Abstract
Empowering and supporting students with disabilities to facilitate their admission into universities requires organized work, practical implementation, and enacting certain internal procedures for each university to ensure achieving the principle of students with disabilities’ equal opportunities and participation in higher education. Most Saudi universities have begun to accept students with disabilities recently. However, enrollment remains very limited because of concerns about the inability to teach and provide appropriate services to these students. The goal of this study was to identify the roles and functions of units/centers for students with disabilities within Saudi universities, and their role in accepting this student population. The study adopted a descriptive methodology, and the results confirmed that there are units and centers for students with disabilities in all universities except Shaqra University. Specifically, seventeen universities have units for students with disabilities, while eight have centers for these students. The study also found that the total number of students with disabilities reached 5676, of which the percentage of male students was 54.65%, while female students were 45.34%. The study concluded that empowering students with disabilities requires a systematic approach together with practical implementation and internal policies at each university to ensure equal opportunities and these students’ continued participation in university education.
Presenters
Khalid AlasimAssociate Professor, Special Education, Prince Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
KEYWORDS
Public Universities, Students With Disabilities, Higher Education
