Gosh this is very eye opening! Thanks for sharing all your research and experience in this area, I imagine many parents would be shocked and stressed out about this situation. We are still a long way til this point and in a different country and who knows the hurdles here, but I’m glad to now have this in the back of mind as something that needs a lot of thought and attention!
A family friend of ours has special needs/severe learning disabilities. He’s not autistic but needed a great deal of support to get through k-12 and then college. He attended New England College. From what I knew at the time (2004-5ish) NEC did a good job & had lots of supports for special needs kids.
While I would agree with some of your truths here, I don't think they are universally true. I've been a community college English teacher in Missouri for over 20 years, and I think services offered do vary from community college to community college. I can't speak for those in New Jersey, having never taught there, though I know folks who do.
#10 and 11 are misleading, I think--almost all community colleges, so far as I know, are required by state law to accept anyone with a high school diploma or GED.
The colleges usually require some kind of placement process to determine which English, math, and reading courses a student might best be suited for. This process usually involves a test of some kind, though many places are no longer using one for English. Students may well end up in developmental or "remedial" classes for these subjects, though this is not true in all states. These courses do not transfer to a four-year institution, as a rule. But some students aren't ready for college level instruction in math or English, and this placement process can be useful.
But it also holds folks back, and many colleges now use a much more individualized placement approach for English, as well as "co-requisite" courses so that students who need developmental work receive it at the same time they are taking a transfer-credit course. I will point out that some placement processes ask for an essay, but most do not--the predictive value of such timed writing is pretty low, and folks are moving away from it. My own college does not require one, for example.
#14--I agree that navigating many of the disability support structures can be tough, though some colleges like my own have folks either within the disability support services office or outside of it to help students learn to use the course management system and the various other campus programs needed to become a successful student. Non-disabled students have the same problems, too. In my experience, the smaller and more rural the community college, the less support services will be offered.
It might be helpful to point out that the various laws regarding support in the K-12 world and support in the college world are different, and some of that is due to the requirements of FERPA--parents contacting professors, for example--but that the student can indicate via a form that they will permit their parents to discuss their performance with faculty.
I have had students with aides in the classroom--a quadriplegic student who couldn't do much of anything without assistance, for example, or a note-taker for students with other kinds of disabilities. I have had sign language interpreters for deaf students, though no help for those who are blind.
On the medical issues--alas, our college got rid of its campus nurses years ago--we have to call 911 or the campus police--but it's not just students with a disability who are affected--it's everyone.
One other point--there are probably as many students with un-diagnosed disabilities or ones who had IEPs in high school who avoid the college disability services folks because they don't want to be seen as "special''--I spend a part of the first week of class talking about various campus services like the disability office and point out there's no shame in asking for help. Usually I'll have one or two folks a semester go through the process (it helps that our daughter was a student with epilepsy and a learning disability at our CC, so I mention her as an example).
Having had students with disabilities in every section I have ever taught over the last 20+ years, I know the system can be complex and confusing. I've had all kinds of students with disabilities drop out, but I've also had many who have gone on to finish a four-year degree and joined the workforce. It's not quite as stark as it might appear.
Gosh this is very eye opening! Thanks for sharing all your research and experience in this area, I imagine many parents would be shocked and stressed out about this situation. We are still a long way til this point and in a different country and who knows the hurdles here, but I’m glad to now have this in the back of mind as something that needs a lot of thought and attention!
This was very interesting to read, thank you!
A family friend of ours has special needs/severe learning disabilities. He’s not autistic but needed a great deal of support to get through k-12 and then college. He attended New England College. From what I knew at the time (2004-5ish) NEC did a good job & had lots of supports for special needs kids.
Have you looked at NEC?
While I would agree with some of your truths here, I don't think they are universally true. I've been a community college English teacher in Missouri for over 20 years, and I think services offered do vary from community college to community college. I can't speak for those in New Jersey, having never taught there, though I know folks who do.
#10 and 11 are misleading, I think--almost all community colleges, so far as I know, are required by state law to accept anyone with a high school diploma or GED.
The colleges usually require some kind of placement process to determine which English, math, and reading courses a student might best be suited for. This process usually involves a test of some kind, though many places are no longer using one for English. Students may well end up in developmental or "remedial" classes for these subjects, though this is not true in all states. These courses do not transfer to a four-year institution, as a rule. But some students aren't ready for college level instruction in math or English, and this placement process can be useful.
But it also holds folks back, and many colleges now use a much more individualized placement approach for English, as well as "co-requisite" courses so that students who need developmental work receive it at the same time they are taking a transfer-credit course. I will point out that some placement processes ask for an essay, but most do not--the predictive value of such timed writing is pretty low, and folks are moving away from it. My own college does not require one, for example.
#14--I agree that navigating many of the disability support structures can be tough, though some colleges like my own have folks either within the disability support services office or outside of it to help students learn to use the course management system and the various other campus programs needed to become a successful student. Non-disabled students have the same problems, too. In my experience, the smaller and more rural the community college, the less support services will be offered.
It might be helpful to point out that the various laws regarding support in the K-12 world and support in the college world are different, and some of that is due to the requirements of FERPA--parents contacting professors, for example--but that the student can indicate via a form that they will permit their parents to discuss their performance with faculty.
I have had students with aides in the classroom--a quadriplegic student who couldn't do much of anything without assistance, for example, or a note-taker for students with other kinds of disabilities. I have had sign language interpreters for deaf students, though no help for those who are blind.
On the medical issues--alas, our college got rid of its campus nurses years ago--we have to call 911 or the campus police--but it's not just students with a disability who are affected--it's everyone.
One other point--there are probably as many students with un-diagnosed disabilities or ones who had IEPs in high school who avoid the college disability services folks because they don't want to be seen as "special''--I spend a part of the first week of class talking about various campus services like the disability office and point out there's no shame in asking for help. Usually I'll have one or two folks a semester go through the process (it helps that our daughter was a student with epilepsy and a learning disability at our CC, so I mention her as an example).
Having had students with disabilities in every section I have ever taught over the last 20+ years, I know the system can be complex and confusing. I've had all kinds of students with disabilities drop out, but I've also had many who have gone on to finish a four-year degree and joined the workforce. It's not quite as stark as it might appear.