Disabled individuals in Western history have encountered barriers, both physical and attitudinal, that limit their potential in society. These barriers are both constructed intentionally and unintentionally, according to disability studies. They have been unintentionally built as the disabled have been specifically excluded, making the need for variability in the construction of physical spaces including buildings unnecessary. Likewise, when resources are limited, the disabled are among those who lose the most. If we view disabled history in this light, we can better understand how bathroom stall doors were not made for non-normative bodies, for example. This history shows the process that led to the exclusion and then later inclusion of traditionally disabled college students in the U.S. The roots of this history begin in religious, theological, as well as philosophical work used to enlighten populations throughout Western history. In the Bible, historical perceptions and treatment helped define the disabled individual as an "other," which led to their being defined as such politically. In medieval Europe, the low perceptions of the disabled made them appropriate for and worthy of charity. Later during the Enlightenment, the Protestant work ethic and enlightened principles clashed with the historically charitable position of the disabled within the Catholic church. The social positioning of the disabled in European history explains much of the incommensurability between disabled college students and higher learning. Several social mores and traditions of European higher education evolved to become the modern equivalent of higher learning in the United States. Historically, disabled individuals in England and later in British North America were not encouraged or expected to better themselves with education, let alone higher education, and the low social positioning of the disabled in Europe and England was easily adopted by colonial society as American individualism. As a result, in the U.S., disabled individuals did not begin attending college in large numbers until the mid-20th century, the same time they earned their civil rights. In the U.S. higher education system today, exclusion of the disabled can be found in the unique blend of meritocracy and privilege which continues to limit the potential of the disabled college student. Higher learning has evolved as a tool used to identify and cultivate the best and the brightest. For students in the U.S., higher education has become a critical avenue in pursuit of a successful and flourishing life. The history of the disabled college student shows that they have struggled to gain a place in higher learning. The disability rights movement of the mid-20th century led to federal legislation that improved access for physically disabled college students. Today, disabled college students are enrolling in record numbers but finding little success once enrolled in one of the country's most vital institutions. Although access has improved, disabled college students fall behind their non-disabled peers in academic success and graduation. I suggest that better disability-specific academic resources, disability-related cultural programs, and better disability awareness would improve the success rates of disabled college students in the U.S. In the end, I encourage a liberatory theory of disability philosophy in higher learning. If higher learning was not built or intended for the disabled college student, as this history proposes, I leave the reader with two questions: (1) What might we change within higher learning to ensure better inclusion for a wider variety of abilities and not simply those considered most able?, and (2) How can higher learning benefit from disabled college students? [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]