by Zach Miller
Quick Summary
The State of Minnesota is working to expand access to postsecondary education for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The mission of the Minnesota Inclusive Higher Education Consortium is to provide access to affordable postsecondary education for "ALL interested youth, young adults, and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities." The University of Minnesota's Institute on Community Integration is MIHEC's host organization. The State of Minnesota (through its Olmstead Plan), has set goals for the current fiscal year:
- The percentage of students with disabilities who have enrolled in an integrated postsecondary education setting within one year of leaving high school will increase to 34.8% (from a baseline of 29.8%).
- 1,513 students with developmental cognitive disabilities, ages 19-21, will enter into competitive integrated employment through the Employment Capacity Building Cohort (ECBC).
Mary Hauff, director of the Minnesota Inclusive Higher Education Technical Assistance Center at the Institute on Community Integration (TA Center), and her outreach colleague, Katie Parry, shared a presentation, "Inclusive Higher Education for Students with Intellectual and Development Disabilities," at October's Minnesota Library Association Conference, in Rochester.
According to their presentation, there are 5,000 prospective college students in Minnesota who may qualify for inclusive higher education. This includes individuals with a cognitive impairment, characterized by:
- Significant limitations in intellectual and cognitive functioning,
- Adaptive behavior as expressed in conceptual, social, and practical adaptive skills, or
- Current or former eligibility for Free Appropriate Public Education under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
Nationwide, 343 institutions offer inclusive higher education, but just three of those are in Minnesota: Bethel University, in St. Paul; Central Lakes College, in Brainerd; and Ridgewater College, in Willmar. That means there is space for less than 3% of Minnesota students with an intellectual and developmental disability.
Get Involved
The TA Center is collaborating with the Minnesota Office of Higher Education to increase the number of participating institutions in Minnesota to expand access for Minnesota students with an intellectual and developmental disability. You can get involved by attending community of practice gatherings, open office hours, and a webinar miniseries aimed at helping your institution prepare a competitive grant application that aligns with Minnesota’s standards for high-quality inclusive higher education. Visit MIHEC's News & Events website to learn more.
Augustana University's Augie Access Program
Krista Ohrtman, associate director and access services librarian at Augustana University's Mikkelsen Library, in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, shared the testimonial below. Through Augie Access, Augustana University is the lone South Dakota institution offering inclusive higher education.
"We support our students in the Augie Access program as we do all of Augustana's students in the library: with resources, a welcoming space, and highly-trained, empathetic, and service-focused staff. In addition, we regularly welcome Augie Access participants into our student-worker ranks for employment internships (a part of the regular Augie Access curriculum).
"In their internships, our Augie Access students receive library training and support/accommodations (as needed) to complete tasks that support the library's mission. These tasks vary based on the students' interests and abilities; some excel at meticulous, detail-oriented projects, while others' outgoing natures lend themselves to direct customer service. From the outside, our Augie Access interns seem just the same as our other library student workers, and we certainly benefit from everything they bring to our team."
