Attending college and getting a dream job is something many people hope to achieve.
Through inclusive postsecondary education, that dream is becoming a reality for more students.
The Tennessee Inclusive Higher Education Alliance oversees nine programs across the state for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The programs offer several avenues for academic, career and social development, such as individualized plans, life skills classes, internships and peer mentoring.
Belmont does not have an IPSE program, but three other universities in Nashville —Vanderbilt, Lipscomb, and Tennessee State —do.
Founded in 2010, Vanderbilt’s Next Steps program was the first IPSE program in the state of Tennessee.
The main focuses of the program are academics, campus life, and career development, said Hannah Oakley, admissions and administrative program coordinator for Next Steps.
Oakley said she thinks that promoting Vanderbilt as a university and campus environment is an important selling point for the program.
“Vanderbilt is a huge, diverse campus,” said Oakley. “We really just promote being Vanderbilt.”
In her four months with the Next Steps program, Oakley has already seen how the program sets up students for future success.
“They have grown so much and learned so much,” said Oakley. “My hope is that they live the life they want to live.”
In 2014, Lipscomb started the IDEAL program, a two-year program with an optional Advanced Program that gives students a third and fourth year.
The program emphasizes internships, with the first-year students rotating internships every six weeks and the second-year students choosing an off-campus internship.
Kaitlyn Parks, a second-year IDEAL student, is interning at a veterinarian office.
She hopes to become a veterinarian assistant and has said that her college classes have helped her figure out what she wants to do.
The program has helped her learn life skills, including finances, job skills, dorm living and independence, she said.
Parks also said that Lipscomb’s campus environment helped her to get involved and feel more connected.
“It is a very good community,” she said. “People are very kind and loving.”
“All of our faculty, staff and students are incredibly supportive,” said Dr. Halle King, director of the IDEAL program.
King, now in her sixth year with the program, has seen IDEAL’s growth and how valuable it is for students and their families.
“Students can and should have a college experience,” King said. “These programs do belong on college campuses.”
TSU began the TigerEDGE program in 2022 with the help of the Tennessee Believes grant from the Department of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.
It is a two-year program for students ages 18 to 26.
TigerEDGE emphasizes employment for students in their second year, an instrumental part of the program, said Gregory Morrissette, coordinator for the Office of Disability Services at TSU.
Anita Boyd, another coordinator for the Office of Disability Services, emphasizes the social development the students go through, especially given the stigma faced by many of the students.
“It lets me know we’ve done our part,” said Boyd. “That’s the most exciting thing.”
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This article was written by Rachel Suggs
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