KU ACCESS: The University of Kansas Access, College, Career, and Extensive and Significant Supports Program

The University of Kansas Access, College, Career, and Extensive and Significant Supports (KU ACCESS) program will focus on promoting competencies in three areas of critical need in research and teacher education in the field of secondary education and severe disabilities: (a) promoting access to the general education curriculum, (b) aligning college and career readiness and common core standards, and (c) building strengths-based systems of supports that promote inclusion and valued adult outcomes. Within each of these competency areas, KU ACCESS scholars will develop: (a) discipline-specific content knowledge including knowledge of evidence-based decision-making strategies and procedures used to support positive outcomes; (b) skills to contribute to the discipline’s research base and support the translation of practices in the field, particularly in high-need LEAs; (c) knowledge of teacher preparation strategies and approaches, including emerging online technologies, that have documented effectiveness in the professional development of teachers of students with severe disabilities in inclusive settings; and (d) an understanding of the activities and behaviors required to be successful in the culture of academia across a range of higher education institutions.