Journal of College & University Student Housing Vol. 47 No. 2 - 34

FINDINGS
The purpose of our study was to explore the
experiences and expectations that students
with ASD had in terms of university-managed housing. If the expectations of students
with ASD are better understood, then, according to expectation confirmation theory,
their satisfaction can be improved. Findings
revealed five primary themes of expectations:
academics, campus housing, community,
roommates, and the student experience. We
present a narrative description of each emergent theme, and we use participant quotations to animate the theme dimensionality.

Academics
The first theme that emerged is related to
participants' expectations to achieve and succeed academically. Because of the quantity of
responses and variability therein, three categories were identified to understand specific
topics relating to academic success: academic degree programs and experiences, academic support programming and services,
and disability accommodations.

Academic degree programs and experiences.
This theme relates to four participants'
knowledge of academic degree programs
(i.e., majors, minors, academic departments)
and whether this knowledge or lack thereof
impacted their overall satisfaction in the collegiate setting. Two participants, Kaleb and
Silas, expressed concerns about not understanding the difference between expectations
related to high school courses and those

related to college courses. For example, when
asked about the overall transition from high
school to college, Kaleb explained,
I definitely think one of the things that
I kind of struggled with while going to
school was how classes are run . . . Maybe
showing seniors in high school a sample
schedule for somebody, for a student's day.
And . . . it's like, " Hey, this is a day in the
life of a college student. "
Silas also mentioned feeling confused
during the spring semester registration after
arriving on campus during the preceding fall
semester. " I did not know the order of classes
to take or who my advisor was. My [academic
peer mentor] in housing got me connected
to them but they seemed just as confused as
me. " There seemed to be confusion on the
student level (both participant and staff) related to academic degree programs and academic department organization.

Academic support programming and services. Four participants expressed their expectations related to residentially based tutoring,
technology resources, community computer
labs, and other academic support services
provided by university student housing. Responses in this category included comments
about access to physical study spaces and tutoring services offered through the housing
department. When explaining her need to
have a physical space in the hall where she
could study, Rebecca said, " The study lounge
and TV lounge work pretty well. " Kaleb
commented that " having the ability to go to

The success of students with ASD in higher education settings is the
responsibility of all professionals, not just those working in disability resources,
and housing and residence life professionals in particular have a unique
opportunity to support students outside of their academic classrooms.

Volume 47, No. 2 * 2021

Journal of College & University Student Housing Vol. 47 No. 2

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Journal of College & University Student Housing Vol. 47 No. 2