Transition Camp Background
The SIUC Transition and Inclusion Camp was a project that was offered by DSS/SIUC from 2004 - 2007. It was created by the cumulative efforts of Disability Support Services (DSS) and Information Technology (IT) at Southern Illinois University Carbondale (SIUC) as a result of a HECA Long Term Educational Grant. Based on a successful pilot project, HECA-supported, Short Term Grant in FY 04, it was a statewide project that continued to provide essential training for students with disabilities preparing to enter post-secondary institutions. The over-all project goal was for camp participants to receive training in a variety of areas that have been demonstrated to improve the likelihood of academic success. Camp materials will continue to be published on this camp website so that the project can be replicated by other institutions or agencies.
The Transition and Inclusion Camp is a significantly enhanced version of a program that SIUC offers to its newly admitted students with disabilities each fall. SIUC has a long history of excellence in serving the needs of students with disabilities. In that tradition, the Transition Program has been offered the past ten years on a fee-for-service basis. Students who choose to participate arrive on campus a few days before other students, move into their residence halls and begin an intensive and guided transition to student life in areas of campus familiarization, adapted computer technologies, academic support services and other entry activities. The fall programs serve only SIUC students and the training is specific to SIUC; however, that training has been demonstrably effective. The DSS Fall Transition Program, in its last six years, has shown an overall 80% average retention rate into year two as compared to SIUC's current average of 70%. The program has also shown a 63% six-year graduation rate for students who attended the 2001 fall program, as compared to an SIUC average of 46% for its 2001 Cohort.
Because of this extraordinary success, the Transition and Inclusion Camp for Students with Disabilities was created to expand upon the Transition Program and offer it more broadly, not just to SIUC matriculates. In response to IBHE priorities regarding facilitating transition from secondary and community college settings to baccalaureate institutions and enhancing students' success in universities, staff annually recruited twenty students with disabilities preparing to attend colleges or universities or students from secondary settings over the age of sixteen from all over the state. The students participated in a one-week camp that was offered each year of the program. The training received generalized to any post-secondary institution and promoted academic success for participants. Many of the presenters and staff were upper class peers with disabilities. A primary focus, a noted deficiency among new students, was learning adapted computer technologies. Staff evaluated students' individual technology needs and provided training in those areas. In addition, workshops were offered in accessing modern libraries, documenting disabilities, self-advocacy, career development, study skills, personal assistant management, socialization, recreation, and other critical aspects of academic inclusion and success.
The success of the project can me measured by longitudinal surveys that were administered in 2005, 2006, and 2007 to assess the long-term benefits of attending the camp. Data from the 2007 survey (mailed to 2004, 2005, and 2006 participants) indicated that 80% of respondents were still attending college and 100% of those who were not, planned to do so in the future. In addition, 80% of respondents rated the camps as good or excellent in "including adaptive technology in your life" and 88% rated their overall camp satisfaction as good or excellent.
Please peruse the rest of this website for more information about the SIUC Transition and Inclusion Camp Project and the SIUC Disability Support Services Office in general. Direct links are provided for media from each camp (basically photo "weeks in review" sections). In addition, all camp forms and survey materials are available for replication, and a promotional video is posted that further details the camp project.