Access – Disability Support Unit
There is a growing public awareness of the need to pay particular attention to the requirements of disabled persons. This involves the setting up of a user-friendly environment with specially designed facilities. The University of Malta is committed to the creation of such an environment and is working towards this goal through a joint Council and Senate Committee under the chairmanship of Pro-Rector Dr MaryAnne Lauri.
Regulations have been adapted to make the University more accessible to persons with disability. This is being achieved through examination arrangements, both before and after entry, designed to assist without giving undue advantage. These arrangements are applicable both to the University's public examinations (Matriculation and SEC) as well as to its Diploma and Degree examinations. The University also recruits people to write from dictation (amanuensis), when deemed appropriate.
Admission Regulations have also been amended to make University courses more accessible to such students. The physical environment on campus is also important. Ramps have been constructed and lifts written into the design of new buildings. Full access to all areas is not available yet, but much progress has been achieved.
The University has purchased appropriate equipment such as motorized wheel-chairs which are available to physically disabled students who do not have their own. Speech synthesizers, which allow for text to be read by computer, can also be provided along with other equipment enabling blind persons to use the latest computer technology. In the case of persons with severe hearing impairments, specialized one way amplifiers have now started to be used to facilitate communication between lecturer and student.
One of the areas in which special attention has been taken is in the provision of a facilitator on campus.
The ACCESS-Disability Support Unit of the University has a well equipped office that provides full services to persons with vision and physical impairments. Another office which is annex to the main office is for the used of the disabled students any time they wish. Scanning techniques are routinely used to transfer texts to computer files on disk, which can then be read on a synthesizer either in the annex office used by the student itself or on the student's own equipment at home. A Braille printer is also available, even though Braille is not very popular in Malta. Special software that can enlarge printed texts on screen for those persons who suffer from low vision, is also available. Through the services already installed in this room, disabled students can have full access to Internet services.
Today persons with disability are actively being encouraged to sit for the University's examinations and to read for its degrees. The specialized help available is not fully comprehensive yet, but gradually a pool of services, made up of both specialized equipment and human resources is being built up. The Committee closely monitors developments in this area so as to ensure that the latest techniques and services can be introduced. It is important that each University student with a specific need be catered for and that only the latest technology is procured. Providing these services for students with disability is an essential aspect of the part of University educational policy. Such services are not a luxury but a must.
Arrangements at the University of Malta are tailor-made to meet the needs of the individuals requiring them. As such a specific request has to be made to the ACCESS-Disability Support Committee which examines the certification and make the necessary provisions.
Click here to download the publication The University of Malta and Students with Disability 2007.
Click here to download the Guidelines for the Reconsideration of Decisions of the ACCESS-Disability Support Committee by the Board of Experts.
Contact Details
Marchita Mangiafico
ACCESS-Disability Support Unit
Room 109, Old Humanities Building
University of Malta
Msida MSD 2080
MALTA
Tel: +356 2340 2557
