Ieva Vengrovskaya. Does VDU live up to the name of a university that is friendly to students with disabilities?
IEVA VENGROVSKAJA, COORDINATOR OF THE SOCIAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE OF THE STUDENT REPRESENTATION OF VDU
For more than a year, we have been discussing a lot with both the administration and the students of the university whether Vytautas Didios University (VDU) justifies the name of a higher education institution that is friendly to students with disabilities. Everyone agrees – there is room to work in order to implement the strategic goals of increasing accessibility, ensuring equal opportunities for all members of the community to participate in the academic and community life of the university. We can be happy that the discussions about changes have already yielded a result: a competition has been announced for the position of VMU disability affairs coordinator.
In the already mentioned meetings, we raise the question: are studies at VMU accessible and meeting the expectations of students with disabilities? Looking at who you compare to. Compared to VDU seven years ago, the situation is better, compared to Vilnius University (VU), the situation seems worse. Yes, we consider ourselves a student-friendly higher education institution, but for now we are limited only to the infrastructure, which, knowing the situation in the VDU's main hall or the Academy campus, is also not fully adapted to everyone. Meanwhile, the already mentioned VU has a person responsible for the affairs of students with disabilities who ensures the implementation of individual students' needs.
As a member of the United Nations (UN) Committee on the Rights of the Disabled, prof. Jonas Ruškus, adaptability is an intangible concept and it is important to realize that there are not only physical but also psychological disabilities. Therefore, we need to think not only about infrastructure, but also about the formulation of disabled people's policy in a general sense. Education of the entire academic community, increasing the availability of psychological help, better communication, community building and involvement are needed. And let's not forget everyday things like labeling events that are accessible to students with disabilities or a simpler financial aid application system.
In order to solve these problems and implement the goals, after long discussions with the university administration, it was decided to restore the position of disability affairs coordinator. This person will be responsible for organizing study-related processes that arise due to disability. This concerns not only the implementation of the coordination and integration program for students with disabilities (consulting, mediation, assistance in solving the problems of the disabled, initiation and implementation of disability education activities), but also the preparation, planning, implementation, monitoring and publicity of the university disability policy.
In simple terms, this will be someone who will help students with disabilities from the very beginning of their studies until they graduate and settle into a career. I'm not just talking about helping with applications for benefits or the like. It is important for students to have someone they can consult with on various issues. I know that there is often a problem where the student does not tell the teacher about his individual needs, which affects the quality of the studies. In such situations, the coordinator will act as a mediator and facilitator.
Of course, the coordinator will not solve all the problems, because they are relevant not only at the level of our university, but also at the national level: starting from the preparation of students for the future at school, the study basket distribution system, and ending with employment opportunities. However, I sincerely believe that our academic community can consciously initiate changes in society and in its own Alma Mater we will be able to consider it an attractive and affordable higher education institution for every student and employee.
