brief

Inclusive College Programs

Ages 18 - 24 Years

Do you or your child have an intellectual disability (ID)? Are you wondering if people with an ID can attend college? College is not right for everyone, whether or not they have a disability. Some people without disabilities go to college, and others go into the workforce or train for a vocation. Some people with ID have no desire to go to college, but others do. Keep reading to learn more about inclusive college programs. They are not right for everyone, but maybe they are right for you.

2 min read

In this section

What Are Inclusive College Programs?Who Can Go to Inclusive College Programs?How to Join an Inclusive College Program Inclusive Communities

What Are Inclusive College Programs?

Inclusive college programs (or inclusive post-secondary programs [IPSPs]) are college programs for adults with ID. There are many different kinds of inclusive college programs, which serve the needs of many different kinds of students.

In inclusive college programs, students with ID often have a chance to:

go to school with other students of varying abilities
attend classes
participate in campus life
eat in the cafeteria
life on-campus in a supported setting
join clubs and teams
join fraternities or sororities
have internships
earn a certificate of completion

In addition to these typical college experiences, students in inclusive college programs also often have:

instruction in life skills
instruction in job skills
help managing their time
help making friends
supervised housing
dedicated staff who work with college faculty to make the experience inclusive

Who Can Go to Inclusive College Programs?

Every inclusive college program has its own rules and admission process.

Most programs accept students who:

have an intellectual disability (ID)
would not be able to attend a traditional college program
can meaningfully engage in a college setting, and benefit from the experience
do not have disruptive or dangerous behaviors
can take on some level of independence safely

How to Join an Inclusive College Program

If a young person wants to attend an inclusive college, program, they have two primary options:

Inclusive college may be part of a young person's 18-22 Special Education program through their public school district. In these cases, the family does not pay for the college program. If families are interested in this option, they should discuss it at an IEP meeting well before a student turns 18.
Families can apply for college on their own, and pay for it on their own. Some loans and scholarships are available, although they can be hard to find. These programs tend to be very expensive, and so unfortunately are not accessible to many families with no choice other than to self-pay.

Inclusive Communities

Inclusive college programs are another step towards fully inclusive communities. While they are not the right choice or a possible choice for all families, they provide many young people with disabilities with an invaluable experience, and they represent a further opening of the door to full equality.

This content was reviewed by an educator at Boston Children’s Hospital.

Families local to Boston can contact the Cardiac Neurodevelopmental Program at Boston Children's Hospital for services related to intellectual disability, transition, and education.

These links are provided as resources only. Boston Children's Hospital and the Benderson Family Heart Center don't necessarily endorse all of the information on these sites.

References

Becht, K., Blades, C., Agarwal, R., & Burke, S. (2020). Academic access and progress for students with intellectual disability in inclusive postsecondary education: A systematic review of research. Inclusion, 8(2), 90-104.https://meridian.allenpress.com/inclusion/article-abstract/8/2/90/436552/Academic-Access-and-Progress-for-Students-With

Becht, K., Roberts-Dahm, L. D., Meyer, A., Giarrusso, D., & Still-Richardson, E. (2020). Inclusive Postsecondary Education Programs of Study for Students with Intellectual Disability. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 33(1), 63-79.https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1273630

Harrison, A. J., Bisson, J. B., & Laws, C. B. (2019). Impact of an inclusive postsecondary education program on implicit and explicit attitudes toward intellectual disability. Intellectual and developmental disabilities, 57(4), 323-336.https://meridian.allenpress.com/idd/article-abstract/57/4/323/364916/Impact-of-an-Inclusive-Postsecondary-Education

Uditsky, B., & Hughson, E. (2012). Inclusive postsecondary education—An evidence‐based moral imperative. Journal of Policy and Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 9(4), 298-302.https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/jppi.12005

Related Resources

Want to Learn More?

Look below for related content, search resources by topic, or explore one of our custom guides.

Don't see what you're looking for? Let us know what you want to learn! We will try to add content to respond to your needs. Email CNPschedulingandquestions@childrens.harvard.edu