A deaf student can have an interpreter in class, captions on every video, and approved accommodations on file and still feel like they do not fully belong on campus.
New research by Dr. Carrie Lou Bloom, Dr. Jeffrey Levi Palmer, Mary Sanderson and Kelton Bloxham published in Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education expands on this.
The study surveyed 193 deaf college students at broad-access institutions, where most students are hearing, about three parts of their campus experience: whether learning environments felt accessible, whether they felt connected to campus life and other people, and whether their college recognized and valued deaf identity, language, and culture.
The pattern was clear. Students gave their strongest ratings to classroom accommodations. But when the questions shifted from “Can I access this?” to “Do I feel connected, understood, and valued here?”, the ratings dropped. Deaf-affirming campus climate received the lowest ratings of all three areas.
A student can have access and still not feel like they belong.
Getting Into the Classroom Is Only Part of the Experience
Interpreters, captions, notetakers, and other accommodations matter. They can make the difference between having access to a class and being shut out of it.
College life also means asking a professor a question after class, joining a student organization, meeting people at orientation, talking with an advisor who understands how you communicate, and seeing deaf faculty, staff, and peers around campus.
That is where the gap in this study becomes important.
A college may be meeting accommodation requests while still leaving deaf students to figure out connection, identity, and community largely on their own. The research suggests that providing access is not the same as creating an environment where students feel they truly belong.
The Access-Belonging Gap
The takeaway: A campus can be accessible on paper and still have work to do when it comes to belonging.
What Stood Out Most? Having the Right People Around
One of the most interesting findings was not about a new technology or a better accommodation process. It was about people.
Two deaf-specific supports stood out as the strongest predictors of higher campus ratings: a dedicated tutor for deaf students and a dedicated advisor for deaf students.
Dedicated tutor for deaf students
Dedicated advisor for deaf students
That matters because these roles can offer something a one-time accommodation cannot: continuity. A dedicated advisor does not have to start from zero every time a student walks in, and a tutor who regularly works with deaf students may already understand communication preferences, common barriers, and how to adjust support. Over time, those relationships can build trust and connection.
So What Can Colleges Actually Do?
The answer is not to move away from accommodations. It is to build on them.
The research points to four places colleges can start:
- Invest in dedicated tutors and advisors
- Plan access before problems arise
- Create spaces where deaf identity and ASL are visible and valued
- Recognize that deaf students do not all experience campus in the same way
Reliable interpreting, captioning, and other access services remain the foundation. But students should not have to wait for a problem before access is arranged, search on their own for someone who understands their experience, or depend on the accommodation office as the only place where deaf identity is recognized.
Questions Colleges Should Ask
- Are interpreting, captioning, and other access supports planned proactively — or only after a student has to ask?
- Do deaf students have dedicated tutors, advisors, mentors, or peers who understand their experiences?
- Where do deaf students see ASL, Deaf Culture, and deaf faculty or staff reflected outside Disability Services?
- Are deaf students considered from the beginning in orientation, advising, academics, student life, and campus events?
- Are we listening to different deaf students instead of assuming one approach works for everyone?
The research points toward more proactive, relational, and culturally responsive practices — including planning access before problems arise, investing in deaf-specific supports, and building campus spaces where deaf identity and culture are part of the community rather than an afterthought.
Access and Belonging Should Go Together
A college shouldn’t stop at accommodations and assume belonging automatically follows. Deaf students need both.
Access helps students participate in their education. Relationships, representation, community, and cultural affirmation help students feel like they are part of the institution they worked hard to join.
Access gets students into the room. Belonging helps make that room theirs, too.
