Minnesota Inclusive Higher Education Consortium

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Increasing sustainable opportunities for inclusive postsecondary education for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Minnesota.

Addie Loerzel

Addie is a University freshman. She will take entrepreneurship classes because she wants to open her own restaurant and become a cook.

Kellie Shaw

Kellie is in college. He loves art and is exploring job training and internships that meet his interests.

Alisa Barnett

Alisa has been writing and performing music since childhood. She wants to go to college to prepare for her music career.

See profiles of these and other prospective students, current students, and college graduates.

Do you have a Minnesota student story to share? Please send it to us at MIHEC@umn.edu

What is Inclusive Higher Education?

Inclusive higher education is a viable and legitimate pathway to and through higher education for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Institution-approved access allows for the same rights, privileges, experiences, benefits, and outcomes as a matriculating student by removing barriers. Inclusive higher education opens doors to earning a meaningful credential, pursuing a career of choice, earning a competitive wage, and living a fulfilling and independent life.

The Minnesota Inclusive Higher Education Consortium (MIHEC) vision is to build, enhance, and sustain initiatives that offer inclusive higher education for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities across Minnesota. This includes attending college classes, gaining work experience, earning meaningful credentials, and becoming a genuine member of the campus community.

Inclusive Higher Education Capacity in Minnesota

Every year, approximately 1,000 Minnesotans with IDD complete 12th grade, and approximately 5,000 students with IDD are college-age (18-22 years old). Many of these students want to continue learning and attend college but face barriers to access and enrollment in Minnesota universities and colleges or may not even know college is an option.

Barriers include a lack of postsecondary education options, limited capacity in Minnesota's three existing Comprehensive Transition and Postsecondary programs (CTPs), and limited funding. Minnesota has the capacity to enroll approximately 90 students a year because only three Minnesota colleges and universities are designated as (CTPs) out of over 200 institutions of higher education. This translates to less than 3% of Minnesotans with IDD being able to access and attend college, let alone earn a certificate or degree. We want 100% of students with IDD to be aware of Minnesota inclusive higher education opportunities and to have the choice to attend college if desired.

circle with text reading fewer than 3 percent inside.

Fewer than 3% of students with intellectual and developmental disabilities in Minnesota attend college.

Student Success

Positive adult outcomes are the result of institutions of higher education recognizing the potential in students with IDD and providing equal access to existing university systems and services. Students with IDD who enroll in postsecondary education:

  • Are more than twice as likely to be employed (Sannicandro et al., 2018)
  • Earn $400 more per month than peers who do not attend college (Sannicandro et al., 2019)
  • Earned approximately 80% more per year compared to those not participating in postsecondary certificate or degree programs (Miller et al., 2019)
  • Achieve higher levels of independent living (Grigal et al., 2019)
  • Have better physical health and healthier relationships (Butler et al., 2016)
  • Rely less on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Vocational Rehabilitation (Sannicandro, 2019)

Employment

The higher education pathway to employment for students with IDD is underutilized. The potential impact of access to higher education on employment outcomes is striking when compared to the employment rate of youth with IDD who do not attend postsecondary education, with approximately 60% employed versus 11%:

  • Outcomes from Transition Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities (TPSID) showed that one year after exiting college, 59% of students were employed, and 66% were employed after two years. Three years after exit, 67% reported having a paid job (Grigal et al., 2021).
  • In Minnesota, only 11% of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) served by the state human services agency were in competitive integrated employment. (Winsor et al., 2021).

In addition, students are 15 times more likely to be employed if they work while in postsecondary education (Grigal et al., 2019). These long-term employment outcomes of students completing higher education are encouraging.

Students with intellectual and developmental disabilities contribute to our communities and thrive with increased choice, independence, and employment. MIHEC aims to create viable pathways to employment through inclusive higher education, which includes attaining a postsecondary education credential and promoting individuals' capacity for self-determination and community living.

Join the Minnesota Inclusive Higher Education Consortium!

The Minnesota Inclusive Higher Education Consortium (MIHEC) is a parent-led collaborative group that includes inclusive higher education institutions, local education agencies, key state agencies, students, advocates, families, legislators, and nonprofits who are committed to expanding postsecondary education opportunities for interested youth, young adults and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities from all ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Becoming a member of the Minnesota Inclusive Higher Education Consortium offers the following benefits:

Join our mailing list to receive updates. For more information, please contact us at MIHEC@umn.edu.