University, published first Anvur survey on disabled students

The number of students with disabilities who enroll in Italian universities is increasing. And to photograph for the first time who they are, what they need, what is the state of teaching and services offered was Anvur, the National Agency for the Evaluation of the University and Research System, which also went to ‘make a fuss’ also on how much is spent in our country – between the government and universities – to support young university students with disabilities. From the photo taken by Anvur we now know that there are now almost 40 thousand (36,816) Italian students with disabilities or with DSA (specific learning disorders) who in the academic year 2019-2020 were enrolled in degree and post-graduate courses: 2% of the total number of students. 71% of students with disabilities are enrolled in three-year courses, 15% in master’s courses and 11.6% in single-cycle master’s courses. Among those who continue in post-graduate courses, 94 are also enrolled in the doctorate. From the Anvur Report “Students with Disabilities and Dsa (specific learning disorders) in Italian Universities, a resource to be exploited” presented in Rome, in the Sala degli Affreschi of the national headquarters of the Conference of Italian Rectors, it also emerges that the component female is the majority (52%) and its incidence increases as the level of study rises, going from 51.7% in the three-year courses, to 58.6% in the single-cycle master’s courses, to 70.3% in the first and second level masters. “This first report is an extremely useful tool that will be able to complement the existing ones and guide the definition and updating of policies on the right to study in favor of students with disabilities and specific learning disabilities” noted the minister of University and Research, Maria Cristina Messa, who attended the presentation of the research. “At the same time – underlined Messa – this work returns the photograph of a university system that on this front is attentive, active and really committed to extending, even outside the walls of universities, the culture of inclusion and personalization. of services “. The minister also noted that “universities do a lot for specific guidance, for teaching support, for counseling, to improve the accessibility of services, but last year we assigned as a Ministry, to face the difficulties related to ’emergency, an additional 50 million euros precisely for the co-financing of guidance and tutoring activities for the benefit of students who need specific actions to promote access to higher education courses and to recovery and inclusion actions. study for everyone is our priority “. The president of Anvur, Antonio Felice Uricchio, expressed “full satisfaction for the publication of the report and above all for the commitment made by the agency in collaboration with the National University Conference of Delegates for Disability (CNUDD) in detecting the needs and status of services in favor of university students with disabilities “. “We hope that the information collected on the accessibility of environments, on transport, on the technologies used in teaching, on access to services can be valuable both for the institutions that participated in the survey and for the two Ministries – University and Disability – moreover particularly committed to promoting active policies aimed at making the right to education effective “noted Auricchio. The director of Anvur, Daniele Livon, and the president of the National University Conference of Delegates for Disability (Cnudd), Alberto Arenghi, and the members of the working group in charge of drawing up the report also participated in the presentation: Adriano Scaletta (Coordinator of the Group, Anvur), Fabio Ferrucci (professor at the University of Molise), Lucia Mason (professor at the University of Padua), Francesco Alberto Comellini (Mur), Giancarlo Tanucci (professor at the University of Bari), Elio Borgonovi (professor at SDA Bocconi) , and Guido Migliaccio (professor at the University of Sannio). The Anvur Report underlines that compared to the majority of students with disabilities in doctoral courses, the male component prevails, which is 55.3%. And an “absolutely unprecedented” data that comes from Anvur is that relating to the distribution of students in the various subject areas of the study courses. Most of them are enrolled in courses in the social area (35.4%) and in the scientific area (30.1%), followed by those in the humanities area (22.9%) and, at a distance, from the health (10%). The 11,385 enrolled students also basically followed in the footsteps of those who preceded them in choosing university courses. But it is precisely among those enrolled that the signs of the most significant change taking place in Italian universities are manifested: the rapid growth of students with Dsa who, in quantitative terms, have now surpassed students with disabilities. 60% of those enrolled in three-year degree courses and 51% of those enrolled in single-cycle master’s courses are students with DSA. The phenomenon is particularly accentuated in the universities of the North-West and North-East where students with DSA represent, respectively, 76.5% and 65.2% of the total enrollments. however, a growing trend also among those enrolled in other geographic areas. The survey also concerned the courses with restricted access which provide for selective tests for admission. In the academic year 2019-20 3,459 students with disabilities and 6,409 students with DSA participated, recording an overcoming percentage of 74.8% in the first case and 64% in the second case. Performances above the overall average data were obtained by both groups of students in the admission tests to courses in the humanities area, while results below the average concern the healthcare area courses. 3,589 students completed their studies (three-year, master’s or single-cycle master’s). 38% graduated from courses in the social area, 29.7% in the scientific area, 20 in the humanities area and 11.2% in the healthcare area.