Disabled Persons Unit
The unit's main focus is to provide comprehensive services and utilize all available resources to cater to the unique needs of students with disabilities at Northern Boarder University. Our aim is to create an educational environment adapted to their abilities and ensure their active participation in various social and cultural activities on campus.
Vision: To attain excellence in delivering high-level services and empowering the disabled community at the Northern Border University.
Mission: We are committed to offering support and assistance to students with disabilities at Northern Border University and strive to develop their skills and abilities in alignment with their needs. Our goal is to enable them to become active and valued members of society.
Objectives:
- Empowering students with disabilities inclusively at Northern Border University.
- Enhancing the role of students with disabilities within the Northern Border University.
- Providing and facilitating all necessary services and facilities for students with disabilities at the Northern Border University.
- Overcome any difficulties and challenges faced by students with disabilities.
- Contributing to creating an educational environment suitable for students with disabilities at the university.
- Providing comprehensive services for individuals with disabilities.
Services of the Unit:
The university offers services to support students with disabilities, aiming to cater to their comprehensive needs and ensure continuous assistance. Additionally, various supporting clinics enhance these services by addressing specific requirements of individuals with disabilities. Below are examples outlining the services offered by these clinics.
Firstly: Medical services
Medical services are provided by the University Health Center for students with disabilities without discrimination based on disability. They deliver all types of medical care required for their situation.
Medical service goals:
- Consideration of an individual's mental and physical condition.
- Training the individual to practice and to continue to do work that suits his or her situation and needs.
- Emphasizing not only the treatment of disabled parts but also the development and utilization of other physical abilities.
- Prioritizing acceptance of the new physical situation and providing support for coping.
University Health Center Efforts to Care for People with Disabilities
The University Health Center provides health services to students with disabilities in various fields to help develop their abilities, integrate them into various aspects of public life, and reduce the adverse effects of disability.
- Provide various preventive, curative, and rehabilitative services, such as conducting laboratory tests and analyses.
- Enhance healthcare services for students with disabilities.
- Activate electronic scheduling systems for appointment booking and treatment descriptions.
- Assist students with disabilities in obtaining required medical reports.
- Contribute to comprehensive evaluations of cases, focusing on medical history and assessment of physical and functional abilities in general, audiovisual, and auditory aspects. Identify deficiencies and initiate medical remedial and compensatory measures.
- Identify, participate in, monitor, and evaluate medical and nursing services for individuals with disabilities, including implementation of audiovisual aids.
- Contribute to the social defense process for individuals with disabilities, particularly by providing necessary medical services and promoting health awareness among students with disabilities through adaptations that accommodate their specific needs.
Secondly: Academic services
The unit is in charge of handling all matters about students in the academic and educational fields. Their main goal is to improve students' academic abilities and maximize their potential. The unit achieves this by utilizing various academic services, which include:
- Students are required to apply for the academic services they need.
- Faculty members are provided quarterly reports on the necessary academic adaptations based on the type of disability.
- Students can be transferred to receive supportive academic services through their faculty member or academic mentor.
- The unit contacts the colleges regularly to introduce the supporting academic services they offer.
- Colleges are requested to assign an academic mentor to students with disabilities, creating a strong connection between the college and the unit.
- The disability unit officer conducts regular field visits to meet with college representatives responsible for academic and educational affairs.
- During the orientation week organized by the unit for new students, they explain the services provided by the disability unit and how students can benefit from them.
- Work to develop academic disciplines for the admission of students with disabilities.
Thirdly: Office services
The university offers services to support students with disabilities, adhering to the principle of equality among all students, regardless of their disabilities. These services include administrative assistance and office services. In addition to ensuring equal rights, including access to a university education, the university is dedicated to empowering this group of students. The university utilizes modern technologies to overcome any barriers and provides related services. Moreover, the university strives to provide the following additional services:
- Create digital communication channels
facilitate personal attendance of this group in obtaining services such as packing electronic forms for university enrollment, obtaining university cards, printing school schedules, and extracting academic records. These channels mainly contribute to streamlining the process for them.
1. Text communication via a dedicated WhatsApp number is offered to aid individuals with impaired speech, while video or voice communication is available for those with impaired movement.
2. All university employees in direct contact with deaf students and individuals with speech disabilities are recommended to download and utilize the @eshara_app sign application. This app provides a sign language interpreter during official working hours.
3. Google services are utilized for the visually impaired category, focusing on written text accessibility.
4. The “read speaker” service licenses should be renewed, as they are highly efficient in accommodating the needs of visually impaired individuals on the university's portal.
- Create a database of students with disabilities
Data is collected by using forms, survey questionnaires, and conducting meetings with students. This method enhances data analysis and enables the extraction of highly reliable information about this particular group of students.
- Customize continuous virtual classes
Academic support and guidance are available in e-learning and distance-learning systems through regular scheduling offered by the university's administrative and academic staff as needed.
- Allocation of the Office of Disability Affairs
The employees working in that office are expected to go through the handbook carefully, utilize the specified plans and tools, and implement any recommendations provided to cater to the needs of students with disabilities.
Fourthly: Admission and registration services
This service is concerned with overcoming difficulties and following up on programs and services in support of the educational process at the university. The overall objective of this service is to provide students with disabilities with an appropriate environment for their learning by:
- Electronic university admission should include identification of individuals with disabilities and the specific type of disability they have.
- Follow up with the admissions and registration department to ensure the necessary procedures are completed for admitting students with disabilities and issuing their university cards.
- Establish support services at various campus offices to assist students with disabilities.
- Dedicate a designated area to expedite the admission procedures for new students with disabilities.
- Stay involved in recording courses, making changes (additions, deletions), and accessing results in collaboration with student colleges.
- Oversee regular and final exams for students with disabilities, providing support from student help clerks during the exams.
- Coordinate with the university's central library to enhance accessibility for students with disabilities.
- Send periodic text messages to individuals with disabilities informing them about different activities.
- Adapt the format and placement of university announcements to be accessible for individuals with various disabilities.
- . Keep track of the disbursement of financial rewards at the acceptance and registration office.
- Provide assistance in obtaining educational devices that enhance the educational experience and address their specific disabilities.
- Collaborate with the security, safety departments, and faculties to ensure that parking spaces are designated for individuals with disabilities and located close to the university gates for their convenience.
- Assign student assistants (associate students) to support fellow students with disabilities in overcoming academic challenges.
- Recognize the efforts of student assistants at the end of each academic year by issuing certificates of appreciation for their contributions to fellow students with disabilities.
- Establish contact with the alumni office to register graduates with disabilities, enabling them to stay informed about relevant courses and suitable job opportunities.
Fifthly: Services of the Guidance and Advisory Unit
This unit offers a diverse range of services aimed at guiding all university students. However, it specifically focuses on catering to the needs of students with disabilities. The services provided to these students include the following:
- Psychological services: This area of the unit helps students with disabilities boost their self-confidence, enabling them to better adapt and interact with their university environment.
- Social services: This field assists students with disabilities in building a sense of belonging within themselves and their society. It encourages them to utilize their energies and abilities and develop their personality.
- Recreational services: To enhance their overall experience, students with disabilities are allowed to participate in internal and external visits, national and community celebrations, as well as cultural and artistic competitions.
- Sports services: The unit provides students with disabilities with the chance to engage in sports activities both within and outside the university.
- Material services: Financial and tangible assistance is offered to students with disabilities to alleviate some of the financial burdens they may face.
- Skills development services: This unit aids students with disabilities in developing their skills through courses, workshops, and programs that support their innovative ideas at the university.
Sixthly: Support services
An integrated system of tools, strategies, and services compatible with the needs and abilities of students with disabilities, depending on their surroundings and daily tasks.
Assistive technology devices
Tools, devices, and products have been customized or adjusted to meet the specific needs of users, particularly students with disabilities. The objective is to enhance or sustain their functional or performance capacities.