INDIVIDUAL ADAPTATION OF STUDIES (IAS)
HOW TO OBTAIN IAS?
Step 1.
As of 30 October 2024, a new online procedure for applying for an Individual Adaptation of Studies (IAS) has been introduced.
Submit your request via USOSweb under the ‘Requests’ tab and attach your medical documentation (up to 5 pdf documents, each with a maximum size of 10 MB).
Step 2.
Attend an individual meeting with representatives from Student Service Centre and the Coordinator for the Adaptation of Studies from the faculty where you will be studying. The objective of the meeting is to discuss the needs and possibilities of the Individual Adaptation of Studies. Upon consultation with you the most appropriate forms of support will be determined. You will be informed about the date of the appointment by the Student Service Centre employees.
Step 3.
The reviewed application will be submitted to the Dean who shall take the decision as to the scope of the Individual Adaptation of Studies.
Step 4.
Within 7 days of receiving a positive decision granting the Individual Adaptation of Studies, please provide the Coordinator for Organisational Support for People with Disabilities/Special Educational Needs with a list of lecturers with whom you will have classes in the given semester and for whom you wish to have the Individual Adaptation of Studies (you may send the list by email). The Coordinator shall contact the lecturers in order to inform them about the Dean’s decision concerning your Individual Adaptation of Studies.
If, as part of the Individual Adaptation of Studies, you are going to record the lectures, you will additionally receive a statement on the copyright protection to sign.
Step 5.
Once you have received confirmation from the Coordinator that they have contacted your lecturers, agree on and set out in writing with them how the Individual Adaptation of Studies will be implemented. Submit the original copy of these arrangements to the Coordinator.
The Individual Adaptation of Studies is governed by Regulation no. 158 of the Rector University of Silesia in Katowice of 30 October 2024 on support for the education and research processes for students with disabilities and special needs.
In response to a student’s application for an Individual Adaptation of Studies, the following forms of support may be offered:
- with regard to classes, in particular:
- involvement of third parties (e.g. assistant of students with disabilities – teaching, for students with visual and hearing impairments, transport assistant, sign language interpreter),
- the use of additional assistive devices (e.g. a computer, a Braille ruler, an FM system),
- the option for the student to record (e.g. using a voice recorder or video camera) all types of lectures and classes,
- the use of teaching aids allowing for the reception of information via different channels, depending on the needs reported by the students (e.g. multimedia presentations, graphs, maps, illustrations, photos, and recordings),
- the possibility of receiving teaching materials from the lecturer in an accessible format (e.g. in electronic form, with enlarged font),
- sharing materials with the student in advance of the classes (e.g. outline in an electronic or paper form, the main theses, bibliography, multimedia presentation),
- arranging a different, architecturally accessible, place where the classes are held,
- the option to modify the timetable or change groups,
- allowing for a greater number of absences during classes and for catching up with the classes on terms and conditions agreed with persons conducting the classes,
- extending the deadline for the preparation of assignments, in particular more requiring and extensive written assignments and, if need be, dividing them into smaller parts,
- allowing for the presentation or a paper to be delivered in a written, instead of oral, form or exchange of verbal activity during classes into a written form of credit (e.g. test, essay),
- allowing for the completion of a given module in an individual manner in cases where health condition of the student makes them incapable of regularly participating in classes,
- modifying the schedule of classes in a manner allowing for the minimization of absences due to pending healthcare treatment of the student,
- allowing for individual consultations if the disability specifically hinders regular participation in classes,
- with regard to credits and examinations, in particular:
- extending their duration,
- involvement of sign language interpreter,
- enabling the student to pass written examinations at a computer with specialized software,
- receiving the examination sheets in enlarged font,
- receiving examination questions in a written form during oral examinations,
- modifying the form of credit/examination from oral to written or from written to oral,; the option to take an oral examination without the rest of the group or individually,
- enabling the student to take short breaks during written exams,
- extending the duration of examination session,
- in the case of examinations covering extensive material, the option to have them taken in parts,
- arranging a different time and place of examination due to the student’s state of health,
extending the deadline for passing the semester, whilst retaining the obligation to attend classes in the following semester from the start of that semester;
- educational materials, in particular:
- applying an electronic form,
- enlarging the font,
- conversion to Braille language
- transport from home to the University and back, and between the University buildings.
Students may apply for other forms of adaptation to the educational process not listed above, depending on the specific nature of their disability.