For years, information services in the Netherlands for students with a physical disability, learning difficulties or psychological problems have fallen well short of perfect. But in response to an appealfrom the House of Representatives, the Ministry of Education has now released funding for a new website, hogeronderwijstoegankelijk.nl. This has been set up recently by the Expertise Centre for Inclusive Education, in consultation with student organisations ISO and LSVb and other interested parties.

This is what I have

On the home page, students can click on their support needs (‘This is what I have’) and the obstacles they face (‘This is what I encounter’). From there they are directed to facilities and schemes tailored to their situation (‘This is what I need’). For example, services provided by such bodies as student finance organisation DUO and social security agency UWV.

A search bar also guides students to help within their own educational institution. This function is still not yet perfect, however. For some institutions, the correct information appears immediately. In other cases, visitors are just redirected to the general home page. Nevertheless, the site does often list a contact person so that students can at least call and ask for a specific name.

Work in progress

The website remains a work in progress, admits a spokesperson for the Expertise Centre. “When universities and universities of applied sciences pass on their changes, we implement them as quickly as possible. After the summer, there will be a campaign to raise awareness of the site.”