Uni vent

I hear you @Gwynn !

it can be so hard to get uni teachers to understand our access needs.

In my experience, they sometimes take it more seriously when it is written by a professionnal than us! Which is just sily! But have you thought about getting someone to write you a letter about your access needs. This has often turned them around quick for me!

I just wanna say also that this can sometimes make us feel like we are the problem but you are not. 🙂 These one-size-fits all systems are! And I'm sure your fellow students would also benefit from information being communicated more clearly.

All the best,

- periwinklepixie

Hey @Gwynn ,

As much as i love to learn new things, studying can suck and even without your issues, it's easy to get overwhelmed with information when you are trying to do assignments day after day.

Do you have a study buddy program or tafe/uni portal for the subject? For my tafe program, I can put a question out to the student group when I am not sure of what I need and then the student group helps me out to get the answer I need. Are there any possibilities like that?

Also.. Be kind to yourself.. and if you need to, take time for yourself and come back later. Don't put so much pressure on yourself that you elevate study above the things your body and mind need to be happy and healthy.

Hi @Gwynn ,

Your uni fees cover uni services including counselling etc.

Besides that, it is the 21st century and we are in the middle of a pandemic. Aren't the lectures recorded? I attend some of mine live, but others (generally the less interactive ones), I listen to the recording so that I can't fast forward when it gets a bit toooooo blah blah. It also allows me to pause, go for a break and come back later. Do you think this would help?

I'm not sure which state you are in, or uni you attend, so the services may be different. I've studied at 5 different unis, and all of them offer online recordings either immediately soon after the lecture.

Besides that, unis are also becoming more inclusive. Hope you find your feet soon.

Take care,

BPDSurvivor

Hi @Gwynn I'm sorry that you're having trouble at uni😢. I do know that uni lecturers can be troublesome and that some do use the trick of hiding word counts and things about assessments in lectures just to make sure students show up. Believe me, I had that experience way back in 2000s when certain politics lecturers would purposely not record the lectures and even put exam information in the lectures so that only the students who showed up got this vital information. It isn't fair but that's uni lecturers for you.

Like @BPDSurvivor said, can you just listen to the lectures in your own time and skip the boring bits? Or, better still, are the lectures transcribed so you can just read the information in your own time and sphipher through the important sections? Yes, I know theory is boring - I'm experiencing the same thing at Tafe with certain subjects as I've decided to quit uni it's too much for me to do both uni and tafe- but I've decided to make a game of it by rewarding myself with little things to keep it interesting for me. Things like a special chocolate bar helps a lot! Maybe treat the lectures like a game and reward yourself with something special? Definitely ask for help from the uni disability service and maybe reach out to student services as well as there might be other avenues of support open to you.

Once again, I congratulate you on sticking with uni and asking for help!

Take care!

Judi9877☺️🌸

Not sure if this will help...I presume you've already talked to Uni counsellors, and various University support facilities for people with disabilites.

Maybe think about pulling out some heavy hitters - GPs or psychiatrists. Note I don't mention psychologists or social workers. Medical professionals are the big guns whether we like it or not.

I have a double experience of the Uni system - both as a student and an academic. As an academic, students will pull almost anything to get credit, skiv off, bludge. When I was a student with severe mental health issues, Uni counsellors were supportive as far as they could be, but nothing much changed in terms of lee-way or meeting deadlines; everything changed with a letter from a medical professional to the Uni.

Maybe something to consider...get to a medical professional (even a campus GP can help). I'm a bit old and now unfamiliar with academic requirements, but I'm prettty sure you can still get a deferment on medical grounds.

If there is one piece of advice I can offer, don't rely on lecturers or tutors for advice when it comes to course work,assignments, exams, because of a medically unsubstantiated claim of disability.

My best advice would be get a deferment, temporary withdrawal or whatever, but get a doctors certificate of some description to validate your problems/issues.

Just to emphasise the point...get the medical certificate first! Unis are bureuacracies, lots of emails, meetings and phones calls with academics dont count for much when there is a dated letter/certificate from a medical doctor.

Flax

Very interesting points you have raised there @Flax .

@Gwynn , I also wanted to share that currently, one of the Uni's I am studying with, offers COVID automatic extensions of 14 days for each assignment, as well as no FF grades on transcripts.

Look into it as you feel able.

Please continue to reach out.

BPDSurvivor

@Judi9877 @AussieRecharger

Hi @Gwynn ,

I have an accessibility plan to support me which i obtained by submitting medical papers to the uni at the commencement of my course.

However, each semester, I must send a copy of this reasonable adjustment plan to each of my lecturers and work with them throughout the semester when i require support. Lecturers usually have over 100 students they oversee, and they do not look into student files. As far as they are concerned, you are just another number.

I found, the best way is the send my lecturers an email at the commencement and work from there.

Hope that helps,

BPDSurvivor

Hi @Gwynn

I'm sorry to hear about this complication for you with your study, study is complicated enough, without the stress of managing mental ill health in the mix, and ignorance from a lecturer. I worked as a Disability Advisor at a Uni in a previous life so am apalled to hear that you have had this experience.

I agree with @BPDSurvivor that it is your role to contact each lecturer individually at the start of semester to provide the document provided to you about your accessibility requirements from the Disability Service. Most lecturers are understanding, but there will always be the odd ones who are ignorant, rude, or downright discriminatory. You have done well to go back to your disability services and seek support to negotiate better reasonable adjustments for yourself. At the moment, you probably just want to get your subject finished. If later on you wish to follow up the issue, and ask the disability service to upskill the lecturer on access plans, this could be something you could do. Uni lecturers are required to follow anti discrimination practices just like any workplace, but Universities often hold very high standards about best practices among their staff.

Here are some resources that might be useful for you in future:

ADCET is an awesome resource:

www.adcet.edu.au - look under the section Students with Disability - Reasonable Adjustments - Mental Health for a comprehensive list of the types of reasonable adjustments that may be recommended for a student who has mental ill health.

Also, the video I've attached really explains how lecturers are meant to respond to a learning access plan from Disability Services for one of their students.

Good luck with your studies!