Study with disabilities

Students with disabilities have the possibility to use study support during their studies. The support is individual and planned together with you and your coordinator. Please apply as soon as possible, preferably already when you have been accepted.

How to apply for study support

Go to the application on Nais website. If you need help with the application, contact a coordinator for students with disabilities.
Once you have made your digital application in Nais, you will be offered a meeting time to plan your support with one of the coordinators for students with disabilities within three weeks (15 working days) from the time your application was received. You will be contacted by e-mail or telephone, at the address or phone number that you have entered in your application. A coordinator will contact you if they are in need of further information.
After the conversation with the coordinator, where you together discussed and planned for the study support, you will receive a certificate regarding the support.

If your application cannot be granted, a refusal will be made. You will always know why a rejection is made.

Documents which are not written in English, Swedish or Scandinavian languages need to be translated into Swedish or English by an authorised translator. Exceptions can be made in some cases.

If you are a student and have a certificate regardin study support, it is your responsibility to make sure that it is valid. The validity period is on your certificate. If you need to extend the validity period, please contact your coordinator. You can make a new application if the certificate has expired.

Study support measures

Here you can read more about the most common forms of study support available for students with disabilities. If you need other forms of support, such as a home aids or personal assistance, it is the municipality and/or county that you should contact.

Examples of study support measures

Adapted/alternative examination. A customized/alternative examination may be, for example, to get longer time during the exam, the opportunity to write the answers on a computer or to take an exam individually. The examiner decides on support for examinations, based on the coordinator's recommendations.
Note-taking support. You can get help from a classmate who notes for you at lectures/seminars/other educational elements and then email the notes to you (without them being edited). The person providing the note-taking help is appointed by you and receives a salary from the Office of Student Affairs. Note-taking support does not replace your presence during lectures.
Mentor. Mentor support is given to students with neuropsychiatric and mental impairments. The mentors provide support in planning, structuring and organizing the studies. The mentors are recruited by our mentor coordinator and receive a salary from the Office of Student Affairs.
Interpreter. If you need sign language or writing interpreters during your studies, you can get this. However, this is a long process, so please contact a coordinator as soon as possible, preferably already when you apply at Linnaeus University.

What is disability?

If you have a disability, you can receive support during your studies at the university. These may include reading and writing difficulties/dyslexia, mental illness, neuropsychiatric disabilities, hearing loss, visual impairment, movement impairment or chronic diseases. You should be able to prove your disability with certificates from, for example, a doctor, psychologist or speech therapist.

Disability is according to the Discrimination Act (SFS 2008:567):

'permanent physical, mental or endowmental limitations on a person's ability to function which, as a result of an injury or illness, existed from birth, have arisen thereafter or are likely to arise.'

What support you need depends on what limitations you experience and how you handle the different study situations. The pedagogical support is planned and designed in consultation with you as a student.

If you have a temporary injury or illness, you are not covered by this support because it is not permanent. If you need temporary support, you should instead contact the course coordinator or study counsellor at your department.

Information for those who work as a note-taking supporter or mentor

In order for you to get your salary paid, it is important that you follow the instructions on this page! If you have questions, please contact the coordinators and mentor coordinator on email funksam@lnu.se.

As note-taking assistant and/or mentor, you are employed by Linnaeus University. To receive your salary, you must fill in a monthly remuneration form stating each occasion that you have worked. The remuneration form can be found further down on this page. The salary for note-taking assistance is SEK 65/hour (any costs for copying are included in the salary) for a student, SEK 80/hour for two or more students, the salary for mentors is SEK 125/hour. All wages are subject to 12% holiday compensation.

In order for you to receive a salary on the 25th of the month, the remuneration form must be received by Linnaeus University no later than the 8th of the same month. Remuneration that come in later than the 8th are paid the following month. Remuneration received between 9/6-8/9 may be administered and paid in September.

In order for you to receive your salary to the bank account you want, you need to carry out a registration of your account to Danske Bank's payroll service (Danske Bank is Linnaeus University's salary paying bank). on the page Salary and remuneration, beneath the heading Salary paying bank.

Tax is deducted from your salary automatically. If you do not want tax to be deducted, you must submit the form "Certificate for payment of salary without tax deduction" together with your remuneration form (it is enough that you do this at one time). The form and more information can be found at the Swedish Tax Agency (search for the name of the form). If you work in Sweden but live in another country, you must apply for special income tax (SINK). The Swedish Tax Agency has information and forms about SINK on its website.

If you need an employer's certificate, please contact Linnaeus University's Human Resources Department, via the switchboard at phone number 0772-28 80 00. If you would like a certificate describing your assignment as a mentor, please contact the mentor coordinator.

Do you want to work as a mentor?

The Office of Student Affairs is looking for students who want to work extra as mentors. Mentors should provide support for students with disabilities. The work is about helping another student with planning and structuring their study situation. All mentors must be fluent in oral and written Swedish.

The mentoring involves a work effort of approximately two hours per week. As previously mentioned, the work is paid 125 SEK an hour.

Does that sound interesting?
For further information or to register your interest, please contact the mentor coordinator by e-mail: funksam@lnu.se

The insight you gain from being a mentor can be valuable in your future professional life!