Disability Unit
Definition of the Unit:
The Disability Unit is dedicated to serving students with disabilities at Northern Borders University. Its mission is to create an educational environment that aligns with their abilities and needs, enabling them to participate in and contribute to all social and cultural activities at the university.
Vision:
To achieve excellence in providing high-quality services and empowering individuals with disabilities at Northern Borders University.
Mission:
To offer support and assistance to students with disabilities, helping them develop their skills and abilities in ways that suit their individual needs, thus enabling them to become active members of society.
Objectives:
- To provide comprehensive empowerment for students with disabilities at Northern Border University.
- To enhance the role and participation of students with disabilities within the university community.
- To ensure that all services and facilities at Northern Borders University are accessible to students with disabilities.
- To address and resolve the challenges faced by students with disabilities.
- To prepare the educational environment to be suitable for students with disabilities at the university.
Services Provided to People with Disabilities:
The university offers a range of services for students with disabilities that are comprehensive and continuous, aiming to meet all their needs. Additional support is also provided by specialized deanships that cater to specific services for individuals with disabilities.
Medical Services
Medical services at the university are provided by the university health center. These services are available to students with disabilities without discrimination, offering health care tailored to their specific conditions.
Objectives of Medical Services:
-To consider the psychological and physical condition of the individual.
-To train the individual to perform tasks that align with their condition and needs, as well as to sustain their ability to carry them out.
-To avoid focusing treatment on the impaired body parts, but rather to improve and utilize the person's remaining physical abilities.
-To emphasize the importance of accepting one's new physical condition and to support the individual in adapting to it.
Medical Services Provided to Students with Disabilities:
-Scheduling dedicated medical appointments for students with disabilities that are not subject to standard scheduling systems or waiting lists, ensuring they are accessible and accommodating to all categories of students with disabilities.
-Participating in comprehensive case evaluations, with an emphasis on medical history and the assessment of normal development in terms of health, motor skills, general functional capacity, hearing, and vision in order to identify areas of impairment and initiate appropriate medical treatment and rehabilitation measures.
-Identifying the necessary medical and nursing services for students with disabilities including auditory and visual assistive devices and contributing to their provision, monitoring, and evaluation.
-Taking part in social advocacy efforts for persons with disabilities, particularly in securing access to essential medical services and promoting health awareness among students with disabilities regarding strategies for adapting to their condition.
Efforts of the University Health Center to Support Students with Disabilities
The University Health Center provides healthcare services to students with disabilities in various areas, aiming to develop their abilities, support their integration into public life, and reduce the negative effects of disability. The services offered by the center include:
-Providing preventive, therapeutic, and rehabilitative care, including medical examinations and laboratory tests.
-Enhancing healthcare standards for students with disabilities and activating digital platforms for appointment scheduling and prescription services.
-Assisting students with disabilities in obtaining the required medical reports.
-Participating in comprehensive case evaluations, focusing on medical history and assessing physical, functional, auditory, and visual development to identify areas of impairment and initiate appropriate treatment and rehabilitation.
-Identifying the necessary medical and nursing services, including auditory and visual aids, and contributing to their provision, monitoring, and evaluation.
-Supporting social advocacy efforts for individuals with disabilities, particularly in ensuring access to healthcare services and promoting awareness on how to adapt to their condition.
Second: Academic Services
This unit is responsible for monitoring all academic and educational matters related to students with disabilities. It seeks to provide the necessary support tools and technologies to enhance students academic performance and help them make the most out of their abilities. Students may access academic support services through the following mechanisms:
-Submitting a request for the specific academic support service they require.
-Providing faculty members each semester with academic accommodation forms tailored to the type of disability.
-Referring students to the unit by a faculty member or academic advisor for academic support.
-Officially contacting colleges each semester to introduce the academic support services offered by the unit.
-Coordinating with colleges to assign academic advisors for students with disabilities, serving as a link between the college and the unit.
-Organizing field visits by the Disability Support Unit’s coordinator to meet with vice deans for academic and educational affairs at each college.
-Presenting the unit’s services and how to benefit from them during the orientation week for new students.
-Working to introduce new academic programs suitable for students with disabilities.
Third: Administrative and Office Services
The University provides a range of services to students with disabilities, including administrative and office-related support. These services reflect the university’s commitment to equality among all students and its efforts to empower students with disabilities by upholding their right to higher education. The university has taken steps to remove barriers by leveraging modern technologies, offering the following services:
-Establishing digital communication channels to reduce the need for in-person attendance. These include online forms for university admission, university ID issuance, class schedule printing, academic transcript requests, and more.
Key channels include:
1. A dedicated WhatsApp number offering text-based communication for students with speech impairments, and video or voice support for those with physical disabilities.
2. A formal recommendation to adopt and use the Eshara app (@eshara_app) by all university staff who interact with deaf or speech-impaired students. The app provides sign language interpretation during official working hours.
3. Integration of Google services that enable text-to-speech functions, benefiting students with visual impairments.
4. Renewal of the ReadSpeaker license, which offers high-quality audio content across the university’s digital portal for students with visual disabilities.
Establishing a Database for Students with Disabilities
A comprehensive database is developed by collecting information through forms, surveys, and direct meetings with students. This facilitates data analysis and enables the extraction of reliable insights regarding this group of students.
Allocating Continuous Virtual Classrooms
Dedicated virtual classrooms are maintained within the university’s e-learning and distance education systems. These spaces are used to provide academic guidance and support from both administrative and academic staff, according to a scheduled timetable based on student needs.
Fourth: Admission and Registration services
These services aim to remove barriers and support the academic process for students with disabilities by ensuring a suitable learning environment. This is achieved through the following:
-Identifying students with disabilities and specifying the type of disability during the online university admission process.
-Coordinating with the Deanship of Admission and Registration to complete admission procedures and deliver university ID cards.
-Providing support services across university offices throughout the campus.
-Designating a dedicated area to receive newly admitted students with disabilities and ensuring their admission procedures are completed promptly.
-Following up with academic departments on course registration, withdrawal and add/drop requests, and grade reports.
-Supervising students during midterm and final exams and assigning scribes to assist them during testing.
-Coordinating with the university’s main library to facilitate access and improve usability for students with disabilities.
-Sending regular text messages to students with disabilities regarding various campus activities.
-Printing and distributing activity announcements in formats accessible to each student’s type of disability.
-Coordinating with the Deanship of Admission and Registration to ensure timely disbursement of financial allowances.
-Assisting in the provision of learning devices that support the academic progress of students with disabilities, tailored to their specific needs.
-Working with the Security and Safety Department and academic colleges to allocate accessible parking spaces near university entrances to avoid long walking distances.
-Assigning support students (“student assistants”) to help peers with disabilities overcome academic challenges. At the end of the academic year, each assistant receives a certificate of appreciation in recognition of their efforts.
-Communicating with the Alumni Office to register graduating students with disabilities and keep them informed about upcoming training courses and relevant employment opportunities.
Fifth: Guidance and Counseling Services
This unit offers a wide range of services focused on guidance and counseling for all university students. Below are the specific services available to students with disabilities:
-Psychological Services: These services help students with disabilities build self-confidence, enhance their self-awareness, and improve their social engagement within the university environment.
-Social Services: This area supports students with disabilities in adjusting to themselves and their communities, while encouraging the development of their talents, personal growth, and social integration.
-Recreational Services: Students with disabilities are given opportunities to participate in internal and external visits, national and community celebrations, and cultural and artistic competitions.
-Sports Services: The unit enables students with disabilities to take part in athletic activities both within and outside the university.
-Financial Support Services: These include the provision of financial and in-kind assistance to students with disabilities.
-Skills Development Services: The unit assists students with disabilities in developing their skills through training courses and workshops, and by supporting their innovations and ideas within the university.
Sixth: Support Services
This refers to a complete system of tools, strategies, and services that are tailored to the needs and abilities of students with disabilities based on their environment and daily routines.
Assistive Technology Devices
These include tools, devices, and products that are available for use, modified, or specially designed to match individual needs. They aim to improve, support, or maintain the student’s ability to function and perform tasks.