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Together with the RRTC on Transitioning Youth and Vocational Rehabilitation, Think College presents this collaborative webinar on vocational rehabilitation. It takes many pieces connected meaningfully in order for a puzzle to be seen for the vision it provides. This webinar is intended to explore examples of partnerships that meaningfully connect various pieces of community resource, resulting in a common vision that assists individuals with Intellectual Disability in achieving independence, careers and community engagement.

This Think College Story from September 2017 features two college students making history.  Holly Sheetz and Joe McNeil were the first students with intellectual disability (ID) to participate in the commencement ceremony at Minot (North Dakota)State University. Students have been attending the ASTEP program since 2011, but this was the first time students with ID were included at commencement. Through mentorship of and interviews with Holly and Joe, staff from the ASTEP program share many of the students' experiences, memories, and dreams in this Think College Story. 

This online Research Summit from June 2017 featured two researchers who recently completed their doctoral dissertations in the area of postsecondary education for students with intellectual disability.  They presented their research and led a discussion on conducting doctoral research during the summit.

Introduced in March 2016, this Washington State bill proposed a blue ribbon commission to develop a strategic plan to improve education at all levels for students with disabilities. Commission members  include education advocates, researchers, educators, parents, students, and mental health professionals appointed by the governor.

This law, enacted in June 2015, requires the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board to publicize information about PSE programs for students with IDD online and update it completely at least once every two years. The THECB must keep an online inventory of all such programs, and must also share those resources with the Texas Education Agency, which will use it to publish a guide on transition and employment.

This Tennessee act, signed in 2016, enables recipients of the STEP UP state scholarship to apply its funds to enrollment in two and four-year postsecondary programs for students with intellectual disability. This expands eligibility for the Tennessee STEP UP scholarship, for students with IDD who complete high school and pursue PSE at any college in the state with an approved comprehensive transition and postsecondary (CPT) programs.

This legislation, enacted in April 2016, directs Oklahoma institutes of higher education to work with all government agencies that provide services to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities to consider the development of comprehensive transition and postsecondary education (CTP) programs. Programs created from such partnerships must also include private sector businesses that can create practical learning opportunities for students. It also states that IHE transition programs must work with national disability groups to collect and analyze student outcome data.

In the postsecondary education (PSE) community, the inclusion of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) in postsecondary education is viewed as a human right with benefits that extend through campus communities (Jones et al., 2015; Kelty, 2014). Inclusion in a PSE community requires a minimum of two socially engaged partners (e.g., friends, classmates, club members, etc.). Direct accounts from social participants offer insights into the construction, meaning, and perceived impact of social interactions as they relate to PSE for students with I/DD.

To date, there has been limited research on effective programs or practices for supporting young adults with intellectual disability or autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in dual-enrollment post-secondary education (PSE) settings. However, emerging research has suggested that providing individuals with intellectual disability and/or ASD opportunities to participate in PSE programs will greatly influence overall quality of life and self-determination (Hart, Grigal, & Weir, 2010).