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When New York state restored funding on April 25 to InclusiveU, Beth Myers said she was thankful. But the executive director of the Taishoff Center for Inclusive Higher Education knew the $100,000 provided by the state was not enough to achieve all of the program’s future goals.

In 2015, the program only had 15 students. Today, the program has over 100, and Myers, who is also the Lawrence B. Taishoff assistant professor of inclusive education, wants it to continue expanding.

“We have not been able to meet all of the needs,” Myers said. “We have about a 50% acceptance rate, so we are trying to expand the support and services we provide, also the number of students we can serve.”

InclusiveU, a Syracuse University program enabling intellectually and developmentally disabled students to attend college, was created in 2014 after a $1 million grant from the Taishoff Family Foundation to support neurodiversity on campus. Since their initial donation, the foundation has given an additional $4 million to the program, Myers said.

But state funding for the program was cut before the pandemic, and with InclusiveU’s shift to online programming during the spring 2020 semester, directors faced a challenge providing the support necessary for student success.

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Virtual social events like karaoke, dance parties and lunch groups were scheduled alongside regular online classes and mentor meetings to ensure students fulfilled both their social and academic needs, Myers said. Harry Owens, now a sophomore in the program, said he enjoyed the Zoom events to help him acclimate to college.

“I came in during the pandemic, and it was kind of hard, but InclusiveU did really well to have Zoom events which were really fun,” said Harry Owens, a sophomore in the program. “If InclusiveU didn’t exist, I wouldn’t be in college right now.”

An important aspect of the program that had to be transferred online was the Peer2Peer partnership, which partners InclusiveU students with student mentors from outside of the program to ease the college transition to SU. Program activities would usually include exploring campus and grabbing coffee, according to the program’s website.

Nate Bach, a junior in InclusiveU, met regularly on Zoom with his Peer2Peer mentor during the pandemic. Despite the unique situation, peer mentors did well to support students online, Bach said.

The continued support from the community allows the program to continue enhancing the college experience and quality of life of the students, said Brianna Schults, the director of InclusiveU.

With more funding, the program would build a technology library, where students can rent technology, expand residential support for students and provide additional scholarship funding, Myers said. It would also look to further help neurodivergent students in InclusiveU transition into college.

Creating a neurodiverse campus, with disabled students attending classes alongside their non-disabled peers can create an environment of tolerance and understanding, Schults said.

“Every student deserves to be able to go to college and have access to the valuable experience that it provides,” she said.

Published on February 2, 2022 at 12:30 am

Contact Grace: gdkatz@syr.edu