"Diversity is a dominant voice heard within all postsecondary education spheres and links back to the founding belief in North America that education is available for everyone. Unfortunately, diversity most often fits within a narrow spectrum of those issues that are politically relevant while still leaving many people marginalized.

It is exciting to see educational doors being opened for a part of our populace that has been often excluded from further educational opportunities. This is about seeing academic potential, linking learner need to the curriculum, and creating an infrastructure to accomplish it.

Passport: The Degree Program for Unique Learners — is a wonderful educational endeavor to assist individuals who want to be a part of the dream to get an education. ReThink Higher Ed — is about helping special needs learners explore academic avenues allowing them to be active citizens within our local and national communities."

— Devon Jensen, PhD
— Assistant Professor, Higher Education Administration
— Director Doctoral Program in HEA
— University of Calgary, Canada


"Community colleges profess to serve adult learners in the community. Such a definition should be inclusive of adults who want to learn. The burden cannot be singly on the students to conform to a static curriculum. Relevant interventions need to be constructed to engage every learner. To exclude learners with disabilities of any sort is to deem them uneducable, an inconceivable and unforgivable label in education. ReThink Higher Ed — shows us that all adults should find the community college a welcoming place to be trained in work and life skills by instruction and curriculum designed for them."

— Jonathan Deutsch, Ph.D.
— Assistant Professor and Director, Culinary Management Center
— Fellow, Institute for Virtual Enterprise
— Kingsborough Community College
— City University of New York


"The Passport Program was the best thing that ever happened for my daughter.  The balanced approach of addressing academic, social and workplace issues is the wave of the future for this population, which often is coming from woefully inadequate (if not harmful) secondary school experiences.  Simply put, my daughter is a completely different person as a result of this program: she gained a social network, self-confidence, concrete knowledge and skills, and a future direction.  Cynthia Johnson truly understands how to 'challenge and support' Passport students!"

— Parent


"My son is proving to himself that he has the ability to learn at this level, and his confidence to continue learning has grown immensely. He is no longer afraid of the idea of college, of future workplace participation, or of the future in general. I am in fact hard pressed to think of a single aspect of my son's life that this program has not improved."

— Parent


"I believe the reason we need academic classes as well as life skills and workplace skills is so that we can be fully rounded individuals, and counted as contributing members of society."

— Student


"I realize now that I will be able to get the job I want. The one-on-one help, lots of time with teachers, and an individualized program is helpful to me."

— Student


"I applaud the ReThink Higher Ed's Passport Program's bold commitment to taking the education of students with disabilities to perhaps its ultimate conclusion. Visionary initiatives like this challenge the community's perceptions on disability and highlight the notion that we are 'all in it together'. Further, it dignifies the educational process of students with disabilities, by presenting higher order skills using appropriate structures. The Passport Program gives individuals with disabilities impetus to be their very best and their families a clear vision and direction towards the post-school education opportunities that most members of society take for granted."

— John O'Rourke, Ph.D.
— Lecturer
— Edith Cowan University
— Perth, Western Australia