Studying with a disability

Decision

The examiner's decision should be made based on the learning objectives in the course syllabus and with the support of the coordinator's recommendation according to Local regulations for courses and examination at the first- and second-cycle levels 2022/2841-1.1.1.

Rejection

In the event of a rejection, a justification for the decision is always required according to Section 32 of the Administrative Procedures Act (2017:900). The justification is used to give the student an understanding of the decision.

Student can appeal decision

A decision on the rejection of an adapted examination or study situation that contravenes the prohibition against discrimination can be appealed according to Chapter 4, Section 18, paragraph 2 of the Discrimination Act (2008:567). The decision is appealed to the Higher Education Appeals Board (ÖNH).

Information about the appeal is available on Linnaeus University's website:

Handling of appeals (lnu.se) Reg. no: LNU-2023/1929

Student rights and responsibilities | lnu.se  

Decisions that can be appealed  – Higher Education Appeals Board (onh.se)

What happens when a student appeals?

1. The appeal from the student is received by the registrar and registered
2. The administrator assesses whether the appeal has been submitted within the correct timeframe
3. The examiner will be contacted by the administrator to reconsider whether the decision should be changed based on what the student presents in their appeal
4. Regardless of whether the original decision is changed or not, the case should be forwarded to the Appeals Board for Higher Education (ÖNH) with a statement outlining Linnaeus University's position on the matter
5. The response from the ÖNH:s is communicated to the examiner by the administrator.

The following are examples of study support:

• Adapted examination arrangements

In connection with written exams, adjustments such as extra time, a separate room, use of a computer, and/or reading and writing assistance may be needed. Alternative forms of examination may also need to be considered.

• Note-taking support

Note-taking support means that a fellow student takes notes, thus allowing for the disabled student to concentrate fully on what the teacher says and demonstrates. Note-taking support cannot replace attendance. 

• Additional supervision in connection with report and thesis writing

The student can get additional supervision when writing a thesis or a degree project. For each thesis of at least 15 credits, the department gets 5 clock hours from the Office of Student Affairs. Reasons for additional supervision could be that the student needs clarifications or needs to spend more time on language and structure than others.

• Audio recordings of lectures

Audio recordings of lectures are allowed as long as the teacher gives permission. The student must notify the teacher well in time before the lecture. The audio recording must only be used for study purposes and may not be distributed to others.

• Guide

A guide helps the student find their way around the university premises.

• Mentor support

Students with disabilities – primarily disabilities in the form of mental or neurodevelopmental disorders – may be assigned a mentor. The mentor, who is another student, acts as an advisor and discussion partner, whose task it is to provide inspiration and support. Special focus lies on providing support in terms of study planning.

• Sign language interpretation, deaf/blind interpretation, and speech-to-text interpretation

Linnaeus University has a contract with an interpreting service, ensuring that deaf, hearing-impaired, and deaf-blind students are guaranteed interpreters during their studies.

• Special equipment

In some cases, students with disabilities may need adjustable furniture (such as height-adjustable desks and adjustable chairs) or hearing loops in lecture halls.

The division of responsibilities described below has been put in place to ensure that study support works for each individual student.

The Office of Student Affairs/the coordinators for students with disabilities are responsible for coordinating study support, which primarily involves:

• meeting each student in need of study support and assess whether their disability can be considered as permanent based on the medical documentation that they submitted with their application for support
• identifying needs together with the student and planning for support and adjustments during their studies
• deciding what kinds of study support/adjustments should be granted and issuing recommendations regarding forms of examination
• providing mentors for students who need mentor support
• providing sign language and speech-to-text interpreters
• giving students access to, and information about, the university’s resource rooms
• deciding on funding of study support/adjustments after consultation with the relevant faculty/department
• serving as a resource on study support for faculties/departments
• reporting statistics and costs to Stockholm University on an annual basis
• annually applying for government funding from the National Agency for Special Needs Education and Schools.

The faculties/departments are responsible for

• making information and education available for students with disabilities
• seing to it that all staff receive adequate disability awareness training
• deciding on adapted examination arrangements (examiner)
• seeing to it that any need for special equipment (such as hearing loops) are met when booking rooms
• seeing to it that reading lists are available well in time before the course start date.

The student is responsible for:

• applying for study support
• providing medical documentation of their disability
• informing relevant teaching staff of approved support measures and recommendations regarding forms of examination
• contacting the coordinator when the decision on study support needs to be updated or renewed.
• keeping to agreements made with their mentor, when applicable
• immediately notifying their teachers or the coordinator of any factors that affect accessibility
• contacting the healthcare services if they need personal aids.

The Office of Facilities Management and Services are responsible for:

• providing portable hearing loops if this has been specified in the support notification letter issued by the coordinator (Infocenter)
• providing resource rooms, invigilators, and computers with adequate software, for adapted written examination (the Degree Office)
• providing special equipment in the form of adjustable chairs, height-adjustable desks and tables, etc. (Janitorial)
• making required adjustments to teaching rooms and lecture halls if physical accessibility is lacking (Facilities Planning)
• coordinating teaching rooms and lecture halls in case of conflicts of interest, for instance, if a guide/service dog needs to be in the same room as someone who is allergic or has asthma (Facilities Planning).

In the exam system, the examiner makes decisions regarding the recommended accommodations granted to a student with study support by the coordinator for students with disabilities. When students register for an exam, an email is sent to the examiner informing them that decisions must be made for students requiring adapted examination for the specific exam. In the system, the examiner approves or reject the accommodations recommended for a student based on the goals outlined in the course syllabus.

If the examiner rejects an accommodation, a free text field will be displayed where the examiner must provide a reason for the rejection concerning the application for an adaptation at the written examination.

The student receives a notification via email from the exam system once the examiner's decision has been made. The message includes information about the student's examination session and decisions regarding approved and rejected accommodations. It also provides the examiner's motivation for any rejections and a reference for appealing the decision.

Examiner’s decision should be made based on the learning objectives in the current course syllabus and with the support of the coordinator’s recommendation according to Local regulations for courses and examination at the first- and second-cycle levels 2022/2841-1.1.1.

When deciding on a rejection, a justification is always required according to Section 32 of the Administrative Procedures Act (2017:900). The justification is used to provide the student with an understanding of the decision. A motivation for the rejection must be provided for each individual accommodation that is denied. It is not possible to complete the process of rejection without providing a justification.

Suggested justification for decision on rejection

Rejections should always be justified based on the learning objectives in the current course syllabus. Below are examples of how rejections can be formulated and justified.

Computer with spell-checking program

• Justification:
  The course syllabus states that linguistic ability is to be tested. This adaptation is not compatible with the objectives in the syllabus. One of the parts to be tested is linguistic ability. A computer with a spell-checking program gives you conditions that affect the result and complicate the assessment of your ability. Therefore, this examination cannot be conducted with a spell-checking program.

Extended Time

• Justification:
  According to the learning objectives, students should be able to perform certain tasks under time pressure. This course objective cannot be tested if you are granted extended time. Therefore, your application for extended time is rejected.

To use talking books during examinations, the student must be granted targeted pedagogical support by the coordinators at LNU and obtain a talking book account through Legimus, facilitated by the University Library. To access Legimus, the student must fulfill the MTM guidelines on reading disabilities. Students must also be granted the recommended accommodation for oral exams, known as “Dator med talböcker/Computer with talking books”. The decision regarding this adaptation rests with the examiner, managed through the Salstentamen system.

For examiners to order talking books for exams, notification must be submitted to the University Library at least five working days prior to the examination date.

Ordering Talking Books on USB for Examination

At Linnaeus University, 0.3% of the funds allocated for first-cycle education are committed to study support for students with disabilities, based on the Government’s annual letter
of appropriation (see www.esv.se). This is intended to cover the cost of support measures/adjustments such as mentors, guides, sign language interpreters, additional supervision, note-taking support, departments’ additional costs for adapted examination, and invigilators for adapted written examinations. Any costs in excess of the committed 0.3% are covered by the national funding allocated to Stockholm University through the letter of appropriation.

Faculties can be compensated for additional hours spent on, for instance, adaptation of examinations or additional supervision in connection with report and thesis writing. Before additional hours are invoiced, the faculty should contact one of the coordinators for students with disabilities. Invoicing should be handled by financial managers at the faculty and the Office of Student Affairs. The faculty will decide the method of payment.

According to the Discrimination Act (2008:567), universities and university colleges shall combat discrimination and promote equal rights and opportunities, regardless of gender, transgender identity or expression, ethnicity, religion or other belief, disability, sexual orientation, or age. The law protects both university applicants and current students. The Discrimination Act lists six forms of discrimination: direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, inadequate accessibility, harassment, sexual harassment, and instructions to discriminate.

Inadequate accessibility was included as a new form of discrimination when the act was revised in January 2015. The act describes the new form of discrimination in the following way:

“Inadequate accessibility: that a person with disability is disadvantaged through a failure to take measures for accessibility to enable the person to come into a situation comparable with that of persons without this disability where such measures are reasonable on the basis of accessibility requirements in laws and other statutes, and with consideration to

- the financial and practical conditions,
- the duration and nature of the relationship or contact between the
operator and the individual, and
- other circumstances of relevance.”

Language support software

At Linnaeus University, students with reading and writing disabilities have access to various kinds of language support software, which can be installed on the university’s computers, but which can also be downloaded and used on the students’ own computers, for the duration of their studies. For further information, please visit UB’s webpage on support software.

Talking books

The University Library manages Legimus accounts for students who need talking books. For further information, please visit UB’s webpage on support for students with reading disabilities.

The Academic Skills Centre

The Academic Skills Centre offers students at the first- and second-cycle levels guidance on academic writing and study techniques in both English and Swedish. For further information, please visit the Academic Skills Centre webpage.