A comparison of students with and without disabilities on their perception of services in Qatar’s public higher education system

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to assess student perceptions of their engagement in tangible and intangible higher education services using the College Student Experiences Questionnaire (CSEQ). Design/methodology/approach The research draws on a random sample of students without disabilities and all students with disabilities in a public university in Qatar. Group comparison analysis is conducted to find differences between the two groups by adapting the CSEQ to assess student perceptions of engagement with the services. Findings The findings showed that students with disabilities were less satisfied with intangible services in learning systems. Students with and without disabilities felt that the campus facilities were below average; students with disabilities rated university services lower than students without. All students felt that the learning systems were above average, with higher ratings among students without disability. Social implications Considerable work needs to be done in capacity and professional development with faculty to deal with learning and teaching methods with students with disabilities. Originality/value In general, this study compares students with disabilities with non-disabilities. Both groups confront barriers to access learning and to the assessment of their learning. They both were satisfied with services but with higher perceptions of engagement among those with non-disabilities. Higher education institutions must consider those services in unison to both groups treating both equally, recognizing that a discourse of differences may pit one group over another in infrastructure and the institutional services provided.