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Strengthening support and assistance for students with disabilities

To facilitate transitions from high school to college, as well as between different levels of study or institutions

It is essential that our prospective students with disabilities, as well as their families, have access to comprehensive information so they can prepare for their arrival with peace of mind—particularly when it comes to finding suitable housing and identifying accessible transportation options.

Our initiatives:

• Strengthen collaboration between the university and secondary schools.
• Develop a practical guide to accommodations for coursework and exams, with a specific focus on the doctoral program.
• Strengthen communication with prospective students with disabilities and their families.
• Improve the support provided to international students with disabilities by providing information in advance and by translating websites and documents.

Improving the welcome for students with disabilities when they arrive at the university

Due to the sharp increase in the number of students with disabilities in recent years, the support and assistance provided by the University of Grenoble Alpes (Université Grenoble Alpes , UGA) need to be improved. Currently, the process for obtaining a Support Plan for Students with Disabilities (PAEH) is considered cumbersome and complex, resulting in excessively long processing times.

Our initiatives:

• Simplify the process for applying for a PAEH.
• Clarify the role of each stakeholder at the UGA.
• Streamline relationships among all stakeholders involved in providing support (administrative offices, teaching staff, support services, etc.) by adopting a user-centered approach: the Disability Services Office, the Student Health Service, the Youth Health Center at Valence, the Registrar’s Office, and the CROUs Grenoble Alpes.
• Improve the tools for managing, monitoring, and supporting students with disabilities.

Strengthen the role of disability liaisons

Within each of our units (school, college, or institute), disability liaisons play an essential and hands-on role in supporting students. Working closely with the disability services office and health services, their work is crucial to ensuring the best possible support. This task is particularly demanding in units that serve a large number of students with disabilities.

Our initiatives:

• Provide disability liaisons with a statement of work.
• Organize the network of disability liaisons at the UGA level.
• Work toward greater recognition of their commitment.
• Organize and expand training resources and programs.

Making educational programs more accessible to students with disabilities

Help make the courses offered at UGA more accessible

Making the university fully accessible also requires taking action at the very heart of academic programs. Measures taken to support students with disabilities—by promoting more inclusive teaching practices—also benefit all students. However, faculty members joining the university have not always received the necessary training to teach students with specific needs. It is therefore essential to support them in shifting their standard perception of a student group so that they naturally incorporate the diversity of student profiles and needs when designing their courses.

Our initiatives:

• Strengthen the "inclusion of students with disabilities" component of UGA's teacher education programs, with a focus on universal pedagogy.
• Promote human support (recruitment, recognition of commitment).
• Improve coordination between the resources made available to students with disabilities and other students with specific needs: high-level artists, elite athletes, and socially engaged students.
• Create appropriate spaces for isolation and rest.
• Planning for the international mobility of students with disabilities.
• Develop peer-to-peer support: establish a volunteer-based student mentoring and mutual aid program.

Provide a work environment in libraries that promotes concentration and well-being, is accessible, and is tailored to specific needs

Our initiatives:

• To establish university libraries as centers for resources, awareness, and training on the diversity of disabilities for students and staff.
• Adapting to changes in the field of adapted and accessible publishing: continuing to provide materials that meet the needs of students with disabilities.
• Promote the resources available in certain libraries, such as collections of books and games about disability.

Better Preparing Students with Disabilities for the Workforce

There may be a wider gap for students with disabilities between the end of their college education and their entry into the workforce.

Our initiatives:

• Expand the "Duo Day" program to support students with disabilities.
• Create a network of "disability-friendly" businesses and organizations to help connect students with disabilities who have graduated with businesses.
• Work-study programs and internships: strengthening ties with various partners and host organizations.
• Inform students about the procedure for obtaining recognition as a worker with a disability (RQTH)

Encourage participation in student and campus life

The challenges related to accessibility in student life for students with disabilities must also be taken into account.

Our initiatives:

• Make the awarding of grants for cultural, sports, and festival projects, as well as for training programs provided to associations accredited by the UGA, contingent upon ensuring accessibility.
• Continue efforts to make sports more inclusive. 
• Map the cultural sites in the Grenoble and Valence metropolitan areas, taking accessibility into account.
• Continue the partnership between the Disability Services Office and the Crous Grenoble Alpes to ensure that students with disabilities have access to accessible housing.
• Improve access to university dining halls (skip-the-line options, soundproofing, quiet dining areas, etc.).

Raising Awareness About Disabilities, Providing Training on Accessibility

To ensure that our university is truly inclusive, it is essential that we continue our efforts to foster a shared culture regarding disability. This culture must be embraced by everyone at the university—including staff, faculty, and students. The goal is to raise awareness and educate everyone so that inclusion and consideration of specific needs become second nature in our daily lives.

Our initiatives:

• Raise awareness about para sports.
• Organization of a Disability Awareness Day (for students and staff).
• Strengthen training offerings and ensure that resources are easily accessible.
• Continue and expand the "student well-being" training program.
• Optimize participation in the Atypie Friendly program by involving the Crous Grenoble Alpes.
• Organize opportunities to share best practices and foster the development of a community of mentors focused on students' needs.