Abstract:

The students with special educational needs (SEN) are those who require specific and different dedication from the ordinary support and attention derived from disability, serious personality disorders, specific learning difficulties, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, high intellectual abilities or other personal conditions (health problems or functional deficiencies). The University of Granada (UGR) has a number of services and economic assistance for SEN students, according to the specific needs or disability of each student. Every faculty has a SEN coordinator; usually it is a teacher associated to the government team that establishes the connection between the student and the University. Some of the specific resources offered by the UGR are: reserve a quota of 5% of seats of the university schools or faculties, exemption of enrolment fees, adapted transport services, specific devices for auditory impairment, Spanish sign-language interpreter, adapted facilities in the classroom, UGR scholarship programme mainly for traveling and learning material expenses and in order to create a group of collaborating students. These collaborating students volunteer to perform support functions according to the needs of each SEN student in order to facilitate their integration in class and also in university environment.

Other interventions of the coordinators include:
a) Assign a teacher-tutor for each student, advice and inform about the curricular adaptations that the student is entitled to.
b) Inform SEN students about all the resources that the UGR offers and put them in contact with the Students Service of the University.
c) Participate in screening and selecting the collaborating students.

The aim of this work is to present the evolution of the SEN programme. The number of students who have been involved in the social intervention programme directed to SEN students in has been increasing every academic year. The needs that these students present are varied, in some cases different physical and organic processes are combined as a result of different associated pathologies. The teachers tutor and collaborating students are committed to continuing the programme and to improving it every year.

Keywords:

Higher education, tutorial innovation, special educational needs.