Mission
Career and Technical Education programs are one of the highlights of USU-Eastern. Following completion of the two-year certificate, students may select a Technical Education pathway as part of their person-centered plan. A variety of Associates degrees are also available. Academic advisors will work with students to select a pathway that best fits with their strengths and interests. See Technical Education for a full list of programs.
Student Life
Program Supports
Mentors
Mentors are the first and most intensive level of support for Aggies Elevated students. Mentors are typically upper-division or graduate students from a variety of disciplines who share a common passion for working with people with disabilities (but we've had awesome freshman mentors, too). Each mentor works with one or two Aggies Elevated students, offering up to 10 hours of support per student each week. Mentors help the students learn to navigate the complexity of campus life, from time management to learning to live with roommates to discovering the best burger place in Price.
Study Groups & Tutors
Service-learning volunteers lead mandatory study groups that are specific to each class in which Aggies Elevated students are enrolled. Students may also request one-on-one help from tutors, which they arrange between themselves.
Summer Prep Course
The 8-week-long Summer Prep course is required for first-year Aggies Elevated students. With a combination of weekly synchronous Zoom meetings and asynchronous assignments, Summer Prep guides students through the reading for USU 1010 Connections and completing the writing assignment that is due on the first day of class. Students become proficient in Zoom and Canvas, and are introduced to higher education concepts including "learning how to learn." We also build in some optional online social activities for fun!
Base Camp
Base Camp is an intensive orientation to college that takes place on campus the week before classes begin. Base Camp kicks off with a Sunday evening social event where students meet their mentors, gather contact information, and coordinate schedules before one last hug with parents. Sessions on Monday and Tuesday cover college behavior expectations, an orientation to the AE program, and an introduction to MyClimb, the AE person-centered planning process. (There's a little bit of fun, too!). Wednesday through Friday, first-year students attend their Connections class, while second-year students attend their Connections class, while second-year students meet with their internship sites and complete some independent projects. There are always University-sponsored evening events, as well.
Other Campus Supports
See Academic Support and Student Wellness for a detailed list and information regarding student support services.
Housing
First-year
Students live in a Suite-style setting at Burtenshaw Hall. Two Aggies Elevated students share a room and live alongside other USU students in a suite group of up to 6. These students typically share two bathrooms with the others in the suite.
In this situation, Aggies Elevated students learn to navigate living with one roommate and other suitemates while also engaging with other admitted students in the hall in shared spaces, such as the lounge, community kitchen space, and laundry rooms. Each floor has a Resident Advisor to whom students can go for guidance with any housing or roommate issue.
Second-year
Students have the option of choosing from dormitory, apartment, or suite-style halls with one to six bedrooms that vary from a private room or up to 12 suitemates clustered around a common living room/kitchen area and two to four bathrooms.
This living situation is more complicated, with up to twelve suitemates, and is only available to students who have demonstrated adequate maturity and proficiency in social skills and conflict resolution. Each floor has a Resident Advisor to whom students can go for guidance with any housing or roommate issue.
Some second-year students choose to live off-campus.
Learn more about on-campus housing.
Cost and Resources
Aggies Elevated follows the Utah State University-Eastern structure for tuition, fees and housing.
Aggies Elevated students will pay a program fee each semester to cover a portion of the costs of the supports they receive.
TPSID
Aggies Elevated at USU-Eastern is one of 22 TPSID (Transition and Post-secondary Education
Programs for Students with Intellectual Disabilities) model demonstration program grantees. The 5-year, $1.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education has made it possible to expand the Logan program to the USU-Eastern campus and to Wolverines Elevated at Utah Valley University in Provo.
Comprehensive Training Program (CTP)
Aggies Elevated Eastern has begun the process to become a Certified Transition Program, which would allow qualified students to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FASFA). Title IV of the Higher Education Opportunity Act (2008) allows eligible students with intellectual disabilities attending CTPs to receive federal financial aid in the form of Pell Grants, Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grants, or Work-Study program funds.
Scholarships
Students who are admitted to the Aggies Elevated program and qualify for financial aid may apply for scholarships through Scholarship Universe, USU's scholarship portal. The Gary and Andrea Powell scholarship provides one $1,500 scholarship per year. The generosity of other donors provides a limited number of scholarships to cover the program fee.