The Nevada Center for Excellence in Disabilities originally received a Think College mini-grant from the Institute for Community Inclusion in 2010. The grant funded statewide strategic planning to increase inclusive postsecondary education opportunities for Nevadans with intellectual/developmental disabilities.

The Think College Nevada project has coordinated and will continue to coordinate strategic planning activities with a wide variety of statewide stakeholders, many of whom have already identified postsecondary education as a priority in Nevada.

On April 28, 2010, a strategic planning session was held with the help of the ICI’s Think College staff. The stakeholders present identified project goals, tasks to achieve goals, timelines, responsible entities and milestones. Read more about it.

The strategic planning day was followed up with statewide meetings, focus groups, and webinars  to inform about best practices in inclusive postsecondary projects throughout the country.  These events also garnered further ideas and concerns, discussed additional funding sources, and identified additional collaborators.

The NCED’s current relationships with the Nevada System of Higher Education, the Nevada Department of Education, People First, the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation, the Department of Health & Human Services Regional Centers, Nevada PEP, Interagency Transition Advisory Board, the Nevada Council on Developmental Disabilities, and Family TIES of Nevada guaranteed that a wide scope of voices and experiences will continue to be involved.

The original Think College Strategic Planning grant concluded in November 2010 with the following outcomes:

• Nevada has a statewide Think College Coalition
• Nevada has a strategic plan for inclusive postsecondary education for students with IDD
• There has been an increase of knowledge and expectation about PSE on the part of students with IDD and their parents
• Self-determination curriculum is being taught in WCSD to all students with IEPs
• BVR and Regional Centers are on board to braid funding for supports