Massachusetts
Inclusive Concurrent Enrollment Initiative
FY23 Legislative Report
Prepared by the Department of Higher Education
Noe Ortega, Ph.D., Commissioner
© 2024 Department of Higher Education
May 9, 2024
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Massachusetts Inclusive Concurrent Enrollment Initiative
A Report to the Legislature
© 2024 Department of Higher Education
Permission is hereby granted to copy any or all parts of this document for non-commercial
educational purposes. Please credit the “Department of Higher Education.”
Department of Higher Education
Commonwealth of Massachusetts
One Ashburton Place, Suite 1401
Boston MA 02108
Phone: (617) 944-6950
Fax: (617) 727-0955
http://www.mass.edu
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Contents
Letter from the Commissioner ........................................................................................................ 4
Purpose of the Report...................................................................................................................... 5
History of the Massachusetts Inclusive Concurrent Enrollment Initiative ..................................... 5
Participating Institutions ................................................................................................................. 8
Participating School Districts ......................................................................................................... 9
Classes & Pedagogy ........................................................................................................................ 9
Credit & Audit ............................................................................................................................ 9
Student Employment Outcomes ................................................................................................... 10
Residence Life .............................................................................................................................. 11
Systems-Change Outcomes .......................................................................................................... 12
Public Awareness Results ......................................................................................................... 12
Program Administration Results............................................................................................... 12
Technical Assistance and Professional Development Results .................................................. 13
Program Staffing ........................................................................................................................... 13
Appendix A: FY2022 Budget Language .................................................................................. 14
Appendix B: District Partners for Academic Year 2021-2022 ................................................. 16
Appendix C: Advisory Board Membership .............................................................................. 18
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Letter from the Commissioner
May 9, 2024
Members of the General Court:
I am pleased to submit the enclosed report.
Since the Department of Higher Education assumed responsibility for the Massachusetts Inclusive
Concurrent Enrollment Initiative (MAICEI) in August 2017, it has continued to expand this
network of grant-funded partnerships between schools and public colleges and universities
offering inclusive concurrent enrollment programs for students with severe disabilities between
the ages of 18 and 22.
We are proud of the 14 participating partnerships, serving over 300 students per year. DHE is
pleased to support students with intellectual disabilities as they participate in both credit and non-
credit courses in inclusive settings; develop self-determination and self-advocacy skills; improve
academic, social, and functional skills; and participate in career planning, vocational skill-building
activities, and community-based integrated competitive employment opportunities.
If you have any questions about the program or this report, please feel free to contact Alex Demou,
at ademou@dhe.mass.edu.
Sincerely,
Noe Ortega, PhD
Commissioner, Department of Higher Education
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Purpose of the Report
The Department of Higher Education is pleased to submit “Massachusetts Inclusive
Concurrent Enrollment Initiative: FY23 Legislative Report” pursuant to Chapter 126 of the Acts
of 2022, line item 7009-9600 (see full text in Appendix A):
For a discretionary grant program to provide funds to school districts and public
institutions of higher education partnering together to offer inclusive concurrent enrollment
programs for school age children with disabilities, as defined in section 1 of chapter 71B of the
General Laws, who are between the ages of 18 and 22, inclusive; provided, that the grant program
shall be limited to students who are considered to have severe disabilities and, in the case of
students age 18 or 19, shall be limited to students with severe disabilities who have been unable
to achieve the competency determination necessary to pass the Massachusetts Comprehensive
Assessment System exam; provided further, that on a discretionary basis, public institutions of
higher education may choose to additionally include students with severe developmental
disabilities over the age of 21 through said grant program;
The purpose of this grant program is to build partnerships between high schools in public
school districts and the state’s public institutions of higher education (IHEs) to develop inclusive
concurrent enrollment programs for students with severe disabilities between the ages of 18 and
22. Data used for this report is compiled from the Massachusetts Inclusive Concurrent Enrollment
Initiative (MAICEI) program and reports submitted by MAICEI partners.
Authority for the MAICEI Program was shifted from the Executive Office of Education
(EOE) to the Department of Higher Education (DHE) in August 2017, and program expansion,
outreach and public awareness, and quality assurance of existing programs have continued as
important priorities under DHE’s authority. This report is intended to provide information about
the growth of the initiative; its impact on participating students; and emerging opportunities and
challenges which inform policy development and implementation for inclusive post-secondary
opportunities within the Commonwealth.
The first cohorts of participating partnerships continue to explore and implement
sustainability models that hold promise for bringing their programs to scale and developing the
kinds of cross-agency collaborations that will help young people make successful transitions from
the secondary public schools to the adult world of community-based employment and lifelong
learning opportunities.
History of the Massachusetts Inclusive Concurrent Enrollment Initiative
Nationally, the growth of programs serving students with intellectual disabilities in
colleges and universities has increased steadily; currently there are over 300 such programs across
the country. Relatively few of these programs serve students who are 18-22 in a dual or concurrent
enrollment environment, even fewer support students in authentically inclusive learning
environments. Recognizing that many students are unable to earn their high school diplomas due
to the severity of their intellectual disabilities, the Legislature passed budget language in 2007
supporting the development of a network of grant-funded partnerships between public colleges
and universities and school districts to plan, implement, and sustain authentically inclusive
academic, social, and career development experiences on college campuses. At age 18, many of
these students had remaining academic, social, and career development transition goals that were
to be addressed through students’ individualized education programs (IEPs). The intent of the
Massachusetts Inclusive Concurrent Enrollment Initiative was to address these outstanding goals
by providing access and supports to success in academic, social, and career development
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experiences for eligible students with intellectual disabilities alongside in inclusive settings the
Commonwealth’s public two- and four-year colleges and universities.
Because of the growth of the 18-22 age student population with cognitive disabilities with
significant needs and the requirement to support their transitions to adult services, many school
districts have been challenged by the need to develop inclusive transitional experiences at school
sites. An additional challenge was developing such experiences in inclusive settings. By the time
they reach 18-22, the majority of students have completed their high school experiences and moved
onto college, work, and other experiences in the adult world. Often, 18-22-year-old students who
continued in high school settings where they received transitional supports and services were left
isolated from their peers, most of whom had moved on to college or jobs.
Currently, 14 MAICEI programs are providing fully inclusive services and supports to 202
18 to 22-year-old Massachusetts students whose intellectual disabilities have either fully
compromised their ability to complete the statewide competency exam (MCAS) or impeded
completion significantly. Since 2007, over 2,500 students have had the opportunity to take part
both academically and socially, and since 2016 when the first residence life program was
established, more than 30 students have experienced living on a college campus in the residence
halls in inclusive settings. Students also:
● discern their own preferences, interests, needs, and strengths through Person-Centered
Planning;
● become advocates for their own choices and decisions around academic, social, and work
activities;
● acquire career and life skills by taking inclusive college credit and non-credit bearing
courses that relate to their career goals and other areas of interest;
● access student support services, as other college students would;
● participate in campus life;
● experience living on campus in the residence halls; and
● experience integrated competitive employment opportunities.
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 As mentioned previously, in 2017 responsibility for administering the initiative was
transferred from EOE to DHE. Based on legislative budget language (see Appendix A), “the
department of higher education shall develop guidelines to ensure that the grant program promotes
civic engagement and mentoring of faculty in public institutions of higher education and supports
college success, work success, participation in student life of the college community and provision
of a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment; provided further, that
the department of higher education shall develop strategies and procedures to help sustain and
replicate the existing inclusive concurrent enrollment programs initiated through the grant program
including:
1. providing funds to retain employment specialists;
2. assisting students in meeting integrated competitive employment and other transition-
related goals;
3. adopting procedures and funding mechanisms to ensure that new partnerships of public
institutions of higher education and school districts providing inclusive concurrent
enrollment programs fully utilize the models and expertise developed in existing
partnerships;
4. conducting evaluations and research to further identify student outcomes and best
practices, and;
5. developing a mechanism to encourage existing and new partnerships to expand the capacity
to respond to individual parents that request an opportunity for their children to participate
in the inclusive concurrent enrollment initiative.”
6. Consulting with MAICEI campuses on how to support students with intellectual
disabilities over the age of 22.
Through its MAICEI State Director, DHE:
● administers the development and awarding of three types of grants supporting program
development, quality assurance and accountability, and sustainability:
○ one-year planning grants for both residence life and non-residence life
opportunities of up to $70,000 per grant;
○ five-year non-residence life implementation grants of up to $175,000 per grant; and
○ grants designed to support the design and implementation of residence1 life
experiences for program participants;
● coordinates the state advisory committee;
● develops new partnerships;
● assists existing partnerships to create self-sustaining models;
● oversees the development of videos and informational materials;
● designs system-wide evaluation strategies; and,
● designs professional development activities based on practitioner-based research as well as
studies conducted through UMass Boston’s Institute for Community Inclusion, an
established national leader of the “Think College” movement, a consortium of two and
four-year colleges offering post-secondary learning opportunities for students with
intellectual disabilities. Over the past two years, the State Director has been working with
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The first residential life implementation grant was awarded to Bridgewater State University for Academic Year
2016-2017. The second residential life implementation grant was awarded to Salem State University for Academic
Year 2022 – 2023.
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 the Institute of Community Health to further provide deeper data needed as the programs
grow.
Participating Institutions
For academic year 21 - 22, there were seven community college campuses with MAICEI
programs, five state universities, and two UMass campuses. During FY16, Bridgewater State
University was awarded a first-phase implementation grant to organize and create the
administrative and training infrastructure to support residence life opportunities on that campus
starting in Fall 2016. Five students were served through their residence life program for the 2017-
2018 academic year, eight students were served for the 2018-2019 academic year, nine students
were served for the 2019-2020 academic year, and ten during the 2021 – 2022 academic year.
Salem State University was awarded funding for a residence life program and during the 2021 –
2022 academic year, 4 students were living on campus.
Campuses: Massasoit Community College
Bridgewater State University Mass Bay Community College
Bristol Community College Middlesex Community College
Bunker Hill Community College Northern Essex Community College
Cape Cod Community College Salem State University
Framingham State University Westfield State University
Holyoke Community College UMass Amherst
Massachusetts College of Art & Design UMass Boston
**(Highlighted in red and bolded indicates sustainability and explained in next section of report.)
Sustainability.
Most partnerships are funded through Initiative grants; two have completed the grant-
supported planning and implementation cycle, are no longer receiving Initiative funding, and
continue to partner with school districts to offer inclusive concurrent programming on their
campuses. Grant-funded participants receive most of their operating funds directly through
MAICEI; all campuses participate in a planning year before they begin accepting students into
their programs. Bridgewater State University, Holyoke Community College and Mass Bay
Community College have continued program offerings after the end of grant funding from the
Initiative.
As part of the grant application procedure, campuses applying for funding are required to
include proposals for studying, developing, and implementing plans for transitioning to self-
sustaining status. The goal of sustainability of MAICEI programs has been and continues to be a
driving force behind campus program innovations. Eleven campuses currently charge districts for
student participation and two campuses are approaching self-sustaining status.
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Participating School Districts
The number of partners a college campus program may have been generally decided in the
initial grant-making phase. Campuses are required to identify at least two school districts that have
both a need for MAICEI services and students who could take advantage of the program. As
MAICEI programs are heavily dependent on collaboration between campus and school district
partners, a strong partnership between both institutions is needed to ensure that each campus
program serves its students as effectively as possible.
School district
Number of Districts by Year participation has
140 increased
significantly as the
120 successes of MAICEI
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become more widely
recognized; the
80 program has
seen growth from 29
60
active districts
40 participating in FY10
to 104 in FY19.