In this second in my series of blogs on Inclusive Postsecondary Education (IPSE) for students with intellectual disabilities, I am going to review the aspect of such programs that present the most challenges, both to the students and to the program staff, which is inclusive academics. The success of inclusive academics depends on the ability of the program staff as well as the college or university faculty to navigate a paradox. Students with intellectual disabilities enroll in IPSE programs precisely because they do not have the intellectual or academic capacity to succeed as traditional degree-seeking students making use of traditional disability accommodations. At the same time, they enroll in IPSE programs rather than educational or vocational course offered by disability-service providers because they want to learn alongside their age-appropriate, neurotypical peers rather than only with program-mates with disabilities. The universities and colleges that make inclusive academics a priority and a success generally take the following approaches.
1. Allowing the students with intellectual disabilities to choose whether to take the course for credit, for “pass/no pass”, or for audit. It is important that the college or university administration as well as the parents and students understand that students with disabilities can receive program credit for taking a course as pass/no pass, or auditing a course, or for taking a courses, such as a corequisite lab that carry 0 credit hours for traditional students. This is particularly important when student with intellectual disabilities is attending an IPSE program that is designated by the Federal Department of Education as a “Comprehensive Transition and Postsecondary” (CTP) program and therefore is eligible to use Federal and State financial aid to pay their tuition. According to the Federal Student Aid Handbook:
Enrollment status for students with intellectual disabilities enrolled in CTP programs may also be determined using credit hour equivalencies. These equivalent credits, earned from audited courses and other normally noncredit activities undertaken as part of a program for students with disabilities, may be awarded for purposes of determining enrollment status.
2. Providing professional development to the faculty who will be welcoming students with intellectual disabilities (ID) into their courses. The professional development will support a general understanding of intellectual disability as well as offer concrete, practical strategies and tools for making course materials accessible to students with ID, working with the peer mentors recruited to accompany the students with ID, modifying assignments and assessments to work for students with ID, and coordinating with supporting course, such as corequisite homework or study labs offered by the IPSE program. It is important to note that such modification is permissible for students who are auditing the course rather than taking if for standard credit. It is crucial that program staff see and understand their roles to be supporting faculty just as much as supporting the students with ID.
3. Recruiting and training peer mentors from disciplines that teach skills for working with students with disabilities. Such disciplines include education/special education, psychology, human services, and various therapeutic concentrations, just to name a few. Even for peer mentors from disciplines, inclined to work with people with disabilities, IPSE programs will still need to provide program-specific training and practical tools to the mentors as well as incentives in the form of wages, tuition credits, or fieldwork credits within their particular degree program. Ideally, the peer mentors are students who are taking or have taken the courses, in which their mentee with I/D, is enrolled so that they are familiar with the content and assignments.
4. Supporting faculty to implement Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Taking a UDL approach, faculty build courses from the beginning to be accessible to students with a wide variety of learning strengths and needs rather than retrofitting alternatives onto existing courses. Course materials are offered in a variety of modes including the traditional textbook but also through videos, infographics, slide decks with narration, just to name a few. Lectures are interspersed with more participatory activities including in-person and online dialogues and group work. A multitude of collaborations softwares and apps can facilitate this.
5. Focus inclusion efforts on practical courses that will be most useful in furthering the employment goals of the students with I/D. These might include courses that teach skills that are fundamental to either working or adult living in general, such as English and communications courses, computer-tech courses, and American government/civics courses. These might also include profession-specific courses, such as early childhood development for students who might want to work in daycare, certain basic business courses for students who want to work in an office setting, basic hospitality or culinary courses for students who want to work in hotels or restaurants, and courses in fine, performing, or cinematic arts for students with talents and career aspirations in those fields. Career-development courses that teach resume-writing and networking also stand out as opportunities.
6. Structuring extra-curricular, program-specific, complementary activities, such as learning/homework labs and tutoring. Per the Federal Financial Aid description above, the hours that students with intellectual disabilities spend in these activities can generate program-specific credit towards the IPSE credential as well as contribute to the student’s full-time enrollment status for the purposes of receiving Federal and State financial aid. These activities, taught or led by program staff, serve to build or reinforce underlying skills, such as grammar and calculation or executive functioning skills.
By their very name, as well as by the Department of Education requirements, particularly applicable to programs offering Federal financial aid access, IPSE programs should do the work to offer real inclusive academics. This provides both the students with intellectual disabilities and the neurotypical faculty and students the opportunity to work alongside each other and learn from each other just as they will do in the workplace.
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