Think College's Chelsea Stinnett on IPSE Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities

About Inclusive Academia
Welcome to "Inclusive Academia," your guide for neurodiverse high school students and their families navigating post-graduation options. Join us, as we explore autism and neurodiversity support programs at U.S. colleges, as well as other alternatives that graduating seniors should consider.
Our goal is to offer practical advice and lessons learned from top experts about options for neurodiverse students after high school. We will provide you behind-the-scenes deep dive interviews with directors and students at incredible college autism and neurodiversity support programs around the country. From academic assistance to housing to social integration, we'll get your questions answered.
We hope to make this important life decision a little less stressful and a lot more exciting for the whole family. Subscribe for exclusive insights and join us in empowering neurodiverse individuals to thrive after high school!
In This Episode
Chelsea Van Horn Stinnett is the Technical Assistance Coordinator for Think College and also a graduate affiliate faculty member at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio.
Think College is part of the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts - Boston. Think College is a network of nearly 400 Inclusive Postsecondary Education (IPSE) programs throughout the United States. These IPSE programs provide career and life skills to students with intellectual disabilities who otherwise likely would not be able to attend college.
Unlike autism and neurodiversity that supporting degree-seeking students such as those in the College Autism Network (CAN), these Think College IPSE programs are generally not for degree-seeking students. Most programs offer some sort of credentialing in a relevant career area of the student's choice. Many offer students an opportunity to take inclusive classes with neurotypical, degree-seeking students with accommodations and even modifications since these classes are generally not for credit toward a degree. Many also offer their own job- and life-skill classes. About half of the programs in the Think College network offer residential options on campus for students as well.
Think College reports upon self-reported data from federally funded, model demonstration sites, and the results overall are encouraging:
84% program completion rates
96% earned a certificate
72% had a paid job paid job (at exit or within 90 days), were participating in unpaid career development activities, had transferred to another postsecondary education program, or were doing a combination of these activities at exit.
For the most recent data and statistics, please reference Think College's Annual Report of Model Demonstration Projects (Year 3, 2022-2023), as these numbers have been updated since the time of this interview.
Run of Show
0:04 - Chelsea's introduction
1:05 - Think College's history and principles
1:37 - Typical profile of Think College program student
3:06 - Curriculum and credentials typically earned by Think College students
4:40 - Success metrics and employment statistics
5:29 - Typical Think College program application process and approach
7:28 - Accommodations and modifications often permitted
8:25 - Some Think College programs have residential options
9:44 - Costs and financial aid can vary widely but many of these programs are free
11:24 - Job skills and credentials offered by Think College programs
13:41 - ThinkCollege.net offers robust search tools and detailed information on member programs
14:54 - Think College programs are for students with intellectual disabilities whereas College Autism Network (CAN) programs support degree-seeking students
17:35 - Some colleges have both autism-support programs for degree-seeking students and IPSE programs for students with intellectual disabilities
18:28 - Identifying a high-quality IPSE program
Link to Think College website: thinkcollege.net/
Contact Matt: [e-mail]
‪@thinkcollege25‬ ‪@collegeautismnetwork2095‬