Disability : the UPPA elected as a « inclusive demonstrator university »
10 Jul 2024
At the beginning of July 2024, the University of Pau and Pays de l’Adour (UPPA) has been elected laureate of the « demonstrator and inclusive universities » call for project launched in February to follow on from Disability National Conference of April 2023. At the time, the French President announced that pilot universities would « become exemplary demonstrators of the possibility of fully accessible education », based on specifications resting on the work of the national advisory Council for people with disabilities.
The UPPA will thus receive a budget of nearly 2 million euros over three years in order to become a model in addressing the needs of students with disabilities.
At the end of the hearings, and under the responsibility of the Minister of Higher Education and Research, Sylvie Retailleau, the board elected five inclusive demonstrator universities including the UPPA, as well as one pedagogical demonstrator university from among 27 pre-selected candidates. These six laurates were chosen for the excellence of their files and for their representativeness of higher education (territorial context and student numbers*).
UPPA’s project : a fully inclusive process
« The HÉPHAESTOS project won unanimous support from the board, both for the quality of the committed reflexion and for the mobilisation of teachers and staff in the project preparation »
Benjammin Leperchey, acting general manager of higher education and occupational integration.
UPPA’s project « Disability : Developing Holistic and Adapted Processes in Higher Education for a Transformative, Inclusive and Supportive Environment (HÉPHAESTOS) was created to mitigate the barriers to success and personal development faced by students with disabilities within the university environment. Its ambition is to strengthen these students’ self-determination and emancipation by offering them guided process throughout their entire university journey, in order to facilitate their daily routine and their academic and social success.
HEPHAESTOS aims to sustainably transform the culture of inclusion within the university through a systemic approach built around three major pillars and supported by a renewed governance structure : strengthening pre-admission and admission processes, facilitating access to classes through inclusive pedagogy and raise awareness among all involved staff and improving professional integration through personalized support.
The project is led by Stephanie Rabiller, vice-president for well-being and student life, and by Jérémy Olivier, lecturer-researcher and disability project officer.
« These measures will make our university a demonstrative model, where common law will be the norm and barriers to higher education and student life the exception »
Laurent Bordes, president of the University of Pau and Pays de l’Adour
In the second part of the video, hear the testimony of a doctoral student (only in French):
Nine programmes across our various campuses are particularly concerned
-
Bachelor’s degree in law (Year 1, 2, 3)
-
Bachelor’s Degree in Economic and Social Administration (AES), Health and Social Track
-
University Bachelor of Technology (BUT) in Networks & Telecommunications, Cybersecurity Option
-
Professional bachelor’s degree in IT Professions, Track: Systems and Network Administration and Security
-
Professional bachelor’s degree: Quality, Safety, and Environmental Management
-
Masters in Local Government Management
-
Master’s Year 2 in Local Government Management and Innovation
-
University Diploma (DU) in Humanitarian and International Ai
-
University Diploma (DU) in Professions in General Territorial Administration
Disability at the UPPA in figures (2023-2024)
-
447 students with disabilities during the academic year
-
3.3% of the student population (a 66% increase since 2018)
-
36% have language or speech disorders
-
17% have a disabling illness
-
16% have motor impairments
-
33 students with autism spectrum disorder have identified themselves
-
85 student contracts (tutors, secretaries, note-takers) to support students with disabilities
-
7 students benefit from the telepresence robot system
-
Since 2023, 56 building and service reception staff have been trained in welcoming people with disabilities
-
9% of staff are beneficiaries of the mandatory employment quota (BOE) for workers with disabilities in the public sector
Contacts
- Stéphanie Rabiller , Scientific Director of the HÉPHAESTOS project
- Étienne Collinet , inclusion officer - HÉPHAESTOS
*The other award-winning demonstrator inclusive universities are the University of Angers, the University of Lyon 3, the University of Western Brittany, and the University of Lorraine, and the demonstrator university for pedagogy is Sorbonne Nouvelle University
*HÉPHAESTOS : Handicap : élaborer des parcours holistiques et adaptés dans l’Enseignement supérieur, pour un accueil transformant, ouvert et solidaire