Special Needs Office

The Special Needs Office (BBP) is attached to the Student Health Service (SSE).

It is dedicated to supporting students with special needs in their university studies, particularly in their assessments: exams and continuous assessments.

It works closely with Faculties, Interfaculty Centers, and the Committee for the Evaluation of Accommodations for Special Needs (CEBP).

The members of this service are bound by the principle of confidentiality, so no information can be exchanged with the parents or relatives of adult students. Likewise, no medical or identity-related information is shared with the Faculties.


A Special Need - What is it?

At the University, we refer to a "student with special needs" as a student with a diagnosed disorder
and/or a disability, who encounters obstacles in completing their studies.

To establish this concept, we have based it on the definitions formulated by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations (UN, 2006):

  • "Disability results from the interaction between individuals with a health condition, such as cerebral palsy, Down syndrome, and depression, and personal and environmental factors, including negative attitudes, inaccessible transportation and public buildings, and limited social support."
    More information on the website of: the WHO
  • “Disability results from the interaction between people with impairments and behavioral and environmental barriers that hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.”
    More information on the: Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Therefore, to request accommodations through the Special Needs Office, you must meet both of the following conditions:

  1. Have a disability and/or a disorder,
  2. Be in an environment that is not adapted to your specific needs.

These two factors create a significant disadvantage, preventing success on an equal footing with others. Indeed, exam accommodations must meet the criteria for compensating disadvantages, which involve neutralizing or reducing the limitations caused by a disability and/or diagnosed disorder.

 

We use the terms "disability" and "diagnosed disorder" in a medical/functional sense to ensure that we provide appropriate services to those who truly need them. The use of these terms is not intended to stigmatize or marginalize the individuals concerned, but rather to acknowledge the challenges they face and to implement specific measures to support and assist them in their university studies.

 

Temporary health problems and temporary disabilities resulting from an accident are not managed by the Special Needs Office. In such cases, you should contact your Faculty.


Special Needs Office - How to contact?

The Special Needs Office can be reached for any questions by email :
besoins-particuliers(at)unige.ch


Special Needs Office - Some statistics

The Special Needs Office is increasingly handling requests from the student community.

The first graph is a bar chart illustrating the increase in accommodation requests over the years. For the 2018-2019 academic year, 144 requests were recorded; for 2019-2020, 114 requests; for 2020-2021, 205 requests; for 2021-2022, 219 requests; and for 2022-2023, 371 requests. The second graph is a pie chart highlighting the predominance of cognitive and neurodevelopmental disorders in the requests for the 2022-2023 academic year: 48% of the requests concern attention deficit disorder (with/without hyperactivity), 7.5% concern autism spectrum disorder, and 29% concern learning disorders.