the national star model of accessibility support centre for university students in montenegro prof....
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The National Star Model of Accessibility Support Centre for University Students in Montenegro
Prof. Ramo Šendelj, University of Donja Gorica, [email protected]
Ivana Ognjanović, PhD, University Mediterranean, [email protected]
Prof. Lefkothea Kartasidou, University of Macedonia, [email protected]
Support and Inclusion of students with disabilities at
Higher Education Institutions in Montenegro
I- IntroductionII- Adaptive systems process for developing
support systems for students with disabilities in Montenegrin HEIs through
III-National Assistive Star ModelIV- ImplementationV- Future work and Discussion
I- Introduction
• In many countries, university regulations, teaching processes and student organisations are adopted in order to provide full support for students with disabilities providing equal opportunities for studying, acquiring new knowledge and skills, and expanding social links and connections
• Even though the recommendations are clearly established and reference models of assistive support centres are developed in many countries, developing countries are still lagging behind in the provision of support to SwDs
• TEMPUS project titled ‘Support and inclusion of students with disabilities at Higher Education Institutions in MNE’.
Main challenges in Montenegro(i) the absence of a coherent and integrated system of financial and benefits support for
students studying at HEI’s, (ii) the lack of a progressive and holistic support system – one that bridges ‘transition stages’
between school-higher education and work; (iii) the lack of specialized administrative and academic staff trained to give proper support to
SwDs; (iv) the low level of technological infrastructure intended to facilitate the inclusion of students in
HEIs; (v) poorly-developed pedagogical support for guidance and counselling; (vi) variability in the provision of environmental support infrastructure, such as signage, ramps
and specialised accommodation facilities; (vii) the lack of a coherent structure to support collaborative action between different
stakeholder groups; and (viii) the lack of opportunities to support greater awareness of the needs of SwDs.
• STAR MODEL of students’ support : Student Advisory Office (SAO) as a central organization with branches organised asspecific Units at each HEI.
II-Adaptive systems process for developing support systems for students with disabilities in
Montenegrin HEIs through
III- National Assistive Star Model
The Strategy Framework should address the following regulatory reforms:• The absence of a coherent and integrated system of financial and benefits support for
students studying at HEI’s• The lack of a progressive and holistic support system – one that bridges ‘transition
stages’ between school-higher education and work• The lack of specialized administrative and academic staff trained to give proper support
to students with disabilities• The low level of technological infrastructure intended to facilitate the inclusion of
students in HEI • Poorly-developed pedagogical support for guidance and counselling• Variability in the provision of environmental support infrastructure, such as signage,
ramps and specialised accommodation facilities• The lack of a coherent structure to support collaborative action between different
stakeholder groups• The lack of opportunities to support greater awareness of the needs of students with
disabilities
IV -Implementation- Charter for Students with Disabilities- Student Advisory Office (SAO)
Medical and Psychological Support Service. Transportation assistance of students with disabilities.Accommodation in halls of residence/dormitories. Rights and duties assistance
- HEIs support to SAOAdministration Unit Teaching Unit Computer Centre for Students with Disabilities
- HEI’s law regulative- Stakeholder Forum
V- Future Work and Discussion• Future plans of the Accessibility Unit of the University of Athens and potential
extensions of our model include:
– The creation of a digital library with accessible transcripts, and its integration with other digital libraries of the same content.– Development of a larger accessible educational material production unit, in order to quickly produce all necessary formats (like Braille, DAISY, large prints) and in larger quantities.– Funding Assistive Technologies for all the disabled students who need them.Electronic archives for disabled students merged with the general student records of the University.– The creation of an Open Source AT community.– Participation in new research and development projects.– Focusing on Global Academic Networking for knowledge dissemination and exchange.
• QUESTIONS?
Support and Inclusion of students with disabilities at Higher Education Institutions in Montenegro