Accessing College Courses For Students With ASD And ADHD

Not Admitted?  Not a Problem!

Non-matriculated courses provide an alternate start to college.

Mansfield Hall students have the option of starting courses at local colleges as either matriculated or non-matriculated students.  This variety of starting points provides students multiple ways to access the college experience.

Matriculated Students  

This is the result of what you probably think about when you imagine high school students taking the SAT or ACT, writing (and re-writing) college application essays, filling out the forms and playing with the pencils… and then hoping they get a fat envelope in return.  Once students get an enrollment offer from the school they accept and enroll – as a fully matriculated student.   

Mansfield Hall students are welcome to pursue a traditional matriculated entrance with any one of the local schools in Burlington, VT, Madison, WI, and Eugene, OR.  We work with colleges to secure off-campus housing waivers and reduced course loads, and students can choose to start college as a fully matriculated student.

That is one way to go to college, but the traditional path is not for everyone.  And it is not required at Mansfield Hall.

Non-Matriculated Students

Mansfield Hall has chosen our three amazing locations based on a variety of critical factors: cool and progressive college towns, a variety of great schools, safe and pedestrian-friendly areas, etc.

One of the most important elements in our locations is our students’ ability to access courses as a non-matriculated student at the local schools.  

Non-matriculated students are real college students, taking real college courses, for real college credit – but choosing to start out non-matriculated means that the traditional college application process can be completely sidestepped – and fully uncoupled from the Mansfield Hall enrollment decision.

Even if a student has not applied to, or been accepted at, one of our local colleges they can still choose to attend Mansfield Hall and start out taking college classes right away, as a non-matriculated student, at any number of schools!

Please Note: This is not auditing.  (Auditing = sitting in and taking the course but receiving no grade or credit).

Non-matriculated students are mixed right into regular courses with other regular college students, with no unique identifier or differentiation.  They receive full support from the Office of Student Services and have full access to the appropriate accommodations in order to fully access the curriculum.  Students have an authentic college experience and they are accruing transferable credits on a college transcript. They will also have the opportunity to eventually transfer those credits in to – or out from – the college or university in the future.

“Non-matriculated” goes by a number of monikers, including continuing education, community education, or even lifelong learning, but regardless of the name, non-matriculated simply means that a student is taking for-credit classes even though they have not yet been fully admitted to the school.

The ability to take courses as a non-matriculated student allows students to choose Mansfield Hall with the confidence that college courses are always an option, regardless of their college application status.

Deferring & Non-Matriculated Courses For The “Gap Year” Student

Each year we work with a number of students who have been accepted at their college of choice and then decide to defer their acceptance for a year, using their Gap Year to enroll with Mansfield Hall.

This “Academic Gap Year” allows students to learn and practice critical academic, social, and independent living skills in a real (but supported) collegiate environment. They are then more skilled and more confident as they transition to their dream school, ready to take on the full challenge of college and independence.

Access to non-matriculated for-credit coursework allows these students to apply to their school of choice, accept-and-defer, and still have access to an authentic and challenging for-credit collegiate curriculum as they prepare for their years ahead.  Depending on their target school students may even be allowed to bring all of their credits in the following year!*

(*Please note: Each school is different.  Mansfield Hall works closely with students considering deferring from other schools, and while we can support and advise, and even partner with target schools to achieve pre-approval for transferable credit accrual, each situation is unique and the decision to accept credits is always at the discretion of the receiving school.)