
In just a few weeks, we will be celebrating SNHU’s November Commencement ceremonies. Commencement is one of the clearest reminders of why this work matters. Every graduate arrives at that moment with their own story, but each represents the transformative potential of education. Their achievements remind us that higher education is ultimately about helping learners build the futures they envision for themselves.
As we prepare to celebrate our graduates and look toward the year ahead, I find myself reflecting on the conversations, research and partnerships that have shaped CHEPP’s work over the past year. No matter the issue, we found ourselves returning to the same fundamental belief: Higher education works best when we design it around the needs, aspirations and lived experiences of learners. Whether we are discussing accessibility, affordability, workforce readiness or emerging technologies, the work ultimately comes back to supporting learners as they pursue brighter futures.
While there is more work ahead, I am encouraged by the collaboration, innovation and commitment I see across higher education. Together, we must build systems that meet learners where they are and help them get where they want to go.
Thank you for your partnership in this important work.
With gratitude,
President
Southern New Hampshire University
Research in Focus: Creating Accessible Career Connectivity for Learners with Disabilities
According to the National Center for Education Statistics, roughly 21% of undergraduates and 11% of graduate learners identify as having a disability. While many higher education institutions continue working toward more accessible learning environments, learners with disabilities often face systemic barriers when seeking employment after graduation, including discrimination and inaccessible environments.
CHEPP’s latest report, Creating Accessible Career Connectivity for Learners with Disabilities in Higher Education, explores the unique challenges learners with disabilities encounter throughout their educational journeys. The report also outlines strategies higher education institutions and employers can use to create accessible career-connected experiences. CHEPP is grateful to the many practitioners, policy experts and students who shared their personal and professional experiences to inform the report.
Policy Watch
The RISE Act:In July, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee passed the RISE Act, a bill to ensure that college students with disabilities can use their IEP or 504 Plan used in high school as proof of disability to qualify for accommodations. In September, we welcomed Senator Maggie Hassan to SNHU’s Manchester, NH campus for a roundtable discussion about why Congress needs to pass this legislation. When Congress returns from recess, we’re hopeful the bill will pass in the Senate.
Federal Budget:Congress is going to have a lot on its plate when it returns after the election, including funding the government. The current continuing resolution expires on December 11th. Depending on the election results and timing, Congress may pass another CR, or work on an end of year omnibus funding package. Either way, we’re eager for Congress to address the $16.9 billion Pell Grant shortfall.
AI:In states across the country and in Congress, there is increasing action to regulate the proliferation of AI, including zoning for data centers, data safety issues, age restrictions, the level of scrutiny on new tools and platforms, and investing in AI research. In Congress, alongside legislation, lawmakers have released comprehensive proposals to govern the AI industry that we expect to see continued action next Congress and beyond. This is a policy area with growing public interest and bipartisan support. Guided by our own research, we are thinking about how we can help inform policymakers about how learners and higher education systems could be impacted by these efforts.
Learner Story: From Graduation to New Horizons
Dorathy Ndiokho, 20, is an active-duty service member who pursued her degree through SNHU’s workforce partnership. Dorathy joined her employer specifically to take advantage of the tuition benefit. As a traditional‑aged online learner, she chose the online format for its flexibility, which allowed her to balance work, coursework and military training throughout her program. In Spring 2026, Dorathy graduated with a bachelor’s in computer science, earning a 4.0 GPA and setting her sights on becoming an Air Force officer.
SNHU has invited more than 30,000 graduates to participate in in-person and virtual commencement events this fall.
Read, Watch, Listen
Read
Postsecondary Educational Value from Georgetown University’s Center on Education and Workforce
This series examines how stakeholders define and measure postsecondary value and what policy and practice changes are needed to help education and training deliver on their full potential.
Watch
Learning Hungry from The Working Hungry
This documentary sheds light on the impact of hunger on college campuses.
Listen
Voices of Student Success: Transfer Isn’t Supposed to Be This Hard by The Key
This Inside Higher Ed podcast unpacks barriers faced by learners and what higher education can do to make the transfer process easier.
In Partnership: Tackling Time and Opportunity Costs in College
Duet’s partnership with Southern New Hampshire University is helping students who have stopped out of college overcome two major barriers to earning a degree: time and opportunity cost.
During a recent webinar, CHEPP joined Trellis Strategies, The Bridgespan Group, Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) and Duet to highlight how Duet’s partnership with SNHU supports students enrolled in competency-based education (CBE) programs to meet the needs of learners who have not been traditionally served by higher education. Findings of a self-study presented by The Bridgespan Group indicate that students who enroll at SNHU through Duet completed degrees in an average of 24 months, compared with national averages of 60 months for traditional-age students and 80 months for adult learners.
You can read more about the webinar on CHEPP’s blog, How Duet’s Partnership with SNHU Is Tackling Time and Opportunity Costs in College, and watch the webinar recording.