College of Direct Support

The College of Direct Support provides online courses for providers, lead agencies, people with disabilities and their families.

The courses are designed to promote high-quality services that support people with disabilities in leading self-directed, person-centered lives.

Certification opportunities

The Department of Human Services and the University of Minnesota have created learning modules that are available to help license-holders to provide competency-based training for their staffs around 245D license training requirements.

Sign up for courses

Fill out the DirectCourse request form to sign up for courses from the College of Direct Support. After you submit the form, you will receive an e-mail with detailed enrollment instructions within a few days.

For more information, email Minnesota’s DirectCourse learning administrator.

Courses
Free and low-cost options
Contact

Courses

The College of Direct Support has more than 145 hours of training available for learners that was developed by the University of Minnesota’s Research and Training Center on Community Living.

People and organizations can customize learning plans based on their unique needs and preferences with support from experienced learning administrators from the Department of Human Services, the University of Minnesota and Elsevier DirectCourse staff.

A full list of courses offered by the College of Direct Support can be found in the eCatalog.

Topics of interest include:
- Civil rights and advocacy
- Community inclusion
- Direct support professionalism
- Employment supports for people with disabilities
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA)
- Hiring great direct support professionals
- Individual rights and choice
- Person-centered planning
- Positive behavior support
- Understanding transitions across the life span
College of Frontline Supervision and Management (curriculum within College of Direct Support):
- Developing an intervention plan
- Fueling high performance
- Preparing for the supervisor’s job in human services
- Recruitment and selection
- Training and orientation
- Your first few weeks and months as a supervisor
Free and low-cost options

The following people may access DirectCourse accounts for free:
- People with disabilities and their families
- Direct support professionals and caregivers
- Professionals who serve people with disabilities
- State, county and tribal nation employees
Organizations may access learner and administrator accounts for free or low cost, based on the number of people they serve:
- Organizations that serve nine or fewer people with disabilities may access for free.
- Organizations that serve 10 to 100 people with disabilities pay a $500 licensing fee per year.
- Organizations that serve 101 or more people with disabilities pay a $2,950 licensing fee per year.
Licensing fees for organizations include:
- On-demand support directly from DirectCourse staff
- Administrative permissions that allow organizations to:
  - Customize learning plans for their staffs
  - Create and assign modules
  - Document individual training competencies
  - Generate organizational training reports
  - Access many additional functions of the learning management system
For more information about how your organization can use DirectCourse, please submit a DirectCourse request form or e-mail Minnesota’s DirectCourse learning administrator to receive tailored information for your organization.
Contact

Fill out a DirectCourse request form. A learning administrator will contact you with your new learner account or organizational information within a few days.

You may also e-mail the learning administrator at the Department of Human Services for support or more information.

Related online courses

Person-Centered Counseling | College of Employment Services