Lakeland College is excited about the additional funding for students who have developmental disabilities. The college is among 18 post-secondary institutions providing educational opportunities for those students and now two more institutions across the province have joined them.
On Monday, Alberta announced $575,000 in funding for Inclusion Alberta to support six students at the University of Lethbridge and Portage College with their learning. Vice President of Academic and Research Michael Crowe says Lakeland has been working with the organization for over 10 years.
“Each year we have between two or three students with accommodation and support needs attending the college. We work hand in hand with Inclusion Alberta to make sure that those students have access to programming that they’re interested in and that they’re supported to be successful in their field of study.”
Crowe says most programs the college provides are open to students with disabilities. He adds that the organization provides someone to give classroom support to those students.
“They work directly with our instructional staff to make sure that the student is able to fully participate in the learning activities, as well as to participate in all of the assessments and have the same kind of experience that any other student would.”
Inclusion Alberta uses the funding they receive to support students enrolment in programs and anything else they may need for their learning. Crowe says he wants to congratulate the two institutions for joining them in providing options to more students.
“It’s great to see the Government of Alberta’s commitment to removing barriers for students with disabilities and having some additional choice for those learners to pursue their post-secondary goal.”