The Heath Center, a learning disabilities research center at George Washington University, notes that between 1987 and 2003 the number of students enrolled in college with learning disabilities increased by 20 percent per year at community colleges and by 10 percent per year at four-year institutions. The state of Georgia offers an array of options for students with learning disabilities who wish to pursue higher education, from small, private colleges to large, state-funded universities.
Andrew College
Andrew College's Focus Program offers support for college students facing learning challenges in a higher education setting. Self-advocacy, self-determination, and self-efficacy are the cornerstones of the program, designed to help the student to build self-control and mastery over facing learning challenges and achieving academic success. The Focus Program helps students with documented learning disabilities and those with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Some of the challenges students in this program face include cognitive processing, auditory processing, executive functioning issues, reading and language difficulties, expressive and receptive language skills, and organization and study skills. Andrew College's program provides reasonable accommodations for learning disabilities, including: tape recording lectures; offering students the use of calculators, dictionaries, and laptop computers; alternative testing methods such as oral readers or scribes; extended time for tests; quiet rooms for exams; and other accommodations deemed necessary by the program director of the student support team.
Andrew College
501 College St.
Cuthbert, Ga. 39840-5550
800-664-9250
andrewcollege.edu/focus.html
Georgia Perimeter College
Georgia Perimeter College offers college students in Georgia a choice of seven campuses: Clarkston, Decatur, Dunwoody, Newton, Alpharetta and an online "campus." The college's Center for Disability Services offers an integrated approach for students at all seven campuses, with a central director at the main office and site-specific coordinators at each separate campus. Georgia Perimeter College requires documentation of a learning disability diagnosis. If a student does not have an existing diagnosis, he may request evaluations by the Center for Disability Services and the campus coordinator to determine diagnoses and possible eligibility for accommodations. Students need to contact the campus coordinators every semester to request academic support and accommodations, as each course has different requirements that may or may not be affected by the student's specific diagnosis.
Georgia Perimeter College
3705 Brookside Parkway
Alpharetta, Ga. 30022-4408
404-413-7878
gpc.edu/cds/faq.htm
Georgia Southern University
The Regents Center for Learning Disorders at Georgia Southern University, or RCLD, helps students at Georgia Southern but also at other colleges and universities within the state-funded system. Students enrolled in the state system of higher education are entitled to evaluations, assessment, research and support related to learning disabilities and academic work. The RCLD charges a $250 evaluation fee and includes an interview, intake, preliminary testing, evaluation, and feedback. The RCLD uses the information gathered during this process to produce a custom-designed accommodations plan for students with learning disabilities and ADHD.
Georgia Southern University
Regents Center for Learning Disorders
Cone Hall - Basement
Post Office Box 8019
Georgia Southern University
Statesboro, Ga. 30460-8019
912-478-0100
services.georgiasouthern.edu/rcld/
