Consulting services for parents and/or students are available by phone or online at an hourly rate. Please contact us for more information.

Community colleges, university, and public and private organizations in all 50 states have expressed interest in the idea of developing meaningful comprehensive postsecondary programs for students challenged with intellectual and learning disabilities.

ReThink Higher Ed consults with organizations with similar unique students populations. Our goal is to work collaboratively, and efficiently to help institutions and organizations make realistic, successful plans for this underrepresented population of young adults.

The following activities comprise the proposed consulting engagement for the purpose of replicating and implementing the Passport Program™. The implementation package includes:

An initial site visit to determine goals and outcomes for the consultation, training needs, and those parts of the following package which the program desires:


• All materials
• Workshops for faculty and administrators
• Implementation, support, and ongoing consultation which includes key stakeholders and advocates for this population.

Administration and faculty training would be performed on the client site or via teleconferencing using ReThink Higher Ed consultants.


Curriculum Guidebooks

• Syllabi, content outlines, learning objectives or outcomes, lesson plans, learning activities, and credit configurations for over 50 credit courses
• Assessment rubrics, sample student products, master teacher testimony and teaching demonstrations (teleconferences or on-site)
• Non-credit tutorials
• Book lists

Parent Support and Training

• Ongoing training of parents to work with students who are in college
• Setting parental expectations
• Enlisting parents as supporters of the program

Methods for Securing Funding for Students

• Federal financial aid
• Dual enrollment funding for students enrolled in transition programs
  (ages 18-21)
• Department of Vocational Rehabilitation
• Accessing funding from a variety of government agencies that support students
• Examples of grants with detailed research

Faculty Handbook

• Overarching Piece: orients faculty to delivery methodologies, student characteristics, and curricula
• Delivery Methodologies: including how we chunk content, provide hands-on experiences, and utilize repetition for reaching this particular population
• Student Characteristics: brief orientation to the variety of learning styles and diagnoses suitable for this program and why this program will work for them
• Curricula Training: integration of curricula across content areas and the alternative student assessment system

Assessment Tools

• Assessment Handbook
• Alternative assessment design and database including 13 skill sets with performance indicators mapped to workforce needs
• Sample reports with templates
• Training to use assessments

Administrative Support Tools

• Admissions processes and policies
• Appropriate testing tools
• Program evaluations tools for assessing teacher effectiveness, program satisfaction, student self-evaluation, and faculty-student interface evaluation
• Academic and social advising for students and their parents
• Faculty hiring, training, and evaluation methods
• Pre- and post-testing for students

Best Practices in Working with Unique Learners

• Database of best and promising practices based on research and anecdotal evidence
• “Gapology”: what are the general knowledge/social gaps these students possess and what are the best ways of predicting and addressing them

Workforce Development Activities

• How to gain employer and industry buy-in
• How to set up the training and internship program
• How to be a job coach
• Employer Supervisor's Booklet

Getting a Degree Program Going

• Barriers
• Navigating college systems
• Setting up networks of support

Note: For more information see Curriculum & Resource Guidebooks.