The Academic Resource Center recognizes that many parents act as student advocates during much of a student’s pre-college education. At the post-secondary level, students are expected to advocate for themselves.
This transition is often a difficult one for parents and students. There are a number of things you can do as a parent to ease the transition. Parents can encourage their student to:
- Seek information about resources available to them
- Identify and manage important information and deadlines
- Follow through on recommendations and new information
Transition from High School to College
| High School | College |
|---|---|
| Most students with diagnosed learning disabilities have Individual Education Programs (IEPs) which stipulate what accommodations students are eligible to receive. | Students with diagnosed learning disabilities are evaluated for disability support services and are granted interventions based on the context of the academic demands of the university. |
| Parents often advocate for support services for their student. | Students are expected to self-advocate for support services. |
| Support services for learning disabled students are mandatory. | Support services for learning disabled students are offered to students who seek interventions. Services through the Academic Resource Center are not mandated under the A.D.A. |
| Teachers take responsibility for implementing accommodations. | Students are responsible for contacting instructors regarding implementing interventions. |
| IEP accommodations can be granted for students with or without a formal diagnosis of a learning disability or ADHD. |
Students must have full clinical documentation and a formal diagnosis to receive academic interventions. |
| Once an IEP has been implemented, teachers are notified upon enrollment by the school counselor and services are routinely updated until graduation. | Once academic interventions are arranged, a student must make a request, at the ARC, for notifying professors, at the beginning of each semester and eligibility is reevaluated on an annual basis. |
| IEPs are crystallized accommodations that remain rather consistent until graduation. | Academic interventions are fluid accommodations designed to support the development of compensatory strategies so that students become more adept at managing academic demands relying less on support intervention. |