The duty of higher education institutions to provide reasonable adjustments to students with disabilities is a legal requirement established amongst others by the Codex for/in Higher Education. Higher education institutions are bound to set out clear procedures on how to apply for reasonable adjustments as well as an internal procedure for students with disabilities to appeal against a refusal of reasonable adjustments.
Every higher education institution has a specific contact person for students with disabilities. Within their institution, they are responsible for coordinating the guidance and assistance of (both local and international) students with disabilities.
All students who have a disability and wish to apply for reasonable adjustments have to register their disability and have to provide evidence of disability through medical documents. Criteria on what type of report students need to provide and how recent it needs to be varies by disability.
After recognition, the disability officer carries out a needs assessment.During an assessment interview, obstacles that arise within the educational context as a direct result of the disability are inventoried and reasonable adjustments are discussed.
Reasonable adjustments can include:
- education activities such as introduction to the faculty, getting a digital copy of your handbooks and courses (e.g. to use with text-to-speech software etc.)
- examinations (e.g. extended time for testing, reading software, a separate room, etc).
The agreement on reasonable adjustments always takes into account the practical feasibility, training requirements and the goals of the different courses. Adjustments can be evaluated and adapted over time.