MSU’s ACCESS Program hosts annual Preview Day

Contact: Bethany Shipp

More than 80 prospective students and family members from across the Southeast recently gathered on Mississippi State’s campus for the ACCESS Program’s Preview Day.

The annual event provides a full day of learning, connecting and exploring to help future students understand how the program can support their academic and personal goals. Housed in the Mississippi Institute on Disabilities, ACCESS is dedicated to positively impacting the lives of college students with intellectual and developmental disabilities, ensuring they receive a quality postsecondary education through immersive experiences in academics, career development and independent living.

During the event, attendees gained detailed insights from program staff and college coaches. They also heard from current ACCESS students and alumni about their impactful experiences.

“A website or a phone call can only go so far in describing the ACCESS program and the impact it has on our students and their families,” said Jordan Spencer, director of MSU’s ACCESS Program and Specialized College Services. “Our Preview Day is a chance for our students and our staff to show people the opportunities our program offers for growth. Hearing from current students and alumni allows interested families to not just hear about the impact but see it and feel it.”

The participants also toured campus, including the program’s new home in the Jim and Thomas Duff Center—a newly constructed 100,000-square-foot facility that also houses the Department of Kinesiology and Autism and Developmental Disabilities Clinic. The ACCESS space includes offices, a computer lab and living areas mirroring similar environments these students will experience after college.

ACCESS is now part of a new university unit that expands MSU’s support to students with intellectual, developmental and neurodiverse needs. Known as the ACCESS Program and Specialized College Services, the unit brings together the ACCESS Program and the expansion of unique programming for neurodiverse college students. It now incorporates the Autism Liaisons Program, focused on the success of degree-seeking students on the autism spectrum, and expands iREACH, a formalized program for neurodiverse students to build skills in self-advocacy, socialization and employment.

For more information about the ACCESS Program and Specialized College Services, visit https://www.miod.msstate.edu/centers/access-program-and-specialized-col….

MSU’s College of Education, home of the Mississippi Institute on Disabilities, also includes five academic departments, a division of education, one research unit and numerous service units. Learn more at https://www.educ.msstate.edu/.

Mississippi State University is taking care of what matters. Learn more at www.msstate.edu.