Any student preparing for college must have a plan to pay for college and students with intellectual disability (ID) are likely to use many of the same resources as other college students to pay for college. There are some resources specific to individuals with disabilities to consider, as well. Students are using numerous approaches to pay for college, often braiding together several different funding sources to cover the costs.
This Insight Brief is based on a research study by the authors that explored the admissions process and eligibility criteria for programs that support students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The researchers used a national online survey and virtual interviews with postsecondary education program staff to learn about the skills, behaviors, and qualities most commonly valued during the admissions process. They also explored the steps and timeline of the admissions process.
As students with intellectual disability have been increasingly pursuing postsecondary education, they have also been increasingly pursuing inclusion in all aspects of postsecondary education, including Greek life. Students with intellectual disability should have access to Greek Life, using the same processes students without disability use to access these programs. This requires students and their supporters to embrace the dignity of risk.
This guide focuses on credentials that are specifically for students with intellectual disability enrolled in inclusive postsecondary programs. Steps are carefully outlined about how to develop a robust and comprehensive course of study that culminates in a meaningful credential approved and awarded by the accredited college or university where the program is located. The process is clearly defined and real life examples and testimonies are provided.
Peer mentors provide crucial social, academic, and campus community inclusion supports to students with intellectual disability enrolled in higher education. Research on the perspectives of peer mentors provides valuable insight into the impact that supporting students with intellectual disability has on both the students and the mentors.
Many students, including those with intellectual disability, benefit from explicit campus navigation and acclimation training in their new campus community. This kind of training can help prepare students for campus and community involvement. Learning campus navigation skills can benefit incoming college students, and can generalize to other new environments, resulting in increased independent community access. This publication summarizes the available research on teaching campus navigation and makes recommendations on how and when to teach these skills to students.
Faculty perspectives on teaching students with intellectual disability are important to consider as college programs continue to grow and more students are enrolling. To ensure faculty experiences are considered in program development and improvement, we conducted a brief literature review of postsecondary education-related articles, focusing on those that included the perspectives of faculty who taught students with intellectual disability at colleges or universities.
College programs for students with intellectual disability are designed to provide the same opportunities that all other students have in college: social inclusion, learning, and participation in classes and campus activities.
The value of a credential awarded by a college program for students with intellectual disability on a resume may not be clear to a potential employer—yet. But the value is there, even if it is not currently common knowledge. This brief was written to support program staff and others to clearly articulate the value of a program's credential to potential and current employers, students, family and other community members .
As we develop and evaluate postsecondary education programs for students with intellectual disability, we must consider students’ perspectives on known program elements that work well and elements that need improvement. To support the consideration of student voices in program development and evaluation, the Think College Inclusive Higher Education Network conducted a brief literature review of articles that included the voices and perspectives of college students or college graduates with intellectual disability.
