Pathways to College

So, let's say you've thought about it and have decided that you really want to enroll in college. Great! There are a couple ways you can do this, whether you have left high school or not. If you're still in high school and have completed the traditional four years of study, you might want to check out dual enrollment in college. If you're out of high school, you might consider something called supported education.

A dually enrolled student is a student who is still officially a student at high school but is also taking one or more classes at a college. You may spend some time at the high school or you may spend very little time there. Transition teachers from the school will work with you outside of school. Your weekly schedule might include taking classes, looking for a job or working, learning to use public transportation, and working out at a health club.

Below is the schedule of one student who is dually enrolled in college while still working on transition goals:

Juan Carlos' schedule:

(Download this schedule as a Word document)

Juan Carlos wants to pursue two career interests: being a cab dispatcher and working with children with low vision or are blind. To explore the cab dispatcher job, Juan Carlos is taking a Customer Service course at the local community college on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. After class, he goes to the learning center to use adaptive technology to access his reading and writing assignments since he is blind. After finishing his course work, Juan Carlos eats lunch at the college café and then works with the Orientation and Mobility instructor to work on independent travel around the campus. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Juan Carlos works at a job and either go to the gym or works on independent living skills with a transition coach. Juan Carlos has learned to arrange for and take paratransit to get to college, work and the community

Supported Education

A student who receives a supported education after leaving school is getting extra help at college. This extra help may come from an educational coach or from the disability services office on campus. In both cases, students may get extra help to be successful at school. This extra help could include tutoring, workshops on test taking, and support for you to advocate for yourself with your professors.

If you think you will need some support in college due to a disability, then you should also be aware of the terms "education coach" and "disability services".

• Education Coach: a person who assists you in a variety of ways, usually with coursework, both in and out of the class, and maybe off campus as well (see "Working with Educational Coaches").
• Disability Services Office: place on campus where students with disabilities can discuss their learning styles and accommodation needs and, together with a counselor, can develop a learning plan to promote success in college.