Learning support
Support for students with disabilities
Students with a long-term documented disability are eligible for targeted learning support from Lund University. Decisions and recommendations about support are made by the coordinators at Disability Support Services.
Our area of responsibility is to ensure that students with long-term disabilities attain a situation comparable with those students who do not have a disability.
Students who have been approved for targeted learning support may also need adaptations in digital teaching situations.
- The student bears the main responsibility for their studies and applies for learning support via the Swedish Council for Higher Education’s ‘Nais’ system.
- The relevant coordinator will arrange an individual meeting to discuss support measures and recommendations.
- The coordinator makes a decision about suitable support and writes recommendations about adaptations to teaching and examination, based on the meeting with the student and the doctor’s certificate.
- A copy of the Nais notification is sent to the relevant study advisor, or other nominated person, who will discuss information strategy in consultation with the student.
- The department is responsible for finding reasonable solutions and putting the support into practice. The study advisor often has a central role in this work.
- Teaching staff/course director/examiner decide which forms of adaptation are possible in relation to the learning outcomes and other course requirements. The adaptation is not to mean lowered performance requirements, but the ways in which outcomes are reached may differ.
Disability Support Services can decide on the following support, according to the student’s needs:
- note-taking support
- mentoring support
- tutoring in study technique
In addition, we make an assessment and write recommendations to teaching staff about special examination arrangements, e.g.:
- extra time in examinations
- examinations in smaller groups
- individual examinations
- examination divided into shorter sittings
- supplementary oral examinations
A student with a disability who has received a decision granting learning support is allowed to make recordings of lectures, as per the Vice-Chancellor's decision, registration number LS2011/893. The recordings may only be made by the student, through in-person attendance at the lecture. Such a requirement must be communicated well in advance of the lecture.
Through the library, students with disabilities can access speech synthesis, spell-checking software and audiobooks.
More information about our various kinds of support at lunduniversity.se
Teaching staff/course director/examiner decide which forms of adaptation are possible in relation to the learning outcomes and other course requirements. The adaptation is not to mean lowered performance requirements, but the ways in which outcomes are reached may differ.
There may be several different ways in which a student can demonstrate their knowledge. It is a good idea to think about various options even before the course gets underway.
According to a decision by the Education Board, examiners have the opportunity to make decisions about equivalent alternative forms of examination for students who are approved for targeted learning support. The coordinators at Disability Support Services are always available for discussions about what form the support might take.
In order for a student to have their personal requests for examination approved, they are first to notify the study advisor, or other person appointed by the department.
For staff with teaching duties
At Lund University, we have a positive and flexible approach to receiving students with disabilities, and we offer compensatory targeted learning support. The adaptation is not to mean lowered performance requirements, but the ways in which outcomes are reached may differ and therefore it should be designed in such a way as to ensure that students with disabilities are not disadvantaged compared to their fellow students.
As a course director or examiner, you may need to make adjustments so that teaching and examinations are accessible to students who have a disability. You might also need to be more accessible for dialogue and questions. It may take longer for students with a disability to get used to a new situation and learn new strategies that work for them.
An inclusive learning environment
In an inclusive learning environment, one should strive to make the teaching accessible to as many students as possible. Adaptations to teaching which are necessary for an individual student often benefit the whole group and may lead to improved teaching and learning. Students with disabilities may encounter obstacles in both the physical and digital environments – obstacles that can usually be eliminated through good teaching and foresight in course planning. One efficient way of making teaching more accessible is by going through the course content and removing unnecessary barriers to learning.
A diverse group of students
An increasingly heterogeneous student body makes higher demands for flexibility in teaching. Offering all students different options in terms of their involvement, ability to benefit, and reporting of knowledge from the outset may be an appropriate approach. In this way, more students will be able to take the teaching on board without individual adaptations. The goal is to make teaching accessible for as many students as possible, regardless of whether or not they have a disability.
Tips
- The HUMBER Centre for Innovative Learning has produced a short film about UDL – universal design for learning.
UDL’s three principles and tips about how to create an inclusive learning environment (on YouTube, in Swedish) - The Division for Quality Enhancement at Uppsala University has produced several films about studying with dyslexia.
Advice on how to improve accessibility for students with dyslexia (on YouTube, in Swedish)
Here you will find support resources to help you create more accessible and inclusive teaching.
A handbook for accessible teaching
Disability Support Services have produced this handbook to support staff who encounter students with impairments at Lund University.
Handbook "Accessible teaching" (PDF 787 kB, new tab)
Support for online teaching
Explore the University's digital tools for teaching at education.lu.se
Contact
Disability Support Services
Contact details of staff working at Disability Support Services
Visiting address:
Student Affairs
Genetikhuset
Sölvegatan 29 B, Lund
Internal post:
Internal mailing code 13
New procedures for note-taking support!
Note-taking support is managed through the Student Portal, where students can report their interest and share their notes.
More information on management of note-taking support in the Student Portal (PDF, 149 kB, new tab)
More information on study support mentor on lunduniversity.lu.se
Frequently asked questions and answers about note-taking support on lu.se (in Swedish)
Please note: different procedures apply to the Faculty of Arts.
Government agencies have a special responsibility for working with accessibility
More information on the Swedish Agency for Participation's website (in Swedish)
General guidelines for targeted learning support at Lund University
(PDF, 187 kB, new tab)
Exam invigilators Disability Support Services
Exam invigilators for students whose notification regarding support includes a recommendation for additional time are recruited and booked by the department. The hourly rate is the same as for invigilating other exams, and exam invigilators may report a half hour before and a half hour after the scheduled exam to prepare and to wrap up.
The department pays the remuneration amount to exam invigilators. The cost is subsequently invoiced internally to cost centre 809910-5, reference Susanne Ljunggren lub-snl. The invoice documentation needs to include the name of the student with learning support, name of the exam invigilator, date and number of hours. It should also be clear that the invoice pertains to costs for exam invigilators.
The department decides how often internal invoicing is to be done and on the design of the documentation.
Contact us
If you have questions you would like to discuss, you can contact us at Disability Support Services. We are happy to act as a sounding board. We can also come out to departments to discuss how we at the University are to work together to improve.
Carina Argelius
Accessibility Officer
Email: carina [dot] argelius [at] stu [dot] lu [dot] se
Telephone: + 46 46-222 34 30
Campus Helsingborg
Emma Carlsson
Accessibility Officer
Email: emma [dot] carlsson [at] stu [dot] lu [dot] se
Telephone: + 46 46-222 92 01
Faculty of Law
School of Economics and Management (LUSEM)
Lina Ferm
Accessibility Officer
Email: lina [dot] ferm [at] stu [dot] lu [dot] se
Faculty of Engineering (LTH)
Faculty of Science
Ida Jarbe Holmlund
Accessibility Officer
Email: ida [dot] jarbe_holmlund [at] stu [dot] lu [dot] se
Telephone: + 46 46-222 49 29
Faculty of Social Sciences
Philip Johansson
Accessibility Officer
Email: philip [dot] johansson [at] stu [dot] lu [dot] se (philip[dot]johansson[at]stu[dot]lu[dot]se)
Telephone: +46 46 222 70 77
Faculty of Engineering (LTH)
Faculty of Medicine
Christina Rowa
Accessibility Officer
Email: christina [dot] rowa [at] stu [dot] lu [dot] se
Telephone: + 46 46-222 70 50
Faculty of Fine and Performing Arts
Faculties of Humanities and Theology
International Institute for Industrial Environmental Economics (IIIEE)
Henrik Mejborn
Education Officer
Email: henrik [dot] mejborn [at] stu [dot] lu [dot] se
Telephone: + 46 46-222 34 52
Liselott Eriksson
Mentor coordinator, administrative assistant
Email: liselott [dot] eriksson [at] stu [dot] lu [dot] se
Telephone: + 46 46-222 88 26