Deborah J. Merchant, Ph.D. Keene State College Phillip Rumrill, Ph.D., CRC Kent State University

1. Transition to and from Higher Education for Students with Disabilities: A Person in Environment Model The 7th International Conference on Higher Education & DisabilityInnsbruck, AustriaJuly 20 – 23, 2010 Deborah J. Merchant, Ph.D. Keene State College Phillip Rumrill, Ph.D., CRC Kent State University

2. What Skills and Knowledge do Students Need in Order to Get What They Need in a College Setting? • Students need to know: • Nature of their disability • How it impacts their learning • What accommodations they need and why • Their rights and responsibilities under the law • How to communicate their needs to faculty and staff • These are the skills associated with self-advocacy

3. Self-advocacy – What is it? • “in order to be self-determining, one must advocate for one’s own needs” To advocate for yourself means to speak up and ask for what you need on your own behalf (Trainor 2002 p. 714). • “an individual’s ability to effectively communicate, convey, negotiate or assert his or her own interests, desires, needs, and rights. It involves making informed decisions and taking responsibility for those decisions” (Van Reusen, Bos, Schumaker, & Deshler, 1994, p.1). • “in order to advocate for oneself effectively, a student must recognize his or her own likes, dislikes, wants, needs, strengths, and limitations, be able to express those, and be given many opportunities to do so in authentic settings” (Schreiner, 2007) .

4. Connection to College Students • The number of students with disabilities pursuing higher education has increased dramatically over the past three decades. • Evidence to suggest that students are entering colleges and universities with little knowledge of their disabilities; how the disability impacts their learning, what accommodations they need, and their rights and responsibilities under the law

5. Connection to College StudentsWhy is it important? High School to College Transition:Game Change

6. IDEA vs. ADA Intent IDEA = Success (“free and appropriate education”) ADA = Equal Access (“do not deny access”) Merchant & Parker 2010, adapted from Madaus 2009

7. Comparison of IDEA & ADA: Intent of the Laws K-12 (IDEA) Postsecondary (ADA) To ensure that no otherwise qualified person with a disability is denied access to, benefits of, or is subject to discrimination solely on the basis of disability. 504(e) and ADA allow eligible individuals with disabilities the same accessto programs, activities and services as their nondisabled peers. • To provide a free, appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment to identified students with disabilities, including special education and related services. • IDEA meets the specific special education needs of the student and modifies the program accordingly. Merchant & Parker 2010, adapted from Madaus 2009

8. Who is Responsible for Identifying and Documenting Need? High School College Students are responsible for self-identification and for obtaining disability documentation from a professional who is qualified to assess their particular disability; cost of the evaluation must be assumed by the student, not the post-secondary institution. • School districts are responsible for identifying and evaluating potential students with disabilities. When such a determination is made, the district plans educational services for classified students at no expense to the family. Merchant & Parker 2010, adapted from Madaus 2009

9. Who is Responsible for Initiating Service Delivery? High School College Students are responsible for notifying the Disability Support Services staff of their disability and of their need for reasonable accommodations. Accommodations (not special education) are provided on a case-by-case, as-needed basis in order for students with disabilities to have equal access to the institution’s programs and activities. • School districts are responsible for identifying students with disabilities and providing special education programs and services, including related services, and transition services as delineated in an Individualized Education Program. Merchant & Parker 2010, adapted from Madaus 2009

10. What Carries Over to College? • Not every student who received special education services under IDEA will be a qualified individual with a disability under 504(e) or ADA. • And once admitted, not every request for an accommodation will be deemed to be reasonable. Merchant & Parker 2010, adapted from Madaus 2009

11. How to Teach These Skills?One model – The Keene State College Link Program Overall Structure Link Offers . . . Small classes Skills instruction Tutoring and Supplemental Instruction (group study sessions) Leadership opportunities Introduction to campus life and the KSC community Service-learning experiences Nine college credits for coursework • Six week summer program designed for first-time college students – has been running since 1984 • Overall purpose is to expose students to the academic and social expectations of college in a supportive learning community • Students live on campus and enroll in three courses for six weeks.

12. The Link ProgramCourses • KSC 199:College 101 (1 credit)College 101 is designed to facilitate the transition to college by acquainting students with the structure and expectations of college, assisting in the developing of the skills and support systems that contribute to academic success. Topics covered and reinforced throughout the Link program include goal-setting, time management, note taking, textbook reading, test preparation, stress management, and learning styles. Students are exposed to a variety of academic and social resources and support staff. • And ITW 101: Thinking and Writing (4 credits)Integrative Studies Foundation CourseIntroduces students to skills and ways of thinking essential to intellectual inquiry.

13. Courses (cont) • Link students also enroll in one of the following two courses: ISSOC 225: Social Problems (4 credits)ISP Social Science A study of selected social problems using a sociological lens. • Or ISGEOG 100: Introduction to Geography(4 credits)A systematic introduction to the discipline, designed to give the beginning student exposure to physical, cultural, economic, and cartographic aspects of geography.

14. Link Program with Added Self-advocacy Component Core Curriculum Additional Topics for students with disabilities Knowledge of disability: strengths and challenges, Accommodations: what are they and how they relate to your disability Difference between high school and college Academically Socially Legally Rights and responsibilities Self-advocacy and self-determination Definitions: What does it mean to self-advocate? Communication Skills Putting it all together – role play • Goal-setting • Learning styles • Difference between high school and college • Academically • Socially • Time management • Note taking • Textbook reading • Test preparation • Stress management • Academic assertiveness • Resources/opportunities

15. Employment • Many of the skills associated with self-advocacy can be utilized in employment settings when students graduate from postsecondary education • Employment section of ADA (Title I) has different requirements concerning disclosure,documentation, and the reasonable accommodation process