Grigal, Meg

Between 2010-2020, more than 4,000 students with intellectual disability have taken over 50,000 courses while enrolled in colleges and universities hosting TPSID programs (Transition and Postsecondary Education Programs for Students with Intellectual Disability). In this article, the authors discuss steps the field of inclusive postsecondary education can take to ensure equitable access to higher education for more students with intellectual disability. 

Significant advancements resulting from various legislative and grant initiatives have resulted in increases in higher education programs enrolling students with intellectual disability (ID). Information about program practices in admissions, academic access, employment, campus housing, and extracurricular activities was gathered via a national survey and offered to the public via a searchable directory.

This Executive Summary provides a brief overview of the entire Annual Report of the Cohort 3 TPSID Model Demonstration Projects (Year 1, 2020–2021). Information is provided about the TPSID projects about program characteristics, students characteristics, academics, academic supports, employment, vocational rehabilitation, residential services, and program completion and credential attainment. 

The full report can be found here. 

Having the right team in place to support college students with ID to access and succeed in employment is critical—and complicated. Students may be eligible for employment services from various state and federal entities (e.g., ED, DD, VR, HCBS waiver) and coordinating these with existing program services is critical. So where do you start when trying to optimize the resources available and support the best outcomes? Our presenters will tackle this topic, highlighting the need for individualized planning of employment services and supports for college students with ID.

Think College REPORTS present descriptive data in narrative and tabular form to provide timely information to researchers, practitioners, and policymakers for review and use. This report provides program- and student-level data reported by TPSIDs (Transition and Postsecondary Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities) during the 2020-2021 academic year. Program data reflect program characteristics, academic access, supports for students, and integration of the program within the institute of higher education during the first year of FY 2020-2025 funding.

This session shared findings from an IES-funded study analyzing data from the National Longitudinal Transition Study 2012 to examine the college and employment preparation activities of youth with intellectual disability and autism. Results provide useful and actionable strategies for knowledge translation to improve policies, programs, and practices in secondary transition.

Attached is a PowerPoint presentation shared by Meg Grigal and Clare Papay at the Council for Exceptional Children 2022 Virtual Convention. If you attended the virtual presentation, please feel free to contact Clare Papay at clare.papay@umb.edu with your questions or feedback.

Due to changes in legislation and policy in the United States, higher education has become more available to people with intellectual disability (ID). Currently, over 6000 students with ID are enrolled in 310 colleges and universities. In the past decade, the federal government has invested over 100 million dollars in a model demonstration program aimed at institutions of higher education to create, expand, or enhance high-quality, inclusive higher education experiences to support positive outcomes for individuals with ID.

Inclusive higher education presumes students with intellectual disability are accessing academic courses with their college peers. To ensure these learning experiences are successful, program staff must address questions and concerns with faculty before and throughout the duration of the course.

In November 2021, Think College staff (Meg Grigal and Clare Papay) presented at the State of the Art conference on recent research conducted on college-based transition services (CBTS). College-based transition services (CBTS) are an emerging model for youth with ID ages 18 to 22. This research study used the largest available national dataset (TPSID) to explore the transition experiences of youth with intellectual disability and/or autism who attend CBTS programs.