Purpose

College students with disabilities face significant challenges in securing employment after graduation. This proposed efficacy study aims to evaluate the impact of professional development (PD) interventions on higher education (HE) personnel to enhance support for college students with disabilities in accessing paid employment opportunities. Building upon the intervention development study of our previous RRTC on Employment of Transition-Age Youth with Disabilities, this proposed research seeks to implement and evaluate the efficacy of the online PD intervention that includes online training modules and a Community of Practice (CoP) technical assistance (TA) model for personnel serving college students with any disability. Our proposed study will expand the scope to include all disabilities, increase the number of participating institutions, and modify the PD model.

Overview

This proposed efficacy study aims to test the online training and adjusted TA model for all disabilities to enhance internship and paid employment outcomes. The study will implement the PD intervention (online training and CoP TA) with three cohorts. Each college will complete the online training and then engage in a year of TA through the CoP as a cohort. The training course will include new evidence-based competencies on employment support for students with disabilities and what was learned from the previous study. Potential module topics are

1. Quality indicators of CIE and evidence-based practices
2. Building strategic partnerships
3. Business development and networking strategies
4. Diversification of funding and staffing solutions
5. Disabilityaffirming and student-centered career planning
6. Assessment and evaluation of impact.