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ACCESS

ACCESS
Eastern Iowa Community College
ACCESS
multiple campuses in Scott, Muscatine, and Clinton counties
Bettendorf, Muscatine, Clinton, IA
Program Contact Jen Aplington
Program Contact Email japlington@eicc.edu
Phone 563-441-4355
Website Program website

ACCESS is a program for high school-age special education students that is designed to help students obtain vocational and employability skills. ACCESS provides local districts within the Iowa Mississippi Bend Education Agency (AEA 9) service area with an additional option to meet the vocational needs of students with disabilities. Only students enrolled in high school and receiving special education services are eligible. In addition, students need to identify an appropriate career goal. In order to identify a career goal, they should have completed career exploration activities, as well as any high school vocational courses related to his/her career interest. Students who enroll in ACCESS must be able to perform the essential skills of the selected coursework with reasonable accommodations. ACCESS students MUST remain enrolled at the high school while they are in the program. This enables the school to continue receiving funding, which off-sets the cost of the program. Most schools allow ACCESS students to walk with their graduation class, but they do not give them their diploma until they exit ACCESS.

Program information submitted: January 29, 2024

General
Public or private: Public
Type of school: 2-year community college or junior college
Is this program a federally funded TPSID program? No
Number of students: 18
Affiliates
School district or agency partner: Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency (AEA 9) service area, Iowa
Contact person: Jody Beltran
Email: jbeltran@mbaea.org
Requirements
Program serves students who have left high school? No, all of our students are still in high school
Deadline to apply to this program: March 1
Criteria for admission
  • Students must be high school-age (up through 21) special education students within the Iowa Mississippi Bend Area Education Agency (AEA 9) service area.
Accepts out-of-state students? No
Please indicate which disabilities students in this program have:
  • Intellectual disability
  • Autism
Planned program length
  • 1 year
  • Varies from student to student
Cost
Is this program able to provide federal financial aid as a Comprehensive Transition Program (CTP)? We are not a CTP, and have no plans to become one.
Students pay for the program in the following ways:
  • Local School District funds
Academic
Students enrolled in this program take the following types of inclusive courses (with students who don't have disabilities):
  • Typical college courses for credit
  • Typical Continuing Education courses
Percentage of academic time spent in inclusive courses (with students who don't have disabilities): 100%
Do all students in this program enroll in at least one inclusive college/university course for credit or audit each semester? Yes
Other than the credential listed above, can students earn any other credentials that are available to all students? ACCESS Program participants are eligible to earn credentials in any certificate, diploma, AAS/AA/AS program offered through EICC.
Students in the program have access to the following campus-wide services:
  • Career services
  • Disability/accessibility services
  • Academic tutoring services
  • Mental health/counseling services
  • Access to a transcript via the registrar
  • Academic advising services (not program staff)
Employment
Other career development activities are:
  • None
Does this program have a working partnership with VR to provide funding, supports and/or services to students in the program? Yes
Housing
Housing is provided to students: No
Extracurricular
Percentage of social time spent in inclusive activities (open to all students on campus): 100%
Students may participate in the following extra-curricular activities
  • Registered student organizations
  • Student government
  • Campus events
Students participate in these campus-wide events:
  • College/University's Student orientation
  • College/University's Graduation