Frequently Asked Questions
Student Questions
How many hours is each class?
Can I receive credit for college courses I took before enrolling in Passport?
Can I eat during Passport classes?
How many students are usually in Passport classes?
Are the Field Experiences in Passport the same for every student?

Educator Questions
What is the degree granting approval process?
What is the admissions procedure for Passport students?
What would be a typical occupational placement for a graduate of the Passport Program?
How is Passport funded?
What are the main barriers for postsecondary students challenged with intellectual and learning disabilities?
Who are the key players at the college level for successful implementation of the Passport Program?

Parent Questions
How many years does it take the typical Passport student to graduate?
What are typical characteristics of beginning Passport students?
Do Passport students have homework?
What do you mean by “ongoing training of parents"?
Is this a residential program?
What are the next steps?

Employer Questions
What do you mean by an Employers’ Booklet?
Why does Passport use an alternative assessment system?
What courses do Passport students take in addition to their Field Experiences to prepare them for the workforce?


Student Questions
How many hours is each class?
Classes are usually two hours with one 10 to15 minute break. The physical education classes (Yoga, Self Defense, etc.) are typically one hour.

Can I receive credit for college courses I took before enrolling in Passport?
It is possible for students to receive credit for college courses taken prior to or outside of Passport. This will depend on the college policy and if the classes are a match with the Passport Program. For example, a student might receive credit for a technology class as a substitute for a Passport computer course.

Can I eat during Passport classes?
Because eating can be highly disruptive to both students and faculty the typical Passport policy includes no eating during class. Drinking water during class is allowed.

How many students are usually in Passport classes?
The typical class size is nine.

Are the Field Experiences in Passport the same for every student?
ReThink Higher Ed is dedicated to helping students maximize their potential for success and participate fully in society. This means having an individualized Field Experience that works for each student.

The process begins with a person-centered “success team” that works with students to help them define their career goals and prepare for their Field Experiences and lifelong careers. This process continues throughout the entire Passport Program.



Educator Questions
What is the degree granting approval process?
The approval process will vary depending on the educational institution and state.

The typical scenario includes approval from the following entities:

• The college or university curriculum board or committee
• The college or university Board of Trustees
• The State Board of Higher Education
• The regional commission

What is the admissions procedure for Passport students?
In order to be sure that Passport is the best match for students the following items are required for admission:

• A completed Passport Application and college fee.
• A Student Questionnaire, to be completed by the applicant.
• An official high school degree and transcript, current or latest Individualized Education Program (IEP), and any postsecondary program records.
• An educational evaluation conducted within the past three years, including grade level equivalents, standard scores, measures of general intelligence, executive functioning, and information processing and percentile rankings.
  
  Examples of appropriate evaluations include:
• Peabody Individual Achievement Test (PIAT); or
• Kaufman Test of Educational Achievement (KTEA); or
• Woodcock Johnson A or 3, achievement section; or


• Two recommendations from educational personnel who have known the applicant for six months or longer.
• A personal interview with Passport administrators for both student applicant and their parents or guardians.
• Applicant must be 18 years or older.

What would be a typical occupational placement for a graduate of the Passport Program?
Students reaching their full potential and realizing their appropriate career dreams are the ultimate goals of Passport.

First some background. Of the 32 million disabled individuals of working age in the United States, 77 percent are able to work. However, only one-third of the able-to-work actually are employed. Additionally, the majority of those who are not working and can work, want to work.

The federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), passed in 1990, produced potential sweeping changes in the employment practices of organizations in all sectors of the nation's economy. For example, in 1995 the American College of Healthcare Executives adopted a policy that reads in part “...healthcare executives must take the lead in their organizations to increase employment opportunities for qualified persons with disabilities and to advocate on behalf of their employment to other organizations in their communities."

While the future is not always easy to predict, it is our hope that Passport graduates will find work in careers that have long term potential.

Career placement potentials will utilize the specific unique capabilities of each student. All students have islands of genius that are enhanced through rigorous work in the Passport Program. Potential student-identified career entry level positions include: healthcare staff positions, information technology, laboratory assistants and technicians, government clerical positions, special education aids, early childhood positions, library assistants, data gathering, drafting assistants, animal care specialists, tour guides, office assistants, medical records assistants, inventory control, dental fabrication assistants, census work, transportation routing, specialized communication, retail, and self employment.

How is Passport funded?
The model for Passport was designed as a self-support model, meaning it was funded entirely by tuition paid by family funds. It received no state or local college support.

This model may be altered depending on the level of support from the state and local college. Passport is a degree status program and thus qualifies for Federal Financial Aid and other state financial aid.

Other funding avenues include Vocational Rehabilitation (VR or DVR), IDEA funds for students 18 to 21 years of age (Dual enrollment programs are often funded by the school system using IDEA or local school district funds), scholarships, other rehabilitation organizations, and family funds.

What are the main barriers for postsecondary students challenged with intellectual and learning disabilities?
The most significant barriers to overcome remain “attitude” and “low expectations” (such as “college is for smart people,” “students with intellectual and learning disabilities do not belong in college,” and “the curricula will be watered down.”)

Other barriers include faculty training, transportation, lack of academic preparation for college, and funding.

Who are the key players at the college level for successful implementation of the Passport Program?
It will be most effective to have the college president or administrators at the executive level, along with members from the college Board of Trustees, endorse the implementation of the Passport Program.

Other key members include an effective Passport administrator, workforce coordinator, and trained faculty members.



Parent Questions
How many years does it take the typical Passport student to graduate?
It generally takes three to four years depending on if the student is attending full or part-time, and depending upon the attendance policies of the host college.

Some colleges may feel it is important for students to attend as a cohort with new enrollments offered only in the fall. Other colleges may allow students to attend part-time and enroll throughout the school year.

What are typical characteristics of beginning Passport students?
Students characteristics include:

• Individuals highly motivated to attend college and enjoy learning
• A strong desire for independence and an awareness of the need for academic, career, and life skills to make this happen
• Difficulty with a typical college curriculum, even with the availability of various disability and support services
• Difficulty with cognitive organization and decision-making (Thus PDA or hand-held devices and computer software are useful for organizational tasks and short-term memory issues.)
• Difficulty processing or storing information and/or may receive information inaccurately
• A reading level of approximately fifth to eighth grade with mathematics usually at a lower level
• Concrete thought patterning skills, but difficulty with abstract thinking
• Challenged executive functioning skills, such as self-monitoring, physical organization, etc.
• A supportive nature coupled with a strong desire to connect and interact socially
• A maturity level which is not consistent with the chronological age (many function at a mid-teen level of maturity with a tendency towards personal hyper-focusing)
• Enjoying chatting online
• Viewing authority as positive and a trust of adults and teachers
• Feeling accountable to their parents
• Needing clear directions, structure and outcomes to feel secure
• Not having a clear awareness about their own challenges or disabilities
• Difficulty with being resourceful about themselves (e.g. students may have difficulty internalizing past experiences and projecting those experiences and consequences into the future)
• A history of pretending to understand things in class (Thus assessment and evaluation of learning in a variety of ways is essential.)
• Poor testing skills and a fear of tests
• A need for extra time in testing situations

Do Passport students have homework?
Passport courses require homework that is vital to the reinforcement of critical thinking skills. This is not busy work but part of the program’s goal of “higher expectations.”

As with all new things this is a process and in time students adjust and enjoy problem-solving techniques and working hard at their assignments. Families are active participants in the students’ movement from “learned helplessness” to independence.

What do you mean by “ongoing training of parents"?
Passport students are pioneers in postsecondary special education and their ultimate inclusion in the general population. A new paradigm is required for this cultural shift and parents are key.

Parents will receive training in the complex dynamic of parenting the unique learner. Specific workshops to support the philosophy and goals of the Passport Program and the host colleges are made available in ongoing parent meetings to help ensure the success of students and their independence.

Is this a residential program?
No. We understand the great need for postsecondary education for students with learning and intellectual disabilities. Our hope is that Passport is replicated throughout the nation in local community colleges and universities to facilitate our underrepresented student population.

What are the next steps?
A groundswell of community support from parents, local high school special educators, potential employers, and students will be essential. Where there is demand, there is implementation of programs.

Contact your local college executives and board of trustees and ask them to consider implementation. It might be valuable to stress this is an underrepresented population, that the program can be a revenue stream for the college, and the job-related, social, and academic skills that will be acquired by these students will allow them to live more independent, fulfilled, and successful lives. These skills will allow the students to be less of a burden on both society and their own families.

There is both a growing number of postsecondary students with intellectual and or learning disabilities and a lack of postsecondary educational opportunities in the nation.



Employer Questions
What do you mean by an Employers’ Booklet?
When students enroll in Passport's Field Experience courses the Passport Career Development Specialist, or job coordinator, will work with the student and the supervisor to ensure the best experience for all involved. Meetings are held bi-weekly.

The booklet gives informative tips, examples, and forms that help the work experience run smoothly at the work site.

Why does Passport use an alternative assessment system?
Careers and inclusion in the general population are ultimate goals of the Passport Program. Passport's assessment system with its 13 Skill Sets and their corresponding performance indicators are based on U.S. Department of Labor’s SCAN Skills (Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills). The commission determined the skills our young people need to succeed in the world of work and its findings and recommendations continue to be a valuable source of information for individuals and organizations involved in education and workforce development.

Instead of receiving arbitrary points or letter grades at the end of each quarter, student performances are communicated in a report detailing the skills addressed by each course.

What courses do Passport students take in addition to their Field Experiences to prepare them for the workforce?
There are nine other courses that are critical to the workforce. However, all courses emphasis critical thinking, executive functioning, teamwork, and train to fluency. Repetition is emphasized and if one student is confused, individual help is given and/or the class stops and assists. In the truest sense of the word, no student is left behind.