Special status on the grounds of disability

Requirements

Requirements: students registered with the Flemish Agency for Persons with Disabilities (VAPH), the FPS Social Security or students who have a permanent or long-term impairment of one or more of the bodily functions listed in the International Classification of Functioning (ICF) (learning disability, chronic illness, motor, visual, auditory, psychiatric, other or multiple disabilities).

In the case of interuniversity programmes, UGent takes over the recognition of the disability from the student's home university. The facilities are granted by the educational institution where the student takes up the course.

Application procedure

Submit a substantiated request with the director of the Department of Educational Policy

  • Via oasis.ugent.be
  • Deadlines:
    • 5 November 2023 for first semester examination period 2023-2024
    • 22 March 2024 for second semester examination period 2023-2024
    • 28 June 2024 for second term examination period 2023-2024
    • Exceptions may be allowed if the functional impairment occurs suddenly and/or was not diagnosed until after the deadline.
  • Add required documents and official certificates
  • From academic year 2023-2024: Add required documents and official certificates if possible. If you cannot have these in time, the application must be submitted undocumented by the deadline. You should submit the supporting documents as soon as possible.
  • The Disability Office of the Department of Educational Policy) arranges all follow-up and communicates its advice to the director of the Department of Educational Policy. This document also mentions whether the special status is granted for one or more academic years or for the entire student career at Ghent University.

Facilities

The Disability Office annually grants particular education and examination facilities to students who have been given special status.

In this process, the contact point applies the principle of equal treatment and guarantees students the right to fair adjustments that respect the requirements of the study programme.

You need to inform the lecturer(s) in charge via oasis.ugent.be which of the awarded education and/or examination facilities you wish to invoke for the course unit at hand, no later than

Academic year 2023-2024:

  • 8 December 2023 for the first semester examination period
  • 26 April 2024 for the second semester examination period
  • 2 August 2024 for the resit examination period

If the special status is awarded later than the above-mentioned deadline you need to inform the lecturer(s) as soon as possible.

Facilities are always granted in joint consultation with the lecturer in charge. In dialogue with the faculty director of studies or the chair of the study programme committee, the lecturer in charge may refuse a facility if duly justified. S/he may do so if the essential programme competences are impaired as a result of the facility or if it is practically not feasible to grant the facility.
From 2023-2024: Rejectable facilities that have not been addressed in a timely manner by the relevant responsible lecturer(s) will be automatically approved at the start of the respective examination period.
The faculty and/or institutional ombudspersons may mediate in this procedure if necessary.

Special status students who are denied any education or examination facilities may appeal against this decision with the Institutional Appeals Committee, as stipulated in the Education and Examination Code.
From 2023-2024: Students with special status in whom the facilities granted in terms of education or examination facilities are not applied may appeal to the Institutional Appeals Committee, as stipulated in the Education and Examination Code.

Step-by-step

On Special Status (Information sheet students) you will find a practical step-by-step plan on the application procedure and the allocation and management of facilities.

Contact

Disability Office