45 measures for greater inclusion of the disabled

Success, competence and commitment: these are the three pillars of the new disability master plan approved by the Board of Governors of the University of Montpellier. Four years to collectively implement these 45 new measures designed to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities. Interview with Agnès Fichard-Carroll Vice-president in charge of social responsibility.

Accompaniment session for the hearing impaired. Alexis and Charlène attend an "Earth System" course, accompanied by an interpreter. Triolet Campus © UM-David Richard / Transit

To begin with, perhaps, what exactly is the purpose of a disability master plan?
Setting up a disability master plan is a legal obligation, but it's also an opportunity to reflect on our attitudes and practices with regard to disability, to set objectives for improvement and then, over four years, to achieve them. I don't think you'll find anyone saying that they don't want to include people with disabilities, but the reality is that difficulties persist. We need to adopt a proactive policy in this area if we are to make progress.

Which departments were involved in drawing up this new master plan?
The Service Handiversité within the Direction Vie des Campus is the department responsible for this project. It is responsible for welcoming, supporting and including students and staff with disabilities. The Service commun de médecine préventive et de promotion de la santé (SCMPPS) plays an obviously crucial role, as does the Direction des ressources humaines for staff. We have highly competent and committed departments. But disability is a truly cross-disciplinary issue, and I'd say that virtually all the university's departments and divisions, as well as UFRs, Schools and Institutes, are involved. I'm delighted with their participation and commitment in drawing up this plan. And of course we met with disabled people themselves, both students and staff.

This is the university's second master plan. What is the outcome of the first one?
The previous one covered the period 2016-2019 and proposed 73 actions. Thanks to the involvement of our departments and components, more than sixty measures have been implemented or are underway. Around ten others have proved difficult to implement, and more frequently, have become irrelevant over time. Without being complacent, as there is still a long way to go, the balance sheet is encouraging, we have put in place things that work, we see the positive effects of the actions taken and we see this in particular with the increase in the number of students and staff with disabilities within the university.

How many disabled people does the university employ?
We are among the universities with the highest percentages of disabled staff. The figures are 4.58% in 2018, up from 3.31% in 2016. This is a good trajectory that brings us little by little closer to the 6% prescribed by law, but we must not be satisfied with it. We still have a lot of work to do, and there are a number of explanations for the difficulties we face in reaching this threshold. One of them is the high percentage of highly qualified people at university, whereas it's a fact that people with disabilities suffer from a lack of training. We don't always have a direct grip on these issues, but there are levers we can pull.

And how many students?
The average percentage of students with disabilities in universities is 1.64%(find out more) in 2020. The University of Montpellier has gone from 1.6% in the 2015-2016 academic year to 2.31% in 2018-2019, and this figure continues to rise. This is a source of satisfaction for us and proof that the support in place enables more people to access university training. In return, this increase obliges us and has encouraged us to go further in the measures proposed.

What precisely does the second disability master plan propose?
45 new measures that we must collectively implement over the next four years to ensure the successful inclusion of every person with a disability. In fact, we have entitled it "Success, competence and commitment". These are terms of action, positive words for disability. We want to talk about the success of students with disabilities, and the skills of our staff with disabilities. They are here to train or to carry out a mission for which they are competent, and it's up to us to give them the right conditions to do so.

What are the key measures for students?
Some are specific to the University of Montpellier, such as the development of the second phase of the Handy application [see box], and the payment of internship bonuses for Master's students. The UM is also a partner in the "Nouveau Cursus à l'Université" project called Aspie Friendly for students with Asperger syndrome. This is a small number of students, but we hope that the measures put in place will also apply to other disabilities. In conjunction with the student vice-president, we offer specific social assistance packages. We are also stepping up support for hospitalized students.

Are there any special arrangements for first-time students?
Student support is one of the cornerstones of our actions for all students with disabilities, and of course we pay particular attention to first-time students. Arriving at university can be a little unsettling for all young people, whether they have a disability or not. We have to do all we can to smooth things over.

For those with severe disabilities, specific support from teaching assistants will continue, as will disability tutoring. Our aim, however, is to help them achieve as much autonomy as possible.

Does this also apply to mobility abroad, since this is also covered by the master plan?
Yes, students with disabilities who want to go abroad or come to the UM for mobility purposes must be given special attention, which the UM intends to develop within the framework of the Erasmus+ or CHARM-EU programs, for example.

What new or renewed measures have been introduced for staff?
For staff, the introduction of teleworking for situations requiring it has been facilitated. For disabled teacher-researchers, we're offering a reduction in their teaching workload based on the arrangements applicable to teachers. One of the challenges, as I said earlier, is to recruit highly qualified staff, which remains difficult despite the opening of reserved positions every year. This is a point we need to be vigilant about, and we'd like to work in particular on recruiting category A staff. We also offer social assistance schemes, which are working well and which we have strengthened. Our reflex is also to think about people with disabilities whenever we propose a new establishment.

Research is also concerned?
The establishment has invested heavily in the recruitment of doctoral students. Of the 25 doctoral contracts financed annually by the Ministry for the disabled, the UM has been able to secure one each year. This is thanks to the scientific quality of the projects proposed, of course, but also to the support provided by our departments (DRED, DVC...) in putting together the applications. Every year, the UM also funds a doctoral contract for disabled students. In all, the University has 7 disabled doctoral students on disability contracts. We also have leading research teams working in the field of disability, and every year we organize a conference with one of our researchers, which is a great success.

Have special efforts been made in terms of communication and information?
Yes, communicating about rights and services offered by the university is essential. For staff, an information leaflet on the declaration of disability has been produced and sent to all employees. Every time we send out this type of information, whether it's about social actions or disability, we receive requests from staff, and it's very important to publicize the existing systems through different media. We know that even today, some people don't dare declare their disability, and we understand that it's a strictly personal choice. We just think it's important to inform them about what this declaration could bring them. We'd like to think that no-one should have to suffer in their job because of a disability.

In fact, the third component of the master plan concerns the inclusion of people with disabilities and raising awareness among those working or studying with them?
Yes, our aim is to help change the way we all perceive disability, which is often biased, particularly in the case of invisible disabilities. All too often, we hear: "There's nothing wrong with him! Yet motor disorders account for only 17% of disabilities among students. Speech and language disorders, which account for around 30% of the disabilities we encounter among students, and psychological disorders (12%) are also common. These and other equally invisible disabilities can lead to misunderstandings. We need to train and raise awareness among all teaching, administrative and technical staff, through workshops and targeted communications. An awareness-raising policy is also being pursued with student associations.

And how is the University faring in terms of the inclusion of disabled people in university life more generally?
Access to convivial events on a large or small scale, access to sport, libraries, artistic or scientific and technical culture, and of course access to buildings, must be a constant concern. The Campus Life Department, in which the Handiversity Service is located, is particularly vigilant to ensure that the activities proposed by its departments, whether Quality of Life at Work, Social, Student Life or Art & Culture (as for example with the culturesponsible course) are accessible. SUAPS also offers adapted sports activities. The establishment has also rolled out a programmed accessibility agenda, supported by the DPI, concerning real estate, and the DAGI has worked to ensure that the UM's purchasing policy is more responsible. I can't mention all the departments, but I'd like to take this opportunity to thank them all. As I said, this is a subject in which everyone is involved.

How are these measures financed?
The university has given itself the human and financial resources to implement this policy, which is also why progress is being made.

The "Handy" application

Conceived and designed by the University of Montpellier's Information Systems and Digital Department, the Handy application is the only one of its kind in France. It enables the latter two departments to centralize, process and archive requests for study and examination accommodations from students with disabilities, and to automatically send the corresponding notifications to the various departments, in strict compliance with appropriate levels of confidentiality. This is an asset in terms of data reliability and the transmission of information between departments and components.
Deployed since January 2020, this application continues to evolve and will enable students to enter their accommodation requests directly from the beginning of July. A second version, offering new functionalities for components, is scheduled for release in October. Reliability, fluidity and simplification for users, departments and teaching teams are the main qualities of this new application.