Aggies Elevated
| UT-Institute for Disability Research, Policy & Practice, UCEDD/LEND | |||
| Program Type | UCEDD | Fiscal Year | 2020 |
| Contact | Jefferson Sheen, PhD | ||
| [email protected] | |||
| Phone | 435-797-8113 | ||
| Project Description | |||
|
Aggies Elevated provides an inclusive, post-secondary education experience for young adults with intellectual disabilities. We recognize that young adult learners with disabilities want what their typically developing peers want: a traditional college experience, the chance to learn and live independently, and to work in a field that is suited to their interests and abilities. Aggies Elevated students live in on-campus housing right alongside their fellow Utah State Aggies. They have full access to all student activities, clubs, sporting events and other experiences that are part of life on a traditional residential college campus. While the Aggies Elevated program provides them with some coursework, the students are also integrated into traditional university courses based on the students interests. This program was brought about by a unique partnership between disability experts and advocates in our USU Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation, the Center for Persons with Disabilities, and parents of young adults with disabilities who felt strongly that the expectations for their children were too low and their opportunities were too few. In the short time it has been operating, Aggies Elevated has been a model program, providing an example for other schools to follow across the state, the region and the rest of the country. Our students leave the program prepared to live independently, work in their chosen field, and along the way, change perceptions and expectations of people with disabilities everywhere they go. As of July 1, 2018, our post-graduation employment rate is 85%. (In contrast, in Utah, only 17% of individuals with intellectual disabilities one year out of high school have competitive employment). |
|||
