As of 2015, the SUCCESS program will no longer be accepting freshman applicants
UMBC’s education program, SUCCESS (Students United for Campus Community Engagement for Post-Secondary Success), will be closing its doors at the end of the current spring semester.
SUCCESS aims to give students with intellectual and developmental disabilities more opportunities such as college courses, internships and on-campus housing. The program is unique to UMBC, meaning it is the only collegiate-level education program for mentally disabled students in Maryland.
SUCCESS was founded in 2012, and the program has outsourced 123 volunteers this past year.
The Shriver Center’s SUCCESS page states “Marylanders with intellectual disabilities will have access to Maryland colleges and universities thus enabling them to develop their independence, as well as critical thinking, problem solving and employment skills.”
Freshman psychology major Benji Schulman volunteers as a peer in the program. “I think the SUCCESS program is valuable because it…diversifies the campus and adds to the reputation of UMBC because it’s the only program in Maryland,” he said.
On March 23, director of the Shriver Center Michele Wolff sent out an email announcing the program’s closing.
It reads:
“Unfortunately, as many of you are well aware, our state, the University System of Maryland and UMBC are going through challenging fiscal times. Based on current and expected budget reductions, the difficult, but necessary, decision has been made to no longer accept any new students into SUCCESS and to phase out the program over the next three years.”
The students currently enrolled with finish the program.
