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There are certain skills that students can learn and practice in high school so they are better prepared for the demands of college. In this Grab and Go Practices, we focus on three primary campus experiences college students need to be prepare for and skillsets that are good to have to manage them. Student may engage in these activities with little or no support from adults: campus participation, academic preparation, and personal responsibility.

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.

Signed in November 2021, this established the North Carolina Comprehensive Transition (CTP) Postsecondary Scholarship Program. The new scholarship program covers cost of attendance for NC students with intellectual disability (ID) enrolled in current and future CTPs within the UNC system (all North Carolina public universities). Individual institutions may determine the individual size of scholarships to give students based upon need and whether they have received other scholarships that will help cover cost of attendance.

The Toolkit can help you increase the opportunities for meaningful relationships between all students. This Toolkit is structured to address the challenge of friendships between students with and without disabilities in inclusive settings. It assumes as much inclusion as possible as the starting point, and it contains practical strategies to promote friendship development from there. (Because of the emphasis on friendships between students with and without disabilities, this resource may not be helpful for teachers in segregated schools where all the student have disabilities.)

This manual is intended for family members of older children — those of transition age in the last few years of school or those of adult age who live at home. It is also for family members who have an adult child living in a group home or on their own. Families of younger school-age children will also find many useful ideas here that can be applied in school or other situations for younger children. There are tips and activities. Worksheets are used. 

Developed by the Center on Transition Innovations at Virginia Commonwealth University, this guide can be used as a reference to support the development of postsecondary goals in employment and education/training.

Completion of career and technical education (CTE) courses and work-based learning (WBL) programs have been shown to close the career readiness gap. In this resource, the authors provide information from seven years of operating SOS, a high-quality WBL program. SOS is built on the collaboration of special education, CTE, vocational rehabilitation (VR) and the business community.

One of the primary goals for students attending IPSE programs is authentic, competitive employment experiences, and research shows that students with some IPSE experience have better outcomes in securing employment. What has come into focus recently, is that just getting a job is not enough. It is becoming more important that students have access to industry recognized credentials through their IPSE programs so that they can get better jobs, with better pay.

A collaborative model of professional development, using principles of collective inquiry, coaching, reflection and co-writing, has resulted in an online training sequence for three key groups who offer and support college-based transition services. These include college program coordinators, special education administrators and transition staff, and coaches and mentors. Presenters shared strategies and co-authored practitioner materials This session was presented by Think College staffers Maria Paiewonsky & Ty Hanson.

To increase opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities to attend inclusive college programs, it is critical to understand current federal and state legislation and to develop relationships with policymakers. This is not a partisan issue. This is about sharing information, educating legislators and understanding how students, advocates, families, professionals and your neighbors can influence the process.