UFS CUADS tackles learning obstacles faced
by students with disabilities due to COVID-19
by treating every challenge with empathy, flexibility,
and positivity, ensuring that they overcome every
hurdle arising during this pandemic.
Photo: Anja Aucamp
“These are precarious times for students who have abruptly been uprooted from their usual routines and spaces of productivity and who have had to adjust to new modes of learning, communication, and assessment. COVID-19 presented a range of challenges for students, particularly due to their varying socio-economic conditions. As a result, the depth and availability of support provided to students also had to align with the unique needs uncovered by this pandemic.”
These are the words of the Assistant Director of the UFS Center for Universal Access and Disability Support (CUADS), Martie Miranda, in explaining how the university and CUADS were able to provide support to students with disabilities as a result of the pandemic.
Miranda pointed out that some students have expressed challenges with the shift to online learning for various reasons (experiences of the general student population, not necessarily students with disabilities), including limited internet connectivity. As a result of these challenges, some students failed to submit assignments for assessment, they had a lack of learning infrastructure, and they experienced feelings of isolation as some learn better through engagement.
In the same breath, some other students shared that they found the online learning experience much easier in terms of their impairment.
Opportunity to express frustrations
The centre provided students with the opportunity to express their challenges about online learning in order to provide them with the necessary support to navigate different learning platforms.
“It is imperative that – within CUADS –
we treat every challenge that students face with empathy
and positivity to ensure that students overcome
each hurdle that arises during this pandemic.”
– Martie Marinda
Miranda says CUADS has also initiated the following:
- Opened communication as far as possible with each individual student, but also with lecturers. This has enabled the department to refer students to the necessary support, i.e. resources available from Student Counselling and Development. The communication with students assisted in keeping them calm and focused on what needed to be done and provided an understanding on the part of CUADS regarding each student’s learning situation.
- Liaised with academic faculties to ensure that they have updated CUADS student databases, with the necessary information regarding the required adjustments for assessments to ensure the success of CUADS students.
- Advised lecturers on the required learning material for BlackBoard in order to be more accessible to students with disabilities.
Miranda says lecturers are adapting to universal design in instruction, taking into account the needs of students with disabilities.
“It is imperative that – within CUADS – we treat every challenge that students face with empathy and positivity to ensure that students overcome each hurdle that arises during this pandemic. It is vital that our staff remains flexible and agile in order to respond to those issues, which are extraordinary in our context,” explained Miranda.