PACER Center
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Champions for Children with Disabilities
This Checklist from the U.S. Department of Education was developed to help students and parents get ready for college. It includes:
- "to do" lists for all ages (elementary school to adult students)
- basic information about federal student aid and money for college
- tips for filling out financial aid forms
- and more...
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Postsecondary Education
Completion of a postsecondary degree has been linked to higher employment rates and higher income in the general population. At the same time, individuals with disabilities are less than half as likely to obtain a postsecondary degree, and thus are less likely to be employed or to have a similar income, as are individuals without disabilities.
Going to college today can mean attending a 4-year college or university, a 2-year community college, or a technical institute or trade school. It can mean working toward a bachelor's degree, an associate's degree (A.A.), or a certificate showing you've mastered the skills needed for a technical career. It can mean studying full-time or part-time, or living at school or commuting from home. It can even mean going to a community college to learn a new skill after you've gotten a degree and worked for a while.
Earning and learning go hand-in-hand. The more years of schooling you complete, the higher your income is likely to be -- and the less likely you are to be unemployed. A graphic image developed by Postsecondary Education OPPORTUNITY dramatically illustrates the relationship between years of education, employment rates, and income
.
Post-Secondary Education Links:
PACER Resources
- ADA, Section 504 & Postsecondary Education
- College or Training Programs: How to Decide
- Help Your Young Adult Learn About Accessing Accommodations After High School
- Mapping Your Dreams - Education
- Off to College: Tips for Parents of Students with Visual Impairments
- Off to College: Tips for Students with Visual Impairments
- Parenting Post-Secondary Students with Disabilities: Becoming the Mentor, Advocate, and Guide Your Young Adult Needs, a Parent Brief developed by PACER Center in partnership with the National Center on Secondary Education and Transition
- Post-Secondary Education Fact Sheet
- "Postsecondary Education: Preparation is a Necessary Ingredient for Success," a 2004 article from the PACESETTER newsletter
Minnesota Specific Resources
- Disability Coordinators of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities
- Hot Links to College Education, from Minnesota Transfer
- Minnesota Higher Education Services Office
- Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, including a free guide to all Minnesota Colleges and Universities
- Minnesota's Tech Prep College Partners
- Pathways to Success: Helping Your Minnesota Teen with College and Career Decisions
- University of MN Disabled Student Cultural Center
Preparing for College
- College Navigator is a free consumer information tool designed to help students, parents, and others get information on nearly 7,000 postsecondary institutions in the United States.
- Colleges, Career Colleges,Tech Colleges and Schools by State, a website of the American Educational Guidance Center
- College and College Prep Resources for Students with Learning Disabilities and ADHD from the LDOnline.
- College Planning Resources for Students with Disabilities from the Virginia Department of Education
- Education/Training Connections from the National Dissemination Center for Youth with Disabilities
- Going to College an online resource from Virginia Commonwealth University for teens with disabilities to learn about college life and what to do to prepare for it. It’s also a resource for parents to help their son or daughter learn about college and prepare for success.
- Higher Learning = Higher Earning; What You Need to Know about College and Careers, a guide for middle and high school students from the American Youth Policy Forum
- Knowing Your Options: What to do and Where to Go, an information module from the HEATH Resource Center
- Letter to Parents from the U.S. Department of Education Office of Civil Rights
- The National Collegiate Athletic Association provides answers to frequently asked questions from student athletes with education-impacting disabilities.
- Non-Degree Postsecondary Options For Individuals with Disabilities, an article from the HEATH Resource Center
- Opportunities in Career and Technical Education at the Postsecondary Level, information from the Heath Resource Center
- Pathways to College Network web site has a "College Planning Resources Directory" as well as an online library with resources on topics such as college access programs, preparing for college, paying for college, and resources for underserved and special populations including students with disabilities.
- Postsecondary Innovative Transition and Technology (Post-ITT), a web site offering a collection of resources and activities to aid students, parents, educators and Disability Services coordinators in the task of planning for a student's transition from secondary to postsecondary education.
- Postsecondary Education Research Center (PERC) Project
The Postsecondary Education Research Center (PERC) project, coordinated by TransCen, Inc. has a website that provides information and resources on college options for students with intellectual disabilities. The site provides answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs) offers a Self-Assessment Tool that allows users to evaluate aspects of programs or services for students with intellectual disabilities on college campuses. - Preparing for College: An Online Tutorial, from the DO-IT Program at the University of Washington
- Social Security Work Incentives and Postsecondary Students with Disabilities
- U.S. Department of Education web site with information on preparing for and funding education beyond high school. It has information geared to students from elementary school to high school as well as their parents to help families make prepare for and make informed decisions regarding academic preparation, choosing a school and applying for financial aid.
- Student Self-Assessment (Section of an excellent on-line guide to preparing for post-secondary education developed by the WNY Collegiate Consortium of Disability Advocates)
- Students with Disabilities Preparing for Postsecondary Education: Know Your Rights and Responsibilities, a booklet from the U. S. Dept. of Education
- Summer 2008 Pre-College Programs for Students with Disabilities, a resource paper from the HEATH Resource Center
- ThinkCollege.net
Youth with intellectual disabilities have not had many chances to go to college. This website provides information and links to those interested in finding out more about the possibilities - Think College! College Options for People with Intellectual Disabilities an initiative of the Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) at the University of Massachusetts Boston, a leader in the area of postsecondary education for people with intellectual and other developmental disabilities. The web site has sections for students, families, and professionals as well as a searchable database of college options where you can see what is going on in your area.
- Tips for Parents to Help Students with Intellectual Disabilities Think About College
- Transition Coalition
The Transition Coalition provides online information on topics focusing on the transition from school to adult life including a database containing descriptions of over 100 community-based transition programs for students ages 18-21 from across the United States and down-loadable publications for families and professionals.
Financial Aid
- Creating Options: A Resource on Financial Aid for Students with Disabilities 2003 Edition
- Fastweb, an online database of college scholarship information
- Federal Financial Aid and College: An Overview for Students with disabilities, a fact sheet from HEATH Resource Center
- Financial Aid/Scholarships, a web page on the DisabilityInfo.gov web site that provides links to scholarship information supporting the graduate, undergraduate, or vocational studies of students with disabilities.
- Financing Your Education: Options for Students Who Are Deaf of Hard of Hearing, Northeast Technical Assistance center (NETAC)
- Funding Education Beyond High School: The Guide to Federal Student Aid
- INCIGHT Resources for Financial Aid
- The International Center for Disability Resources on the Internet (ICDRI) has a web page listing financial resources specifically for students with disabilities.
- Proyecto Visión provides information on scholarships that are specifically aimed at Latinos and students with disabilities on its bilingual web site
- Scholarship.com
- Scholarships for students with disabilities compiled by Michigan State University
- Student Aid.gov a U.S. Department of Education web site that can provide students with an early estimate of their eligibility for federal student financial assistance and reduce the amount of time it will take to complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), the qualifying form for all federal student financial aid.
Civil Rights and Academic Accomodations
- ADA, Section 504 & Postsecondary Education
- Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD)
- Auxiliary Aids and Services for Postsecondary Students with Disabilities
- Making Accommodations: The Legal World of Students with Disabilities, ACADEME
- Students with Disabilities Preparing for Postsecondary Education: Know Your Rights and Responsibilities
- What is a "Reasonable" Accommodation?, Jane E. Jarrow, Ph.D.
Best Practices: Making the Most of the College Experience
- Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD), a national membership organization for individuals involved in the development of policy and in the provision of quality services to meet the needs of persons with disabilities in higher education. Resources on the AHEAD web site include Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for parents, disability documentation, other best practices, and the rights of postsecondary students with disabilities. Also includes information on state affiliate organizations.
- College and College Prep Resources for Students with Learning Disabilities and ADHD from the LDOnline.
- HEATH Resource Center, a national clearinghouse on postsecondary education for individuals with disabilities
- Internship resources for postsecondary students with disabilities from the INCIGHT web site
- Institute for Community Inclusion
ICI publications provide an overview of research on postsecondary education and options, and ways to increase access to experiential education -- mentoring, internships, job shadowing, and so on—for college students with disabilities. - National Center on Secondary Education and Transition
- National Coalition for Students with Disabilities
- PEPNet Resource Center, a federally funded consortium of four regional centers providing information on postsecondary issues of interest to students who are deaf or hard of hearing. One page handouts and other resources on postsecondary accommodations and issues for students who are deaf and hard of hearing are available on the web site of the Northeast Technical Assistance Center affiliated with PEPNet
- U.S. Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights (complaints about access and accommodations are handled by the OCR)
- Virginia's College Guide for Students With Disabilities
Postsecondary Education Policy Issues for Students with Disabilities
- Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD)
- DIGESTS from the former ERIC Clearinghouse for Community Colleges
- HEATH Resource Center, a national clearinghouse on postsecondary education for individuals with disabilities
- The Higher Education Opportunity Act
- National Center on Secondary Education and Transition
- National Council on Disability
- Pathways to College Network
- Postsecondary Education Options for Students with Intellectual Disabilities
PACER's site offers many PDF files for download, which require