AUBURN – Sixty college faculty and staff members from 10 states participated in Open Your Mind, a conference of the Central Maine Community College Disabilities Project designed to provide college personnel with tools to improve services to students with disabilities.

The conference was the culmination of a three-year project at Central Maine funded by the U.S. Department of Education. In addition to a keynote presentation on psychiatric and psychological issues, participants attended workshops on advising students with disabilities, autism, and accessibility.

They also received “Supporting College Students with Disabilities,” a resource handbook compiled by 30 college employees who researched the topic over the project period.

The concluding session was a panel of four Central Maine students who are succeeding in college despite having a documented disability, in part through the support of college faculty and staff.