Transition Guide: Students With Disabilities
Chapter Four: Differences Between High School and College
High School
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College
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- Services are provided under IDEA or Section 504.
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- Services provided under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act.
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- School district responsible for identifying & evaluating disability at no cost to the student or family.
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- Student must self-identify & provide documentation of disability.
- Student must pay cost of evaluation.
- College responsible for most, but not all costs involved in providing accommodations and/or essential auxiliary aids based on documentation of disability.
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- Instruction more experiential.
- Student learns by doing and experiencing.
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- Instruction often provided via lecture.
- Lecture may cover different information than textbook
- Instructors rarely suggest ways to learn material.
- Effective reading comprehension skills more important.
- Fewer visual and study aids.
- Identifying main ideas more important
- Effective communication skills more important.
- Student must independently seek additional and supplementary resources and information.
- Student must initiate requests for help
- Paying attention in class more important.
- Student needs to self-monitor progress.
- Studying much more important.
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- Most classes meet every day.
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- Classes meet less often.
- Much less direct instructor contact.
- Less time in the classroom.
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- Tasks more structured.
- Step-by-step instructions given.
- Grades based on a variety of activities.
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- Tasks less structured.
- Student held responsible for developing a method to complete tasks.
- Grades based on fewer tasks or larger projects.
- Harder work required for earning a grade of A or B.
- Simple completion of an assignment often earns a grade of C or lower.
- Semester grades sometimes based on two or three test scores.
- Student progress usually not monitored by instructors.
- More major writing assignments.
- Students must be flexible and learn at a pace established by the instructors.
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- Fewer responsibilities.
- Career decisions not expected.
- Student assisted with decisions.
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- More independent living (car, insurance, gas, etc).
- Student expected to know career goal.
- Increased number of decisions.
- Student expected to make independent decisions.
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- Limits set for student by parents and teachers.
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- More self-evaluation and monitoring required.
- More independent reading and studying required.
- Student more responsible for managing time commitments.
- Student establishes and attains own goals.
- Student determines when they need help.
- Interest in learning generated by student.
- Motivation to succeed generated by student.
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- Attendance and progress well monitored.
- Student’s time structured by home and school.
- Special education teacher liaison between student, other teachers, administrators and parents.
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- Student responsible for attendance and awareness of progress or lack thereof.
- Student manages own time.
- Student responsible for self-advocacy.
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- Help is readily available.
- Student need not seek out help.
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- Student must independently seek help using effective communication skills.
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- Students labeled as “special education”.
- Student possibly served separately from other students.
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- Student not labeled or served separately from other students.
- Other students and faculty will not know about student’s disability unless the student elects to reveal such information
- Faculty only notified of required accommodations.
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- Personnel talk freely with parent about student progress and planning.
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- Personnel cannot discuss student without student’s written permission.
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- Lighter workload, slower pace, less stress.
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- Increased workload and faster pace, more stress.
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- Adapted from St. Louis Community College, compiled from:
- Claire E. Weinstein, Karalee Johnson, Robert Malloch, Scott Ridley and Paul Schuls, Innovation Abstracts (vol. X No. 21; Sept 30, 1988) National Institute for Staff & Organizational Development; the University of Texas, Austin, Texas 78712.
- F. Shaw, L.C. Brinckerhoff, J. Kistler and J. M. McGuire, 1991, Learning Disabilities A Multidisciplinary Journal 2, 21-26.
- The Postsecondary Learning Disabilities Primer, Learning Disabilities Training Project, Western Colina University, 1989.
- Vogel, S.A. Alderman, P.B. 1993, Success for College Students with Learning Disabilities.
- Brinckerhoff, L.C., S.F. Shaw and J.M. McGuire, 1993, Promoting Postsecondary Education for Students with Learning Disabilities.
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Distance Education
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