Fact Sheet: Accessibility for students with disabilities/ chronic illnesses.
Petra Schorat-Waly; Jutta Rump; Imke Buß; Janina Kaiser; Melanie Schiedhelm
Definition and baseline
Currently, about 2.5 million students study at German universities (Fisseler 2014). The results of the 20th Social Survey of the Studentenwerk showed health impairments in 13.6% of students in the summer semester 2012. A very severe study difficulty is present in 7.6% of all students with health impairments (Middendorff et al. 2013, p. 37). But what does "disabled" actually mean and who are the students with disabilities and/or chronic illnesses? Social legislation (SGB IX) defines a disability as follows:
"People are disabled if their physical function, mental ability or mental health is very likely to deviate from the condition typical of their age for more than six months and therefore their participation in life in society is impaired. They are at risk of disability if the impairment is to be expected (Section 2(1))."
In the medically conceived model of disability, emphasis is placed on the condition of the person who is disabled and thus deviates from the expected norm. This person is seen here as a problem because he or she cannot cope with the environment due to his or her disability. This view is not without problems, as it tends to stigmatize and segregate people (Fisseler 2014, p. 83).
The Ludwigshafen School of Business and Society follows the social model of disability. "This model directs the view - away from the person with impairment - to the barriers in the environment that hinder participation in society. This is particularly vividly illustrated by the slogan formulated by "Aktion Mensch" as part of its "Aktion Grundgesetz" campaign: "Behindert ist man nicht. Behindert wird man" (Schorat-Waly and Oechler 2014, preface).
Effects on study situation and study success
For 94% of students with health impairments, their disability or illness is not immediately apparent. Only when problems arise during the course of their studies do those affected reveal themselves. This includes, for example, 45% of impaired students whose psychological impairment has the greatest impact on their studies, or the 20% of students who are at a disadvantage compared to their fellow students when it comes to completing their studies and/or taking exams due to their chronic-somatic illness (Deutsches Studentenwerk 2012). Berthold and Leichsenring (2012) point out that illnesses and performance limitations in higher education in particular are tending to increase. Reasons for this are, on the one hand, the growing attention to limitations in school (e.g., dyslexia) and, on the other hand, an increased incidence of some chronic (diabetes, allergies) and mental illnesses among young people.
At the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences, a total of 11.5% of respondents reported having permanent health and/or physical impairments (Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences 2015). If we look in more detail at which impairments students are affected by, the most common indication is that they are affected by a physical impairment, although this is not visible in everyday university life (7.5% of all students).
Evaluations of the study situation (Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences 2015) of students with permanent health and/or physical impairments at the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences show that compared to students without impairments, students with disabilities have significantly more support needs in terms of social integration, (academic) performance requirements, study program assistance, participation in research projects, and childcare. These support needs often result from the structure of everyday study, communication in courses, and building barriers, rather than from students not being able to meet the demands of a degree program. In addition, students with impairments tend to underestimate their own performance. This is because, despite a comparable average grade on their college entrance exam (2.2 for students without disabilities vs. 2.3 for students with disabilities), students with disabilities are 40% more likely to rate their academic performance as belonging to the bottom third (11% vs. 6.8% of students without disabilities) (Berthold and Leichsenring 2012). Berthold and Leichsenring (ibid.) suggest that this can be seen as a clear indicator that students with disabilities do perform similarly to their peers without disabilities. However, students with disabilities are often insecure about their ability to perform, leading them to rate themselves lower.
There are also topics that were assessed similarly by students with and without disabilities in the Student Barometer (Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences 2015b): For example, they have a comparable opinion regarding part-time studies: 26% of students with disabilities and 25.8% of students without disabilities consider this topic to be very urgent or rather urgent. The group of students with vocational qualifications in particular would like to see part-time study made possible to improve their study situation. The results suggest that all students would like more flexibility with regard to the timing of their studies. At most, one could make a working hypothesis that there are gradual differences in how the student groups justify their wishes, e.g., with regard to the time compatibility of studying & (part-time) employment vs. the problem situations that can (but do not have to) result from studying with a disability. These can include a possibly increased time requirement to access and receive accessible learning materials or the compatibility of studies with medically necessary treatments, such as physiotherapy. However, this was not surveyed in detail in the Student Barometer. In these considerations, it is also important to take into account that students with disabilities also have to finance their studies and are generally faced with even greater challenges than their non-disabled fellow students, e.g. in terms of integration opportunities in the labor market or due to higher disability-specific living costs.
Finally, it should be noted that students with disabilities and/or chronic illnesses must perform their studies and examinations under the same conditions as their non-disabled fellow students in terms of content. If they are at a disadvantage compared to their fellow students when carrying out their studies and/or taking examinations as a result of their impairment and/or disability, they have a right to compensation for disadvantages. This entitlement is enshrined in law. The protective provisions for students with disabilities are listed in § 25 of the General Examination Regulations. The Coordination Office for Equal Opportunities and Diversity in cooperation with the University Didactics and the Representative for Students with Disabilities at the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences provides relevant tips and information material on the inclusive design of teaching on the page www.hwg-lu.de/barrierefrei. In the download area you can find the guide "Studying with a Handicap" for lecturers at the university.
Literature
Berthold, C.; Leichsenring, H. (eds.) (2012): CHE: Diversity report: the full report. Available online at.
www.che-consult.de/fileadmin/pdf/publikationen/CHE_Diversity_Report_Gesamtbericht_komprimiert.pdf, last checked 04/25/2016.
Deutsches Studentenwerk (2012): Beeinträchtigt studieren - Datenerhebung zur Situation Studierender mit Behinderung und chronischer Krankheit 2011. Data collection brochure. Berlin. Available online at best-umfrage.de/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/BEST_barrierefrei_2011.pdf, last checked 25.04.2016.
Fisseler, B. (2014): Accessible higher education didactics. In: New handbook on university teaching (F. 4.4).
Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences (2015): Student barometer. University-wide student survey. Winter semester 2014/2015. unpublished document. With the collaboration of Keller, A. Evaluation officer of the university. Ludwigshafen am Rhein.
Middendorff, E.; Apolinarski, B.; Poskowsky, J.; Kandulla, M.; Netz, N. (2013): The economic and social situation of students in Germany 2012: 20th Social Survey of the German Student Union conducted by the HIS Institute for Higher Education Research. Available online at: www.sozialerhebung.de/download/20/soz20_hauptbericht_gesamt.pdf, last checked 25.04.2016.
Schorat-Waly, P.; Oechler, M. (2014): Studying with a handicap: Guide for lecturers at the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences.
Citation
Schorat-Waly, Petra; Rump, Jutta; Buß, Imke; Kaiser, Janina; Schiedhelm, Melanie (2017): Profile: students with disabilities and/ or chronic diseases. In: Rump, Jutta; Buß, Imke; Kaiser, Janina; Schiedhelm, Melanie; Schorat-Waly, Petra: Toolbox for good teaching in a diverse student body. Working Papers of the Ludwigshafen University of Applied Sciences, No. 6. www.hwg-lu.de/arbeitspapiere
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