Eric Zuniga, Campus Carrier deputy news editor
College-aged students with intellectual disabilities will soon have the chance to attend Berry in a new two-year program under development. The Inclusive Post-Secondary Education (IPSE) program, slated to launch next fall, will allow students to study and work with the support of peer mentors.
Berry’s program will join the 325 existing IPSE programs across the United States. These programs serve students with intellectual disabilities who are usually placed into special education programs. These students typically do not complete the coursework required to graduate with a high school diploma, making them unable to be admitted to colleges regularly.
Michelle Haney, professor of psychology and IPSE director, said that IPSE programs are intended to integrate students with intellectual disabilities into all aspects of college life.
“It’s not special education in college,” Haney said. “It’s an experience for this group of folks to learn and access the opportunities that you guys have.”
The program plans to admit two to three commuter students for its first semester in Fall 2024. The admission process is tentatively scheduled to begin in November.
The IPSE program will culminate in a certificate of completion rather than an academic degree. IPSE students will audit one class a semester with the support of a peer mentor, who will study with the student and work with professors to modify assignments to fit the student’s needs. According to Haney, students will choose courses they are most interested in.
“There will be a slate of classes where faculty have already agreed to welcome the students in the class,” Haney said. “If they express an interest in something that’s not represented by [that slate], I probably will go reach out to some of those faculty and see if they’re willing to have an IPSE student in their class for a semester.”
Student work will be emphasized in Berry’s IPSE program. Haney plans on allowing students to work part-time on campus or in internships with the support of a job coach. She said that IPSE students should have at least one semester of paid work experience, possibly leading to professional certifications.
“Some students while they’re in their IPSE program can actually earn certificates that get them jobs, like in computer technology or working with young children,” Haney said. “They come out maybe not with a college degree but actually with a certification that helps them be employable.”
Paid work opportunities are a requirement for the program to be designated a Comprehensive Transition and Postsecondary program, which allows IPSE students to receive federal financial aid.
Traditional Berry students will be able to assist IPSE students in paid work opportunities. According to Haney, the program plans on hiring five to six peer mentors to support IPSE students academically and socially. These students will take a one-hour BCC 200 course developed by the Center for Integrity in Leadership.
“It’s a key part of the experience, and it’s not just about finding labor for the program,” Provost David Slade said. “I think part of the mission of the program is for it to have positive outcomes really for everyone that is involved.”
Haney said that she has been looking into starting an IPSE program at Berry for almost ten years. Last spring, the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities offered Berry an opportunity to start a program with a $50,000 exploration grant. The grant provides money for the planning of the program and the hiring of a small number of staff, according to Slade.
“It’s about [Haney’s] time, it’s about having some people to help plan the program, and also at Berry it would be important for us to include our current students,” Slade said.
Haney introduced the program to students in a Solidarity Week session last Thursday, alongside Spenser Norris, program manager of Georgia State University’s IPSE program, and Darrien Todd, an alumnus of Kennesaw State University’s program. Some students asked why IPSE students could not receive credit for the courses they take in the program. Norris said that the inability to receive credit is an equity concern.
Senior Lucy Hicks, who is the president of the Coalition for Neurodiverse and Disability Rights, echoed these concerns.
“If they’re paying for the college, they’re taking the classes, then of course they should get credits,” Hicks said. “I think a lot of the hesitancy to offer degrees or credits comes from a stance of othering people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and subconsciously saying ‘maybe they’re not capable of doing this, they can’t handle this.’”
Many colleges say that IPSE students cannot receive credit because they usually do not meet their typical admission requirements. Haney said that these students’ inability to access the regular high school curriculum should be considered first.
“Once you get that diagnosis, over time, especially as you get into high school, you no longer have access to the academic curriculum,” Haney said. “There’s an earlier problem with making sure that students have access to the academic curriculum that gives them choices.”
Hicks said that all students will have to work to create an inclusive environment for IPSE students.
“Things like Mountain Day, there will be student volunteers that will probably need to be involved with that to make sure that everything is as accessible as possible for students,” Hicks said.
Haney said that she hopes the program will allow students with intellectual disabilities to live independent, fulfilling lives.
“My biggest hopeful consequence is to create an amazing program that supports three or more people with intellectual disabilities a year to go out and get employed, have good lives and independence,” Haney said.