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The information on this page is for everyone, whether you are in your first year of study or finishing your postgrad. It doesn’t matter if you have never received support for a disabilities-related issue or if you are concerned that you may need some support, or even if you’re just curious about how it works. You can get in touch with me at any time, although it’s obviously best to do so as early as possible so that support can be put in place sooner rather than later. Below is some information specific to the School of Language & Literature about how we support students with disabilities-related issues of all kinds.
Gundula Sharman
Dr. Gundula Sharman
Disabilities Co-ordinator,
School of Language & Literature,
(German Studies)
Taylor A6*
University of Aberdeen AB24 3UB
Direct Tel. 01224 272486
e-mail: g.m.sharman@abdn.ac.uk
* Located on the ground floor of Taylor A Block.
Open hours: Please see the notice on my door (A6)
Gundula Sharman (http://www.abdn.ac.uk/german/staff/details.php?id=g.m.sharman) is Disabilities Co-ordinator for the School of Language and Literature. I work in collaboration with the University Disability Officer, Dr. Lucy Foley (whose office is within Student Support Services; see web page http://www.abdn.ac.uk/disability/ ) and I’m the contact point for any disabilities-related issues within this School . Also I liaise between staff and students in the School and the University Disability Officer regarding any provision for courses taught within our School. If you’re unsure who to come to with a query, come and see me and we’ll take everything from there. It doesn’t mean that you can’t contact tutors or Dr. Foley directly. We are all here to support you.
When we talk about support for “disabilities” in the context of the university, we mean this in its very broadest sense. It can apply to any condition or issue for which you need support in order to compensate for the disadvantage the “condition” may result in. So, for instance, it may be a mobility impairment (we can ensure that venues for all activities are wheelchair-accessible), a sight or hearing impairment (material can be produced on an alternative format for Braille users, and aural assessments in language can be amended in order to make them accessible to hearing-impaired students), a mental health issue (this can impact on your studies and we can support you as needed), an issue with writing or reading (such as dyslexia) or any number of various situations. Basically, if you feel there may be an ongoing condition which is having an impact on your studies, come along for a chat and we can talk strategies to see what support might be practical (see http://www.abdn.ac.uk/disability/ for info on the kinds of support we could discuss).
When you first get in touch, we spend some time with you discussing the kind of issues you are experiencing and then make an appointment for you with Student Support Services, who will establish the most practical means of support for you. There are all kinds of approaches we can take, depending on the issues you are facing. In many cases, we can put in place provision for (for example) copies of lecture notes, somebody to take notes in classes with you, additional support with exams or, perhaps, study workshops. Again, though, it very much depends on your own needs. The university will assess these needs with you, and we’ll go from there.
Absolutely not. Support for disabilities exists in order to provide fair and effective means for everyone to work towards their degrees: where provision is made for a disabilities-related issue, it is put in place in order to reduce or remove the disadvantage the student in question would otherwise be facing as a result of the particular condition or circumstances. The idea is to make university study at Aberdeen accessible to everyone; we want to remove the obstacles as far as possible, not single anyone out.
In the first instance, it actually doesn’t matter who you approach: often, people will talk first to an adviser of studies or a trusted tutor, who will then refer you to either myself or to Student Support Services. We all work in tandem on this kind of support and it’s fine to approach any one of these people as a first point of contact. If you’re not sure whom you should approach, feel free to do either of the following: 1. come along to my open hours, either during advising week/week 1 or during the semester (times are above), and we can talk over the kind of support you might need; from there, I would put you in touch with Student Support Services (with the University Disability Officer, Dr. Lucy Foley) for a follow-up, and I’ll explain how that works, or 2. you can contact Dr. Foley directly for an appointment and then come along and see me for a chat after that.
Yes, completely confidential. It goes without saying that nothing discussed between us will be passed on to anyone else without your permission (and the same goes for any discussion you have with Student Support). In some cases, I may suggest to you that it would be helpful for, perhaps, your course co-ordinators to know certain things (for example, in the case of a hearing impairment, it’s helpful for tutors to be aware of the kind of condition they need to support, so that they can adapt their teaching delivery to be accessible to you) but, otherwise, the only information that is ever passed on is the request for specific provision. So, for example, if the underlying issue is dyslexia and the best support for your own case is to have copies of notes and handouts, the information tutors receive only states that they should provide you with this material, not the “reason why”. If you feel at all unsure or uneasy about issues of confidentiality, do feel free to ask me about these. The idea is that you don’t have to go round the houses and explain to lots of people: once you have been to see me and Student Support, info is then passed on strictly as necessary, and you won’t then have to repeat yourself or confide in all your tutors unless you want to.
Other students will not know anything about support you receive unless you choose to tell them, and you won’t be singled out in class or asked about your provision in front of anyone. Having said that, it’s always useful to know that many, many, many students receive support and there will be several people (at least) on your course who are receiving some kind of provision. You are entitled to this support and there’s absolutely nothing to be embarrassed about.
It very often happens that issues like this simply don’t present themselves until university because they have never had such an impact before; then, once you are here and find you have a great deal of reading and writing work to complete within a tight timeframe, these can come to the fore for the first time. Many, many students with dyslexia successfully complete their degrees just the same as students without dyslexia. If you have concerns about this or would like to find out whether it is dyslexia affecting your studies, please come along. After a chat about things, we’ll refer you to Student Support Services, who will arrange to look into this further with you, and we’ll go from there.
After your initial contact with me/Student Support/whoever you first approach, you’ll at some point have a chat with me about things, and will also have an appointment with Student Support to decide the best means of support for you. Then, the provision required is “documented” via the Registry and an official, confidential form is generated and sent to me. I then pass on only the requested provision to the relevant course co-ordinators for the courses you are taking and (in the case of provision needed for exams) to the relevant exams officer. Course co-ordinators then ensure that tutors put in place any necessary support for classes, and exams officers and I make sure provision is met (if needed) for your exams. In some cases, I will put the provision in place directly, as is the case when note-takers are needed for classes. There is nothing you need to do here, other than keep in touch and let me know if you’re experiencing any difficulties or if you have any worries. However, please do come and see me if you find that the provision is not working for any reason, and we can talk over new strategies. All teaching staff receive “Brief Guidelines” on the procedures for disabilities support too, as well as the School’s “Teachability” report on making courses accessible, and issues relating to disabilities are regularly discussed at School meetings.
Yes, definitely. Provision is put in place for you, in order to help remove the disadvantage your own circumstances or condition imply for your studies so, if it’s not working, we need to review things. If for any reason you’re worried about the support you’re receiving, please come along and see me. For example, if you have provision for copies of notes for lectures but you find this is not addressing the problem, we could think about arranging a note-taker for you or tape-recording lectures. We would talk this over and establish how to amend things. If you’re not receiving provision you should have, please let me know asap; this may well just be an oversight and is easily fixed, but I can’t know that it’s happening unless you tell me the situation.
No, not at all. Please see section on “Dispensation for spelling and grammar”, though (further ahead); it’s always a good idea to come and have a chat about how issues with dyslexia can be supported within the context of a language-based degree.
Yes. The first thing to do is to be aware that the forms you complete when applying for you year abroad placement include a section where you can declare any disabilities-related issues. Remember, by law you can’t be discriminated against as a result of this, so it is there to allow you to warn the selectors ahead of time that they may have to take into account some provision for you. For example, if you have a mobility impairment, the institution you go to will need to be aware of it ahead of time to make sure that facilities are accessible for you. It is up to you to complete this section of the form.
If you are going abroad on a Socrates/Erasmus student exchange, the same request for provision applies at the host university. Universities in different countries have different protocols and departments, but they will provide basically the same support as you have here. Do be aware that the manner of teaching may be different there, so it may be that the provision will be a little different simply because it will work better that way.
If you’re going to be working (on a British Council teaching placement, for instance), be sure to declare any necessary considerations such as a physical impairment. The British Council does vet its placements but, of course, will have to be aware of any disabilities-related issues in order to make sure your placement is not unsuitable. In the past, if the selection committee has been unsure about a disabilities issue, they have simply phoned me to ask whether the candidate suits the placement and vice versa.
If you’re at all concerned or just wondering how this will work, please come and see me and/or the year abroad co-ordinator for your language department(s) during your second year. The preparatory talks about your “destination country” will help you in sourcing information about any support organisations you may want to contact too, and you are very welcome to come and talk to me about this as well.
Year abroad info – see:
Yes. You can always come and see me during my office hours, contact Student Support Services and make use of the other support services offered by the university, such as the University Counselling Service, short courses (such as study skills) offered by ALSU, writing support from the School (contact me and I will refer you) and support from the Students’ Representative Council.
This is by no means an exhaustive list! These are just some notes on certain types of provision about which I often receive queries:-
If your required provision involves a note-taker for your classes, we will arrange this for you. Note-takers are usually Honours or postgraduate students from the School, and they are always given preparation in how to take notes and how the arrangements for note-taking operate within the School.
Both you and the note-taker share responsibility for this process to work well. Once the note-taker has agreed to the hours for your classes (you may well have different note-takers for different classes), you will attend the classes together and it is up to the two of you to keep in touch with each other, arrange to meet on the way into the class and so forth. Be aware that YOU MUST ATTEND ALL YOUR CLASSES: note-taking is an additional provision put in place to allow you to listen to the lecture while someone next to you writes notes as a record of the class. It is absolutely unacceptable for you to miss classes and “send” your note-taker to the session instead, and you are expected to attend all your classes just the same as all other students. If you should happen to be ill, it is up to you to call your note-taker to let him/her know. It may be possible for the note-taker to attend one class without you, on the strict understanding that your absence is legitimate and certified in the usual way, but thereafter you must account for your absence like any other student. Both note-takers and students receiving note-taking provision are given notes on these issues when the note-taking begins. Note-takers are given a “contract of services” from the School and a form to complete for Student Support Services, which both the note-taker and student must sign to make sure the note-taking has been carried out properly and that the students is also attending.
Proof-reading is put in place in order to amend inconsistencies with the following: grammar, spelling and syntax. Proof readers do not correct your writing style as such and they do not “correct” the content of your work before you hand it in, nor do they format references or bibliographies, all of which are learning outcomes you must achieve as part of your own studies. Proof-readers and students receiving this provision receive notes on how this works, but do come and see me if you’re unclear on what’s involved.
If you require a proof-reader as part of your provision, we will arrange one for you. Both you and the proof-reader share responsibility for this process to work well. We will put you both in touch and thereafter, it is up to you both to arrange when and where you meet and to negotiate exactly what timeframe you will give the proof-reader to read your work and return it. The notes you will be given provide some guidance with this.
The bulk of course information is now placed on the university’s website for the majority of courses in the School. We are increasingly going over to a system where all such information is available to every student via the website so that any students who need to manipulate the format can do so (to print it on larger font, for example). However, courses evolve and are constantly updated, so it may be that a particular course guide is not on the website; if that is the case, and if you do require to have an electronic or alternative format of the information, I will be happy to arrange for this to be produced.
“Copies of notes” really means a copy of the data the lecturer is working from to give the lecture: in many cases, lecturers find they can best deliver a lecture based on notes or bullet points (or, perhaps, a Powerpoint presentation), rather than actual narrative text. When a lecturer provides copies of notes, then, these may be in a variety of formats, but the purpose is to provide you with a written record of the material to be covered in that class. Similarly, you may receive copies of overhead transparencies or Powerpoint slides, as appropriate. If your provision requests that you receive the notes ahead of the class, tutors will do the best they can to provide these; remember, though, that lecturers often have to amend the notes for a lecture from one class to the next, sometimes at very short notice, when themes and questions are raised in class. Where the class is a discussion, seminar or tutorial, the notes will inevitably be “points”, rather than prose text, since the class is based on interaction within the group, rather than disseminating information.
It can be confusing for students of language-specific courses (such as modern languages) when provision involves “dispensation for spelling and grammar”: obviously, this applies only as it can be applied in the case of courses where the learning outcomes specifically relate to spelling and grammar. In other words, in a course like French language, among the learning outcomes for that course are various skills in grammar and spelling (such as gender agreements, for instance) and you will want and need to master these skills in order to become proficient in the field of study. The support we apply for you in a course like this needs to take into account that you’re trying to reach a level of skills in that particular field, and so we need to support you in achieving this rather than “waive” the requirement for spelling and grammar in this case. Similarly, there are courses of study in the humanities where linguistic expression is a skill inherent in the field and so is a learning outcome of the course; in those cases, again, what we need is to support you in building those skills, rather than waive that aspect of your studies altogether. Think of this as a need to support you in developing your skills as opposed to denying you the opportunity to prove your skills in self-expression. As always, it will help to also read the course guide for your course and pay special attention to the learning outcomes for the course. If you are taking courses in modern languages (or English language, or indeed any course where linguistic expression is a factor) within the School, it’s a good idea to come and see me to talk this over ahead of your first assessment (if possible) so that I can give you some more explanation of how this works. Just come to my open hours.
You might find some of the links to websites on dyslexia support useful reading too:
Both these sites have useful links to further info.
If provision is requested for you to receive additional time to complete your exams in compensation for a disabilities-related issue, wewill write to you ahead of your exams to let you know the arrangements for this. Be sure to check you university e-mail account regularly, as that is how we will be getting in touch with you about this support. Unless you have the specific provision of individual invigilation, you will be in an exam hall with other people who are also receiving additional time and for a variety of different exams taking place at the same time. When you receive your notification of the exam arrangements, all you need to do is reply to me to confirm that you’ve seen them and are not concerned about things, and go along to your exam in good time on the day, as per the details in the letter.
“Extra time” (the number of minutes requested for you by the university) applies to any diet of exams (January, June or August) and, where appropriate, to in-class exams as well. In practice, though, course coordinators may take one of 2 approaches in order to assess you fairly under test conditions in the case of an in-class test: you may be given the additional time in a separate venue (since classes are of 50 minutes’ duration and you would otherwise be interrupted and possibly made to feel uncomfortable by your classmates leaving the room before you); or it may be more practical for a number of reasons for you to sit the test in exactly the same way as the rest of the class group, but for the test marker to take into account the issue of time when grading your work.
If you receive this provision for exams, wewill write to you ahead of your exams to let you know the arrangements for this. Be sure to check you university e-mail account regularly, as that is how we will be getting in touch with you about this support. If you have the specific provision of individual invigilation, you will be in an exam room on your own, with the invigilator for that exam. It will normally be a classroom or small tutorial room, not a large exam hall. When you receive your notification of the exam arrangements, all you need to do is reply to me to confirm that you’ve seen them and are not concerned about things, and go along to your exam in good time on the day, as per the details in the letter. The invigilator for your exam will meet you there.
If you have been given permission to tape-record lectures, this normally means that you are allowed to tape lectures for yourself (either onto audio cassette, or in whatever format works best for you). However, it is good manners to remind a lecturer that you are taping the session: although your tutor will have been informed that you have this provision, unless he/she already knows you, he/she won’t know who it is who is doing the recording and so can’t be aware of speaking audibly for the tape; very often, lecturers will offer to place the recording equipment in front of them to allow for better sound quality. If you have a provision request for various options, such as copies of notes/scribe/permission to tape lectures, obviously not all of these will be needed for the same class. If you’re unsure which will work best, feel free to discuss this with me.
Visiting lecturers: we are extremely fortunate at Aberdeen that the university attracts a large number of visiting lecturers to speak here, both within the Word Festival and other seminar series. You of course have access to the same activities as all other students, but it is important to bear in mind that a visiting speaker will not be aware of things like provision for disabilities-related support. It would be extremely rude to just push a tape-recorder under a visitor’s nose! This is simply an issue of good manners and doesn’t mean you will be disadvantaged, only that it is very much better to ask your course tutor or coordinator to check with the speaker whether it will be OK to tape the session. If the seminar is not directly part of your course and you’re not sure who the organiser you should ask is going to be, let me know in good time and I will help you to arrange this. Normally, visiting speakers are happy to have the recording take place when they are asked BUT you MUST respect the purpose of these recordings: permission for you to record a session is in lieu of taking written notes in the usual way, and is intended to provide you, an individual student, with a record of that session on which to base your studies and revision. It is NEVER acceptable to distribute the recordings to anyone else. This is especially relevant when the lecture involves a writer who will be reading from unpublished work; the work is still the intellectual property of the writer/speaker, and you must adhere to the appropriate code of conduct, i.e. the recordings are for you ears only.
King’s College is a beautiful, ancient campus in a conservation area; this has certain implications for wheelchair access to all classrooms and, as you will have noticed, there are inevitably some rooms located on upper floors in buildings where lift access is not a possibility. Having said that, the university has invested substantially in adapting accommodation to allow for wheelchair access. If you are a wheelchair user, or if you have provision requested for ground floor access or lift-accessible venues, we will arrange for your classes to be given in suitable rooms. If the School is aware of your provision and your course choices are confirmed in good time for the start of the teaching semester, this can be put in place before the classes start. If provision is requested later, it means the classrooms for that course (or that group, in the case of tutorials, seminars, oral classes or language classes) must be changed for all the students involved. There is nothing you need to arrange here, and we will put in place appropriate classrooms as needed. Please do let me know if, for any reason, you find access to a particular room problematic. Please note that, wherever possible, we try to arrange accessible rooms for our largest courses as a matter of course.
The Language Centre is equipped for wheelchair access to the ground floor (where the resources library, audio room, audiovisual room and language labs are located), and has a workstation equipped with an adjustable desk and with software for voice/text work for students who require this provision. You need to have permission to access this equipment (so that it is not used by students who could be using the Edward Wright Building facilities), so the first step would be to get in touch with me.
The main library (Queen Mother Library) is accessible to all. For fire safety reasons, access to upper floors implies certain considerations, however – see link to QML library: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/diss/library/qml/
Computing facilities: there are many venues on campus where you can access computers. See links to DISS web pages: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/diss/compserv/
Student Societies: Societies are accessible to all, and society presidents will make arrangements for wheelchair access and the like if they are planning any activities outside campus. The best thing is to email the “contact person” from the society ahead of time if you’re concerned about access to an event, and they will make any arrangements with you as needed. Do go along to these events, they are for everybody!
This page was last modified on: Thursday, 15-Jan-2009 14:17:50 GMT
School of Language & Literature
University of Aberdeen · King's College · Aberdeen AB24 3UB
Telephone: +44 (0)1224-272625· Fax: +44 (0)1224-272624· Email: langlit.school@abdn.ac.uk