Targeted study support: sometimes small adjustments make a big difference

The support they get was sometimes interpreted in these media discussions as the students not needing to perform to the same level as others to pass their courses. There were questions about what kinds of people we would be getting on the labour market – people who literally are not able to read and write.

“But we don’t change any learning outcomes,” says Margareta Arnell, mentor at Student Affairs. “The purpose of our support is for students with disabilities to obtain a study situation that is comparable with that of other students.”

Today, mentors and coordinators at Student Affairs in Uppsala and at the Gotland campus work with targeted study support for students with disabilities.

“The goal of this support is to make the students as independent as possible,” says Margareta Arnell. “Sometimes just a small adjustment makes a big difference. The mentors have an average of four meetings per semester with each student.”

But how does a student get this support, in purely practical terms?

“Teaching staff must provide information to the students that this support is available, and can recommend to students that they apply for this kind of support,” says Margareta Arnell. “But it’s the student who applies for this support on the University’s student portal. To get this support, a certificate of permanent disability is required. It’s a process. First, a coordinator meets the student. Together, they review the support that can provide the student with a comparable situation to other students – a level playing field.”

What kinds of support can the student get?

“Some support, such as mentor support and note-taking support, can be decided directly by the coordinator,” says Margareta Arnell. “Other kinds of support are recommendations, such as text-to-speech software that reads text aloud, or spelling programmes. The examiner decides whether the student can receive the recommended support, taking into account the learning objectives of the course.”

What does a mentor do in providing targeted study support?

“We mentors meet the students who have been granted support and talk about their difficulties,” says Margareta Arnell. “Most students who need support have difficulties with planning, prioritising, and remembering. We can talk about how to plan for the semester and for each week, prioritise before a deadline or exam, etc. We can also talk about physical exercise and strategies for getting started with tasks. For many, study is much less difficult if they have structure.”

These students may be seen as difficult at times. They might ask a lot of questions or sit at the back of the room, doodling and looking uninterested.

“But doodling while listening, for example, can mean grounding yourself in the room so that you can actually focus on the lecture,” says Margareta.

Can AI be used?

“There are many discussions about this all the time,” says Margareta Arnell. “What we encourage students to do is follow the University’s guidelines.”

Teaching staff have a lot to do and many students, but there are adjustments that make life easier for all students – check out the Fact box below!

“We aren’t often out and about talking to teaching staff about our work as mentors,” says Margareta Arnell. “We would actually like to do this more often.”

Ulrika Hurtig