Kindling Inclusionary SMET Education for Persons with Disabilities (KISMET Project)

County College Of Morris, Randolph NJ

Investigators

Abstract

Proposal # HRD-0095994 Institution: County College of Morris Principal Investigator: Judith Kuperstein Title: "Kindling Inclusionary SMET Education for Persons with Disabilities" (KISMET) ABSTRACT The County College of Morris (CCM) is an established leader in associate degree level science education. Annual surveys of SMET graduates from 1994-98 with very high response rates show that over 91% report being employed, enrolled in 4-year institutions, or both. In 1989, CCM created its Horizons Program dedicated to the needs of students with learning disabilities (sld), that has grown from 35 participants to over 500 with 38% coming from 9 other counties. CCM has also developed a successful system for providing tailored services to students with physical disabilities (spd) and an active Disability Awareness Committee. Adaptive equipment and software are used to make its state-of-the-art SMET classrooms and laboratories accessible, and special tutoring is provided as needed. An analysis of the limited individual data available on CCM's sld and spd reveals that CCM is providing SMET programs that are attractive, but they point out issues that deserve investigation relating to noticeable clustering of these students in a very limited number of SMET programs. The overall goal of the proposed project is to create increased inclusionary SMET education opportunities for students with disabilities (swd) that should attract more of these students into SMET programs and careers. The various components to accomplish this are in-place (i.e. quality SMET programs and faculty, an established Tech Prep Consortium of secondary schools, and proven assistance programs for swd). The specific objectives of the proposed KISMET project are to: Upgrade CCM's capacity to provide SMET education to students with disabilities by: (1) improving articulation and transition coordination with secondary schools, (2) orienting faculty toward inclusionary thinking regarding this population, and (3) increasing the availability of support services and assistive equipment. Develop more "swd friendly" delivery of SMET curricula, including training faculty in identified successful techniques. Improve the tracking of swd SMET enrollees and their progress at CCM as a means to both learn "what works" for this population and better serve individual swd. Increase first-time enrollments, retention and persistence to graduation by swd in SMET programs, including decreased abandonment of SMET for non-SMET majors. The project will use a New Transition Coordination Outreach Initiative to Secondary Schools, a Special Recruitment Effort, a Faculty Task Force to Improve SMET Curricula Delivery, Faculty/Staff Development activities, and Additional Direct Assistance.