How to apply for support

1. Before you apply

What is required to be granted and recommended support

You must:

• be admitted to Umeå University;
• have a permanent disability;
• have a certificate confirming your disability (read more about certificates further down).

Exemples of a permanent disabilities are:

• dyslexia
• neuropsychiatric variants such as adhd and autism
• impaired movement
• mental illness
• impaired vision or hearing
• other permanent disabilities.

If you have a temporary injury or illness, you do not have the right to support described on these pages.

When you can apply

There is no final deadline or specific application periods for disability support, but the earlier you submit your application, the earlier into your education you can receive your support.

If you have a severe visual impairment, need educational interpreting or adaptation of premises, you should submit your application for support at the same time as you apply for education. You do not need to wait for admission results.

For other disabilities, we recommend that you apply as soon as you have been admitted to your course or programme. If you have already started your studies, you should apply as soon as possible.

Certificate confirming your disability

You must include a medical certificate, medical evaluation or similar document that certifies that you have a permanent disability. This document must be issued by a licensed medical professional, such as a doctor, psychologist or audiologist, or by a dyslexia diagnostician.

The certificate must state:

• your name and personal identity number or coordination number;
• the diagnosis the issuer established;
• the date of the medical evaluation or doctor’s visit;
• a description of your disability; and
• the name, profession and professional contact details of the issuer.

To determine the permanence of your disability, the University may in some cases demand that the certificate states how long the disability is expected to last, and how long you have had it or been treated for it.

In some cases the certificate should also describe your disability and how it affects you.

The certifier is welcome to contact us if they are uncertain of what must be included in the certificate.

Please note that the certificate confirming your disability, and other sensitive or personal matters, must be sent through NAIS, which has a secure login.

If you do not have a valid certificate

How to go forward if you:

• Have not undergone an investigation:
  Turn to a health centre or the Healthcare Guide 1177 for more information on how to proceed. Healthcare Guide 1177.
  
  
• Have a temporary injury or illness:
  Turn to your department to ask if you can get adaptations based on your needs.

2. Apply for support

Application

When submitting your application, remember to:

• attach a certificate confirming your disability (read more about certificates further down)
• describe how you think your disability will affect your studies.

If you need help with your application, please contact Infocenter.

3. Application processing and mapping your needs

Processing your application

Once your application and the required certificate have been received, our coordinators at Student Services will decide if you are entitled to support for disabilities or not. Expected processing time is 6–8 weeks.

If your application lacks vital information, you will be asked to supplement missing information to it.

If you do not fulfil the criteria for support, you will be notified.

Support based on your needs

You can book a phone call or meeting to adapt your support to match your needs as much as possible. You and the coordinator will talk about your need of support in various situations. If you want a meeting, please chose this aption in your application.

If you choose not to book a call or meeting, your application results will be based on the information given in the application and on the support Umeå University can offer. For this reason, it is important that your application clearly describes how you think your disability will affect your studies.

If you need to make changes to the support granted
Contact your coordinator if you notice that the support you have been granted does not work or is not sufficient.

4. Get your notification and support

Notification on disability support

Your coordinator will notify you when a decision on your support and recommendations for adaptations has been reached.

Log into NAIS to access your notification of disability study support.

Access your disability support

Please, make sure to:

• Notify the coordinator for students with disabilities at your course or programme about the results and get information about routines.
  
  
• Read about the support and how to access them on these pages.

If you do not receive the support to which you feel you are entitled

If you do not receive the support you need for your studies, you can appeal any such decision. The appeal is to be in writing and be sent to the Registrary and Archives at Umeå University within three weeks of receiving the decision.

Find out more about how to appeal

Legal framework for individual support for students with disabilities

This procedure describes how students can apply for support and receive such a decision or recommendation. It also states who at Umeå University is responsible for implementing support measures or making adjustments for students with disabilities. Read the Procedures for support for students with disabilities.

Under First- and second-cycle education, you can also find other relevant policies for studies with disabilities. Learn more in the University's legal framework.