COVID-19: The University of Montpellier mobilizes to help students in difficulty
Continuing to study remotely without computer equipment, coping with financial difficulties after losing their jobs—some students are facing serious challenges during the current health crisis. To maintain equal opportunities for all and combat precariousness, the University of Montpellier has been working since mid-March to pursue two priority objectives: reducing the digital divide and responding to social emergencies.
To achieve this, the UM's Student Initiative Solidarity and Development Fund (FSDIE social), which normally provides assistance to the most disadvantaged students, has been heavily used and supplemented by the Student and Campus Life Contribution.
"Social distancing, which is often mentioned, should not lead to social breakdown."
Philippe Augé, President of the University of Montpellier
Reducing the digital divide
No computer? The Occitanie Region is taking action
Not all students have access to a personal computer. Normally, they can go to inter-university libraries, which are open for long hours, to use one. But what can they do when these libraries are closed and computers have become an essential tool? By providing 1,500 laptops to students at higher education institutions in its territory, the Occitanie Region is helping to bridge the digital divide. Received on Wednesday, April 15, 2020, the batch of laptops reserved for the University of Montpellier is delivered, at the university's expense, to students' homes so that they do not have to travel. Teamwork between staff from the Information Systems and Digital Department, which provided technical support, the Logistics Department, and the Campus Life Department enabled the first deliveries to be made the very next day.
Poor network connection or no data plan? The University of Montpellier helps students access the Internet.
Access to the digital services set up by the University is not always possible for students who, again due to lack of means, cannot subscribe to an internet package. This is also the case for those who are confined to an area with poor internet coverage. Therefore, the University of Montpellier offers students in difficulty exceptional financial assistance to enable them to subscribe to an internet package, change their current subscription, or purchase a 4G dongle. To date, 57 students have benefited from this measure.
Responding to Social Emergencies
Financial problems? Financial aid from the UM and CROUS to meet students' needs
Whether they are scholarship recipients or not, students experiencing financial difficulties can receive assistance from CROUS (ASAP, or specific one-time financial aid) as well as assistance from the University's FSDIE social fund. This assistance is fair and tailored to each individual's needs, despite the urgency of the situation, and is granted collectively by a dedicated committee. In addition, the frequency of the FSDIE social commissions has been increased and a fast-track procedure—which remains rigorous—has been put in place to allocate exceptional assistance to the most urgent requests on an ongoing basis and within 24 hours, so that no student is left without shelter or food.
Next objective: to increase efficiency, make certain types of aid, such as support for students who have lost their paid internship or job, systematic upon presentation of supporting documentation.
Learn more:
Please note: financial aid granted under the FSDIE social program is reviewed, anonymously, by CROUS social workers. The dedicated committee within the University, chaired by the Vice President for Student Affairs and the Vice President for Social Responsibility, is composed mainly of elected student representatives.
The challenge is to ensure that no student is left behind. In addition to financial aid, other measures have been or are being implemented: for example, to support students studying abroad, students with disabilities, or students suffering from stress, and to combat social isolation (see the dedicated article by clicking here). Under the leadership of the President, the Vice President for Social Responsibility, and the Vice President for Student Affairs, all relevant departments and central services, as well as the UFRs, Schools, and Institutes, have mobilized to provide the best possible support to students, while upholding the values of equity and solidarity.