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Study Guide

Studying without Barriers

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If you are a student with disabilities and/or specific learning disorders, you can find here some useful information for your university studies.

Reference Persons, Structure and Services

Student Support

The Student Support is responsible for welcoming students with disabilities and specific learning disorders, as well as supporting them during their studies.

In particular, the Student Support takes care of:

  • Orientation towards the choice of the study programme;
  • Individualized support during the admission exams;
  • Assistance in the processing of bureaucratic procedures within the offices of the University and notification of special requests to the offices in charge (Faculty secretariats, services);
  • Relations with the Rector's Delegate, with the Faculty Representatives, with the lecturers and with any tutors;
  • Notification of compensatory/exemptive measures or special requests to lecturers during language exams, admission exams, school exams and/or lessons;
  • Provision of technical and IT support;
  • In collaboration with the International Relations Service: initiatives aimed at encouraging the participation of students with disabilities in international mobility programmes.

The Career Service also works to facilitate access for students with disabilities to initiatives to guide them to the work environment and to the work placement demand/supply mediation service, taking into account the specific skills acquired and the difficulties of the person.

You can find the contacts of the Student Support in the Footer at the end of this page.

Delegate of the Rector for Disability

The Delegate is the reference point within the University for all disability and learning disorder issues.

The members of the University Community can contact the Delegate to highlight inclusion issues and to receive precise indications regarding the university's general policies on disability and learning disorder.

The fundamental task of the Delegate is to promote awareness on disability within the University through periodic initiatives addressed to the Academic Community.

The Delegate works alongside the Student Support during the welcoming phase of the student, who for the first time turns to the University with the intention of undertaking a study programme.

By Decree no. 196/2017 the Rector appointed Prof. Laura Levaggi as his delegate.

Disability Representatives for the Faculties

On the basis of the Guidelines of the CNUDD (National University Conference of Delegates for Disability), delegates for the Faculties have been appointed. The presence of the Faculty Representatives, in addition to making the inclusion policies more effective, provides significant support to teaching, the drafting of personalized study plans and the implementation of exams that guarantee equal opportunities.

The Referent represents a point of reference within the Faculty, contributes to the solution of particular problems, mostly related to teaching, guides those who are in difficulty to the competent structures.

The lecturer in question will work with the Rector's Delegate and the Student Support in order to identify and propose to the student, upon request, the most suitable intervention for his/her needs.

The Referent's action aims to mediate between the student's needs and the teaching difficulties that could concretely hinder the regular course of studies.

Faculty of Agricultural, Environmental and Food Sciences: Camilla Wellstein

Faculty of Design and Art: Hans Höger 

Faculty of Economics and Management
Bozen-Bolzano campus: Michael Nippa 
Bruneck-Brunico campus: Serena Volo 

Faculty of Education: Silvia Dell'Anna, Vanessa Macchia

Faculty of Engineering: Xiaofeng Wang, Martina Aurora Costa Angeli 

 

Available Services

Following students can use the services provided by the Student Support:

  • Students with permanent or temporary disabilities;
  • Students with certification of specific learning disorders;

in possession of valid medical and clinical documentation attesting to the nature of the disability or specific learning disorder and regularly enrolled in:

  • bachelor programmes
  • master programmes
  • one cycle masters
  • PhD programmes
  • specialisation courses

offered by the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano.

Those students are entitled to use the mentioned services.

Foreign students with disabilities/learning disabilities enrolled in international mobility programmes at unibz can also apply to the hosting university service. Their suitability to use the services will be evaluated by the Student Support in collaboration with the Rector's Delegate and the similar structures present in the universities of provenance.

The services provided are:

  • Orientation towards the choice of the study programme;
  • Individualized support during the admission exams;
  • Formulation of a personalized learning programme;
  • Support for individual study through tutoring actions;
  • Assistance in carrying out the examinations;
  • Assistance with bureaucratic procedures;
  • Support for mobility abroad, internships and job placement;
  • Supply of technical and IT support.

Services are provided:

  • Compatible with the availability of human and financial resources;
  • Only at the specific request of the student with disabilities/learning disabilities;
  • Exclusively for carrying out institutional activities;
  • In decentralised locations, subject to the availability of local staff and facilities;
  • In respect of the rules and regulations of the University;
  • By personnel identified by the Student Support and dedicated to the requested service.

Students with disabilites

If you have a disability, it is best to arrange a meeting with the Student Support.

In order to access the services it is necessary to be in possession of valid medical and clinical documentation attesting the disability type and to have presented it to the Student Support.

Depending on the certification submitted, we may discuss your situation together to assess which equipment or intervention may be best suited to your needs and provide you with useful information to tackle the study in unibz.

We remind you that at the university, in order to activate the compensatory and/or exemptive measures that you need and can take, you must send us the notification each time and make an explicit request (study@unibz.it).

When dealing with professors, it is important to point out your situation and needs. Professors are not automatically informed about your disability.

You can first refer to the Faculty Disability Representative: together you can decide whether to draw up a personalized study programme, and then ask to inform the lecturers in charge of the courses you attend about the situation.

In any case, you can also directly arrange a conversation with the single professors, in order to evaluate together the best way to approach the study.

Tuition Fees

If you have a certified disability rating of 66% or higher, you are entirely exempt from the payment of tuition fees. In this case, you need to hand in to our Student Office the disability certificate issued by a local healthcare authority when you submit your documents for registration.

The Right to Education Department of the Bozen-Bolzano Province provides for some special allowances for students with disabilities, among which: funding of domestic care services, refund of travel expenses and mobility support. Depending on your family income, you will be able to request a refund of your expenses.

Architectural barriers, special equipment, tutoring services

unibz has no architectural barriers on its three campuses, however if you need special equipment that allows you to easily access the places of study (lecture rooms and/or laboratories) and/or other university spaces, you must expressly request it.

If you need special equipment, please let us know in good time: we will then be able to agree on the choice of technical and IT equipment best suited to your needs and find it.

If necessary, tutoring services can be organised, with the support of 120-hour students, aimed at orientation and integration in student life and support in educational activities, with individual methods that take into account your needs. The areas of intervention of the "peer tutor" include: assistance in the lecture hall, accompaniment in the activities related to the study (support in the fruition of the lectures, help in the recovery of handouts, notes, books, etc.), support in the individual study for passing examinations or for the drafting of the final paper, intermediation with professors, preparation of study materials in accessible format.

Personalised Learning Programme

Because of your possible specific needs, you can agree with the Disability Representative in the Faculty, the definition of a personalised study programme. Together you can define the time schedule of the workload and the goals to be achieved.

The work plan can be discussed again and adapted throughout the entire course of study, to address any critical issues that you may encounter during the course of study.

Curriculare Exams

Enrolment in the university exams is carried out via my SNS. If you need to apply for compensatory and/or exemptive measures (e.g. additional time or the provision of specific technical and IT equipment), you should contact us via e-mail (study@unibz.it) at least 15 days before the examination date to inform us of your participation.

After your report, we need to take a series of actions that sometimes take time:

  • Inform the lecturers of the exams for which you have completed the enrolment, so that they can be granted compensatory and/or esemptive measures and so that a lecturer is present for the duration of your exam;
  • Inform the secretariat of your participation in the exams and of the need, if additional time is required, to extend the reservation of the room in which you will take each exam. If it is not possible to extend your booking, we will have to find an alternative solution to allow you to complete the examination, looking for another available room or office;
  • Book and set up the technical and/or IT equipment you may need (e.g. a special computer or workstation);
  • Give you confirmation of this.

With at least 15 days' notice, the Student Support will have time to find suitable solutions and we will be able to inform you in good time.

You, on the other hand, can focus on the study with due peace of mind and conduct any interviews with the professor, to clarify aspects of the exam content you take or particular organizational aspects.

Support for mobility abroad, traineeships and job placement

The Student Support, in collaboration with the International Relations Office, can support you in promoting your participation in international mobility programmes (Erasmus, Bilateral Agreements, etc.) by means of

  • assistance in completing applications to participate in programmes;
  • help with contacts with the foreign host university in defining and organising the necessary support services.

Participation in international mobility programs is subject to passing the selections provided for all students.

In the case of Erasmus+ mobility, specific EU funding is provided to support the international mobility of students with disabilities.

The Career Service can support you to facilitate your access to initiatives for orientation to the world of work and to the Internship and Work Request/Offer mediation service, taking into account the specific skills acquired and the difficulties of the person.

You can find all the details in the service charter.

Students with specific learning disorders

If you have a specific learning disorder, it is best to arrange a meeting with the Student Support.

In order to access the services, it is necessary to be in possession of a valid medical-clinical documentation certifying the nature of the specific learning disorder (as indicated in the CNUDD – the National University Conference of Delegates for Disability - Guidelines and according to Law no. 170 of 2010, art. 3, and the subsequent State-Regions Agreement of 24/7/2012, only a diagnosis of learning disorders issued by not more than 3 years, if made when the student was a minor, is valid; it is not compulsory that it is updated if made after the age of 18) and have submitted it to the Student Support.

Based on the certification submitted, we may discuss your situation together to assess which intervention or equipment may be most appropriate and we will provide you with information to help you approach the study in unibz.

We remind you that at the university, in order to activate the compensatory and/or exemptive measures that you want and can take, you must send us the notification each time and make an explicit request (study@unibz.it).

When dealing with professors, it is important to point out your situation and needs. Professors are not automatically informed about your disability.

You can first refer to the Faculty Disability Representative: together you can decide whether to draw up a personalized study plan, and then ask to inform the lecturers in charge of the courses you attend about the situation.

In any case, you can also directly arrange a conversation with the single professors, in order to evaluate together the best way to approach the study.

Special equipment, tutoring services

If you need special equipment, please let us know in good time: we will then be able to agree on the choice of technical and IT equipment best suited to your needs and find it.

If necessary, tutoring services can be organised, with the support of 120-hour students, aimed at orientation and integration in student life and support in learning activities, with individual methods that take into account your needs. The areas of intervention of the "peer tutor" include: assistance in the lecture hall, accompaniment in the activities related to the study (support in the fruition of the lessons and in the study, help in the recovery of handouts, notes, books, etc..), support in the individual study for passing examinations or for the drafting of the final thesis, intermediation with professors, preparation of study materials in accessible format.

Personalised Learning Programme

Because of your possible specific needs, you can agree with the Disability Representative in the Faculty, the definition of a personalised study programme. Together you can define the time schedule of the workload and the goals to be achieved.

The study plan might be discussed again and adapted throughout the entire course of study, to address any critical issues that you may encounter during the course of study.

Curricular Exams

Enrolment in the exams is carried out via my SNS. If you need to apply compensatory and/or exemptive measures (e.g. additional time or the provision of specific technical and IT equipment), you should contact us via e-mail (study@unibz.it) at least 15 days before the examination date to inform us of your participation.

After your report, we need to take a series of actions that sometimes take time:

  • Inform the lecturers of the exams for which you have completed the enrolment, so that they can be granted compensatory and/or esemptive measures and so that a lecturer is present for the duration of your exam;
  • Inform the secretariat of your participation in the exams and of the need, if additional time is required, to extend the reservation of the room in which you will take each exam. If it is not possible to extend your booking, we will have to find an alternative solution to allow you to complete the examination, looking for another available room or office;
  • Book and set up the technical and/or IT equipment you may need (e.g. a special computer or workstation);
  • Give you confirmation of this.

With at least 15 days' notice, the Student Support will have time to find suitable solutions and we will be able to inform you in good time.

You, on the other hand, can focus on the study with due peace of mind and conduct any interviews with the professor, to clarify aspects of the exam content you take or particular organizational aspects.

You can find all the details in the service charter.

Legislative References

The services offered to students with disabilities and with learning difficulties, aimed at ensuring equal opportunities during university education, comply with the following provisions of law and guidelines in force in Italy and in the province of Bozen-Bolzano:

Service charter for students with disabilities and specific learning difficulties

The charter of services for students with disabilities and specific learning disorders, approved by the University Council on 29/06/2018, is available to make the services provided by the University accessible and transparent.