Learning from the online semesters Special challenges of studying with a disability
Long distances on Campus, stairs to the lecture hall, inflexible timetables. Students with disabilities face special challenges not only in everyday life, but also during their studies. What other difficulties does an online semester bring? Are there also advantages? What can we learn for the future? We wanted to find out from student Stella Behrens and the representative for students with disabilities or chronic diseases Carolin Wegner.
The staircase to the Historic Main Building. Photo credit: Marisol Glasserman/TU Braunschweig
“The experiences and barriers are certainly as diverse as the students themselves,” says Carolin Wegner, representative for students with disabilities or chronic diseases. “Here at TU Braunschweig, with its many old buildings, students with mobility impairments often encounter structural barriers. Regular attendance requirements or inconveniently located seminar times can also be a major hurdle for students with chronic diseases.”
Stella Behrens, a student of German Studies and Protestant Theology, Teacher Training Course: Grundschulen, shares this experience: “In a ‘normal’ classroom semester, the biggest barriers for me are the daily attendance and the on-site performance. The sometimes long distances on Campus can also be a challenge.” She sees this as a threat to regular study not only for herself, but also for others in a similar situation.
“There are many lecturers who are very understanding when you ask them and are willing to accommodate you when it comes to deadlines, for example. However, the daily demands remain, especially during the lecture period. Even though you always have the option of ‘postponing’ courses or modules, students with disabilities also want to complete their studies within the standard period of study. Some courses are only offered in the winter or summer semester. Longer absences due to hospitalisation or similar often mean that you are thrown back not just one, but two semesters.”
What changes will the online semesters bring?
During the Corona-related online semesters, some of the framework conditions for studying have changed. No full lecture hall or seminar room where you can meet other fellow students, no face-to-face group work, no Campus Life. Many students suffer from loneliness and isolation. “The lack of contact is particularly stressful for students who are already mentally ill. I notice a great deal of insecurity among many of them, which can have a direct impact on their studies,” says Carolin Wegner.
Despite these and similar disadvantages, the change can also be a relief. “To be honest, I’m personally very grateful for digital teaching,” says Behrens. “Of course, the online semester means that I don’t have contact with my fellow students, and the physical separation between university and private life means that I can’t completely switch off and go home after work. However, working on content digitally gives me a lot of freedom. I’m no longer forced to make my way to Braunschweig despite the pain, but can sit in bed or on the sofa with my laptop and participate in the live courses if necessary. When I have asynchronous courses, I can postpone working on the unit to a later date and give myself the rest I need. I’ve rarely felt as balanced in my studies as I have in the last two semesters. And that’s despite the fact that I’ve attended and completed as many courses in this semester alone as I did in the previous two semesters put together. I’ve also noticed that many lecturers have developed a more sensitive approach to the topic of health in studies and everyday life.”
What can we learn from this?
In order to achieve greater equality and accessibility, existing challenges need to be addressed and barriers need to be removed, says Carolin Wegner. For example, online formats can be particularly difficult for visually or hearing impaired students, as they are not always designed to be accessible.
Nevertheless, Behrens believes there is potential in this form of studying: “I hope that what we have learned about digital teaching will help us to make studying more inclusive for everyone. We now know that online recordings or live broadcasts of lectures are possible without too much effort. It would be desirable for this option to be available as soon as ‘normal’ classroom teaching is resumed. That way, students with disabilities won’t have to choose between their health and their studies.“
Carolin Wegner echoes these sentiments: “The transition to online teaching has involved a lot of effort and sometimes problems for everyone involved. But it has also enabled many new forms of teaching that were unthinkable before the pandemic. It would be great if students could continue to benefit from this experience in the future. For example, by offering alternative or complementary online formats in addition to classroom courses.“