Students with Disabilities | Cegeps more accessible than ever

The number of students with disabilities accessing the college network has exploded over the past 10 years. Good news in itself, but which brings its share of challenges for CEGEPs. To which are added cohorts of the disorganized pandemic who are struggling to master the basics.

Lea Carrier

The Press

The number of students with disabilities on the rise

The number of students with disabilities has exploded in the college network for 10 years. In 2021-2022, they were more than 22,300, against 8018 in 2012-2013, reveal data obtained by The Press.

“Not only are there the impacts of the pandemic, but in addition, there is a growth of our struggling population. It’s a double challenge,” says Bernard Tremblay, president of the Fédération des cégeps.

Neurological disorders, learning difficulties, motor disabilities, anxiety: these young people have a variety of disabilities, underlines Annie Dubeau, professor in the department of education and specialized training at the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM).

The accommodation measures offered to them include tutoring, access to adapted premises during exams and the use of a computer in class.

This increase is positive for young people and, more broadly, society, underlines Mr.^me Beautiful.

It is explained in particular by the fact that these students are better supported in primary and secondary school, and therefore access college in greater numbers, she explains. We also have better tools for diagnosing disabilities.

“Access to qualifying training facilitates integration into the labor market and allows young people to better exercise their profession”, argues the professor.

Not an easy transition though

Mathis Binette, 17, is studying engineering physics at Cégep de La Pocatière. Suffering from dyslexia and dysorthographia, he is entitled to additional time during exams and uses a computer in class.

“I still have weaknesses, but what I have helps me a lot. My grades would be catastrophic without it,” he says.

However, even with adapted services, the transition is not always easy. “We are always adapting”, sums up Isabelle. Her 18-year-old daughter began her first semester at CEGEP in September. “A big step to climb”, confides his mother, who wishes to be identified by her first name only to protect the identity of her child.

Visuospatial dyspraxia, attention disorder: his daughter accumulates diagnoses. Since kindergarten, she has followed an intervention plan.

Now in CEGEP, she is having a hard time getting organized. “She doesn’t know if her exam is this afternoon or next week,” illustrates her mother.

Some teachers are also less flexible with regard to students with disabilities, Isabelle laments: “Even if we have a plan, it is not guaranteed that it will be applied everywhere. »

More needs

Who says more disabled students says more needs. The college network is facing a “huge challenge,” warns Bernard Tremblay.

In recent years, CEGEPs have received significant sums to improve their services for students with disabilities, but the current context calls for more sustained funding.

A task made more difficult by the shortage of manpower.

The Quebec Collegiate Student Federation is of the same opinion. “The support services must continue at CEGEP. Even before the pandemic, it was sometimes difficult for people with disabilities to have a smooth transition. With COVID-19, it’s even more important, ”she pleads.

“They don’t have what it takes”

Amélie Brisson was admitted to Montmorency college with pain and misery.

The teenager suffers from dyslexia and dysorthographia, in addition to an attention disorder and a language disorder. “School was always tough, but with tutoring it was fine…until 3^e secondary,” she says.

Amélie Brisson has done half of her secondary in the midst of a pandemic. For two and a half years, she – like many of her classmates – fell significantly behind.

“I missed a lot of material, especially in French,” she laments. Ill-prepared, she failed the ministerial French exam. Twice.

The teenager was admitted this fall to Collège Montmorency, on the condition of obtaining her high school diploma. In addition to her college studies, she took French courses at a general adult education center in Laval.

Indeed, in Quebec, students are admitted to CEGEP even if they have not finished high school, provided they obtain their missing credits during their first college session.

This fall, Montmorency College received 125 conditional admission applications, compared to 64 in 2019.

At the height of the pandemic, the number of CEGEP students admitted on condition of obtaining their high school diploma however, fell. The number of students has increased from 1,305 students in 2019 to 787 in 2020 and 797 in 2021, according to data obtained by The Press (data for the fall 2022 intake are not available).

But that doesn’t necessarily mean the students were better than previous cohorts. For two years, Ministry of Education exams were canceled – so it was impossible to fail them.

“It seems obvious to me that more students whose skills have not been demonstrated have been admitted to college, which undoubtedly creates greater heterogeneity in the preparation of these students and greater difficulties during the transition” , argues Simon Larose, full professor at the Faculty of Education at Laval University.

According to him, it will be necessary to follow the results of the next uniform French tests to measure the level of difficulty of the CEGEP students.

“We are facing a wall”

In her more than 30-year career, chemistry teacher France Demers has never had to explain the rule of three to her students.

“Since they didn’t apply it much, I had to explain it to them,” laments the president of the Union of Teachers at Cégep Édouard-Montpetit.

Students have less mastery of basic concepts. And they have more difficulty reading and writing, many colleagues confirm to him.

“We are in front of a wall, and we don’t really know how to go about it”, drops M^me Demers.

At the Cégep du Vieux Montréal, literature professor Évelyne Pitre notices more marked difficulties among young people – and especially generalized ones.

Out of a group of 40 CEGEP students, she recommends, year after year, “three or four” students to the French help center. Last year, “we referred about 80% of the students,” she says.

The situation is so serious that his department met with management to try to find possible solutions.

At Cégep de Saint-Laurent, literature teacher Jennifer Beaudry has noticed an increased gap between strong students and weak students since the pandemic.

And a drop in motivation.

“Before the effort, the students will tend to give up. It is painful. The teachers are exhausted,” she says.

Students “much more mortgaged”

Beyond essential knowledge, CEGEP students also have significant shortcomings in terms of learning strategies, reported teachers at four CEGEPs in The Press. For example: knowing how to take notes, plan your schedule or pay attention in class.

According to the Quebec Collegiate Student Federation, the pandemic has disrupted crucial years in the journey of these cohorts.

” The 3^e4^e and 5^e secondary school are critical to getting to know yourself as a learner,” emphasizes the vice-president of the federation, Frédéric Beaudet.

“The students are disorganized. They show up without a pencil. It’s as if the transition had been very brutal,” observes Émilie Lanthier, coordinator of the student integration assistance service at Cégep du Vieux Montréal.

And it’s even worse this session.

In terms of maturity, she compares them to students in 4^e secondary. “We have to change the way we operate, clearly. You have to adapt to them to find a certain balance,” she says.

“The students who are there are indeed more mortgaged. »

“Don’t let us down”

At the beginning of December, Amélie Brisson took the ministerial French exam for the third time.

If she fails, she will no longer be able to stay at Collège Montmorency. The teenager is exhausted. She cries often. Between her college studies and general adult education, the pressure to succeed is enormous. What she finds most difficult is the feeling of having been abandoned.

“Don’t let us down. There are so many people who need help so much, ”she pleads.