From Inside Higher Ed:

A college degree program for students with developmental disabiities is being criticized by parents for allegedly forcing out some low-performing or “problem” students. More than 50 students are currently enrolled

Officials at Bellevue Community College near Seattle, Washington, deny the charges, but are simultaneously studying the possibility of creating a similar program, minus the degree — “an apparent acknowledgment that the degree program the college has prided itself on isn’t a fit for some of the students who were admitted.”

Bellevue’s Venture program had been promoted as offering students with intellectual disabilities, including Down syndrome, a chance to earn college degrees. Unidentified parents said the program hadn’t accepted a student with Down syndrome since 2004, and a former teacher said he felt pressured to build a case against students who were “performing academically but difficult to teach.”

See also: Four grads from BCC are true believers in life skills program (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)

Earlier post here.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008 at 12:36 pm and is filed under intellectual/developmental disabilities, post-secondary education. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.