College prep summit shows options for people with intellectual disabilities

Sept. 14--The University of Alabama on Friday hosted an event designed to highlight growing postsecondary education opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities.

Alabama's College Prep Summit, the first of its kind in the state, was held at the Ferguson Center ballroom for people interested in attending a nontraditional college program.

Four public universities and one private school were represented at the summit. All of the programs have, or will soon launch, year-round college certificate programs. All five offered information about their programs via exhibits and presentations at Friday's summit. Some of the universities have multi-tiered support programs that provide job training and help those with intellectual disabilities develop social and independent living skills.

"We want to educate parents, teachers and students that college is an option," said Amy Williamson, coordinator of UA's CrossingPoints and Summer Bridge programs. "And, we know that students with intellectual disabilities don't often have an opportunity to make college visits like their non-disabled counterparts, so this is a great chance to visit with multiple programs at one time."

Programs participating in the summit included:

--The University of Alabama's CrossingPoints program

--Auburn University's Eagles program

--Jacksonville State's On to JSU

--The Horizons School

--The University of South Alabama'sPassage USA program

Participating institutions are members of the Alabama Post-secondary Alliance for Intellectual Disabilities, a group composed of educators and researchers from transition programs and postsecondary education programs across the state.

Kagendo Mutua, director of UA's CrossingPoints program, a long-running student transition program that partners with Tuscaloosa city and county schools, said the group creates a network of resources, best practices and ideas as each university builds its postsecondary program.

UA just completed its third year of Summer Bridge, a $2.5 million expansion of CrossingPoints that provides college preparation to students with mild to moderate intellectual disabilities. This preparation ranges from guidance on how to complete financial aid paperwork to simulations of independent living. Summer Bridge students also have access to a variety of classes offered to traditional learners.

UA's next step is to launch a year-round certificate program. USA and JSU have existing programs, and Auburn and Alabama A&M are beginning certificate programs, Williamson said. The Horizons School has partnered with Jefferson State Community College to provide college classes and experiences to its students.

"It's a large undertaking, particularly for universities that don't have a first-tier program," Williamson said. "But that's why the alliance is important -- they can bounce things off a group of people who have done it, and it strengthens all of our programs."

Williamson said the increased interest in UA's Summer Bridge program, from prospective students to faculty across campus, shows the need for increased support to serve a growing student population. Providing that support is expensive, but funding is one of the alliance's missions, Williamson said.

"We want to find ways within the government to possibly fund student scholarships to the different universities in the state," she said. "There have been a lot of states with similar alliances, like Tennessee, who've been successful in getting some of their vocational rehab monies to support students in postsecondary education."

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