Memo on Edinboro University Costs dated 7/7/03

To: District Managers

From: Operations

Subject: Edinboro University Costs

Edinboro University offers an on campus residential program with full supports for University students who have extreme mobility impairments. Costs involved include tuition/fees, books, housing and support services. Support services include aide, transportation and wheel chair maintenance. While this is a very costly program, for some consumers, because if its disability related supports, it offers the only opportunity for college level training. The following is an analysis of how we should apply our current policies to potential sponsorship at Edinboro.

1. Although Edinboro is in Pennsylvania, out of state school issues are not the relevant consideration; the focus of usage of the Edinboro is about the needed level of disability related accommodations. For consumers with most severe mobility limitations, this is probably the only program with sufficient supports so that they could live on campus and be successful.
   
   The key here is in the selection of people we would sponsor at Edinboro in the future (current students would be able to complete their plan). We will only consider Edinboro sponsorship for people for whom a college plan with a local campus/living at home was not a viable option. For example, we could use Edinboro for those individuals who could not deal with snow/wheelchair complications and/or for whom we would not be able to put together a viable reside at home-aid-transportation package (or the equivalent in a dormitory setting).
2. For those people we do agree required the Edinboro program, we will provide full funding for the support services package Edinboro offers, as necessary disability releated supports. We will stick to our policy limits re tuition and room/board, but we will fund the full support (transportation/aide) package. For people not meeting this criteria, who wish to attend Edinboro, we would provide our standard sponsorship package, with support equivalent to what we would have paid if they had attended a local school.

This conclusion is fully consistent with the college policy.