Papay, Clare

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. 

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.

Postsecondary education programs for students with intellectual disability have a variety of names. The name of a program sets the tone for families and students, and other key supporters, of what to expect from that program. The authors sought to address a lack of guidance on considerations for naming a postsecondary education program for students with intellectual disability by first analyzing the names of existing programs for common words and themes. Using data from the Think College programs directory, the authors coded the words and themes in 310 program names.

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.

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.

These presentations, sharing findings from the Moving Transition Forward project, were delivered by Clare Papay and Meg Grigal at the 2021 Council for Exceptional Children annual convention. Descriptions are listed below, and handouts are attached.

Starting in 2010, the NCC has been collecting program and student data from Transition and Postsecondary Programs for Students with Intellectual Disability (TPSIDs) for over 10 years. Data, like how programs are staffed and what students do, provide insight into what can help students achieve their desired outcomes of academic inclusion and employment. Join us to learn what we have discovered from a decade of data collection and evaluation.

This is the fourth session in the 5-part series “Get to know the Think College National Coordinating Center."