The Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire has been awarded a $2.5 million grant from the US Department of Education-Office of Postsecondary Education to create greater access to post-secondary education for young adults with an intellectual disability (ID). This grant, Granite State Transition Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities (TPSID) project, marks a turning point for inclusive higher education in New Hampshire.

According to the 2019 Disability Statistics Compendium, in 2018, only 13.9% of New Hampshire residents with a disability age 25 and over carried a four-year college degree, compared to 24.3% of residents without disabilities. Additionally, young adults with ID are significantly more likely to be underemployed and live in poverty than their peers.

Over the next five years, the Granite State TPSID project will work to narrow New Hampshire’s education gap by developing a sustainable model to enroll and support up to 50 students with ID at UNH and build capacity across the state’s network of Institutions of Higher Education. In accordance with UNH COVID-19 operating procedures, innovative campus and remote-learning opportunities will combine traditional classroom experiences with inclusive campus life options, peer mentoring, and academic coaching to prepare students for academic, occupational, and social success.

The Institute on Disability was established in 1987 to provide a university-based focus for the improvement of knowledge, policies, and practices related to the lives of persons with disabilities and their families. Its mission is to promote full access, equal opportunities, and participation for all persons by strengthening communities and advancing policy and systems change, promising practices, education, and research.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state’s flagship public institution, enrolling 12,300 undergraduate and 2,200 graduate students.

This was reported by the University of New Hampshire on November 23, 2020.

Contact information: UNH Institute on Disability, 10 West Edge Drive, Suite 101, Durham, New Hampshire 03824; 603-862-4320; Website: https://iod.unh.edu