Navigation Menu

• Home
• About PACER
  • PACER Facts
  • History
  • Leadership
  • Press Room
• How PACER Helps
• Programs & Resources
  • Programs
  • Publications
  • Translated Materials
  • Web Sites
  • Newsletters
  • Workshops
  • Archived Webinars
  • Public Policy
• News & Events
  • News
  • Events Calendar
• Get Involved
  • Become a Volunteer
  • Make a Donation
  • Corporate Sponsors
  • Special Events

Knowledge Center

Post Secondary Education

The information below was compiled by the Wisconsin Family Assistance Center for Education, Training & Support, Inc. (WI FACETS), a nonprofit organization serving Wisconsin children and adults with disabilities, their families and those who support them while serving as a TATRA Center of Expertise on Post-secondary Education. For additional resources, visit their web site at www.wifacets.org/links/post.htm

The unemployment rate for people with disabilities is significantly higher than for people without disabilities. Many individuals with disabilities of working age lack marketable job skills and have not been adequately prepared for careers. However, a postsecondary education appears to improve employment outcomes for individuals with disabilities by helping students learn employment skills necessary to find - and keep - a job.

Following the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act in 1990, and an expanding awareness of accessibility and disability issues in our society, more and more students with disabilities are seeking access to colleges, universities, and vocational technical programs. However, just as marketable job skills are the result of hard work at the postsecondary level, students with disabilities must work to prepare themselves for a successful postsecondary experience before they leave high school.

The key to a successful postsecondary education is that students become knowledgeable about their own accommodation needs and their postsecondary education responsibilities, as well as their educational rights. Although protections against discrimination exist, students have greater responsibility for initiating, designing and ensuring their own accommodations. They must be prepared to handle these responsibilities as well as their coursework. Here are some things you can do to help prepare for a successful postsecondary academic or technical experience.

Post Secondary Education: Vocational/Technical

1. Get Ready BEFORE High School Graduation.
2. Choose tech prep, co-op, school to work or youth apprenticeship programs.
3. Keep accurate records of learning modifications that work.
4. Try out different jobs.
5. Give work and school your best effort.
6. Contact college Disability Services offices.

Program modifications are NOT "watering down the program."
Program modifications ARE adjustments to meet student needs.

Getting Started in a Vocational College

Within the IEP:

1. Begin the vocational college program before high school graduation and before age 21.
2. High school and vocational college co-operate for the IEP.
3. School system is responsible until you are 21 or you graduate from high school.

Beyond the IEP:

1. Begin the vocational college program any time.
2. The student is in charge of his/her own education planning.
3. Financial aid is available for most students.

You provide personal items and personal care. The college provides educational and physical access items such as computer, desk, and seating.

At age 18 you are legally an adult. You speak for your own needs.

Post Secondary Education: Academic

1. Get Ready BEFORE High School Graduation
2. Take academic courses.
3. Keep accurate records of learning modifications that work.
4. Take college entrance tests.
5. Get good grades.
6. Contact college Disability Services offices.
7. Expect to complete all academic requirements of the college.
8. Consider a junior college as a step into a large university.

Selecting Your College

1. Make a list of questions to ask the college Disability Services office.
2. Make a list of classes and modifications needed.
3. Speak to other students, with and without disabilities.
4. Call the college Disability Services office and/or visit the college to find answers to your questions.
5. Tell the Disability Services office which modifications you can provide for yourself and which you expect the college to provide.

Financial Assistance

Financial aid, grants and loans
Work-study and co-op programs
Child care and other supports

State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies

Meet with your VR counselor regarding tuition assistance.

Additional Online Resources for Post Secondary Education

For permission to reprint, please fill out and submit PACER's reprint request form.