Montpellier University remains committed to supporting students in difficulty
Since the beginning of the health crisis, the University of Montpellier has been fully mobilized to support students in difficulty.
Beyond the measures taken during the first lockdown and faced with a potential risk of students dropping out, the UM has initiated several additional actions focusing on three areas:
- Educational continuity
- Social and psychological support
- Maintaining social ties
Educational continuity
- Free access for all students to Zoom Education and Microsoft Office 365 Education licenses;
- financial assistance for internet access (in addition to 4G plans and computers provided by the Region);
- Additional position of disability coordinator to support students with disabilities (as part of the Agil Hybrid project, call for proposals for the hybridization of higher education programs).
Social and psychological support
- Establishment of a network of "watchers" who call new high school graduates. Forty students were recruited and trained to call nearly 6,000 new high school graduates at the university. The aim was to inform them about the university's services and identify those who were struggling.
- maintenance of student contracts(Library, Student Centers, etc.);
- recruitment of an additional psychologist (preventive medicine);
- doubling of the FSDIE social assistance budget with the granting of larger amounts of aid;
- Mobilization of student health representatives on the prevention of student distress (production of a brochure, communication on social media), etc.
Maintaining social ties
Proposal for remote activities and increase in sessions (dematerialized art and culture workshops, organization of webinars with artists, I-talks workshop (public speaking), video clips of sewing workshops with a kit given to participants to practice at home, etc.).
Recruitment of student ambassadors for Covid-19 prevention, in order to raise awareness among students about the importance of wearing masks and following protective measures within the UM. 43 students were recruited in September across 11 UM sites (including sites outside Montpellier and in university libraries), and two washable masks were donated to students.
Under the leadership of the President, the Vice President for Social Responsibility, and the Student Vice President, all relevant departments and central services, as well as the UFRs, Schools, and Institutes, are mobilized to provide the best possible support to students, while upholding the values of equity and solidarity.