Representation of students with disabilities
and chronic illness (VORSCHUB)
It should be possible for everyone to study at RWTH Aachen University without restriction. People with chronic illnesses and disabilities should have the same opportunity as everyone else to study at the university and complete their desired degree. In doing so, you will be supported by us, the representation of students with disabilities and chronic illness ( VORSCHUB ) for short. Our office exists since 2016 and replaces the former Representation of Students with Disabilities and Chronic Illness and that of the Subject Area Disability Issues Students.
We advocate for the interests of students – from barrier-free access to lecture halls to compensation for disadvantages and individual and confidential counseling. In addition, we provide students with study assistants who can accompany them in everyday university life. We want to contribute to students being able to study under good and individual conditions and to feel well taken care of and comfortable at RWTH Aachen University.
For questions about studying with disabilities and chronic illness, we are of course also the contact point for all RWTH staff and lecturers.
Accessibility feedback
In this form you can submit feedback and comments about accessibility at RWTH!
Unsere Vertreter*innen haben einen Newsletter herausgebracht, in dem es allgemein darum geht, was VORSCHUB ist und für wen wir zuständig sind. Er enthält darüber hinaus verschiedene Fakten und Statistiken über das Beratungsjahr 2020.
Our consultation
Please note that due to the current situation we are currently unable to offer our advice in person as usual. We are happy to advise you by email, phone or via Zoom – even in urgent cases.
Consultation hours:
| Mon. 16:00 – 18:00 |
Click here for the Zoom Meeting.
Meeting-ID: 982 6798 5181, Kenncode: 076919
Consulting topics
- health-related difficulties in studies
- Compensation for disadvantages in examination performance
- Support by study assistants
- Relaxation room for rest between events
- Support group
- Hardship applications
- Semester off due to illness
- Reimbursement of the semester ticket
- BAföG special regulations
- Living in a dormitory with a disability or illness
Contact
E-Mail: vorschub@asta.rwth-aachen.de
Telephone: +49 1517 0432206
RWTH Navigator
With the RWTH Navigator you can find barrier-free toilets. Please note that baby changing rooms are the same as accessible restrooms.
Representative for students with disabilities and chronic illnesses
My name is Lena Schulte (23 years old) and I am studying literature and linguistics in my master’s program. In my free time, I love to bake and spend a lot of time reading.
In addition to my studies, I am active as a volunteer for the Young Self-Help Association in Aachen, where I always meet interesting people who manage to reconcile their everyday lives with their health restrictions and don’t let it get them down. As the new representative for the interests of students with chronic illnesses and disabilities, my goal is to support precisely these people in their studies.
Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have questions or need help. Often you don’t even know what kind of help you might be able to get – I’m happy to help you there, too! The best way to reach me is by mail at lschulte@asta.rwth-aachen.de.
My name is Philip Balcar and I am studying industrial engineering with a specialization in civil engineering for my bachelor’s degree. I am 23 years old and come from the Allgäu. I am always in a good mood, love to read and am always happy to meet new people.
Since February 2021, I am part of VORSCHUB and therefore the voice for students with chronic illness and disabilities in the Senate and the Student Parliament.
If you have any questions about compensation for disadvantages, hardship applications and financing options, or if you need a sympathetic ear, just write an email or come to our consultation. You can reach me at pbalcar@asta.rwth-aachen.de or at 0151 70432206
.
Downloads
Compensation for disadvantages
Compensation for disadvantages
Here you can find a detailed explanation of the disadvantage compensation as well as instructions on how to apply for it.
Form Compensation for disadvantages
You can present this sample template to your doctors as a guide so that they know how best to formulate your compensation for disadvantages.
Project WieLas: Re-entry coaching for students with long-term illnesses
The central student advisory service is offering the new WieLas project from March to December this year. With it, they are trying to help RWTH students who have interrupted their studies for health or family reasons to resume their studies.
A description of the offer can be found on the web at the following short link: www.rwth-aachen.de/wielas. If you are unsure if the offer is suitable, you have the possibility to contact us by telephone for a direct clarification of your questions.(0241-8099409).
Inclusion assistance, study assistants
Here you will find an overview of the dokuments which are necessary in order to apply for integration assistance from the responsible service provider (Landschaftsverband Rheinland). One form of support can be a study assistance, which helps students to better organize and structure their daily study routine.
Consulting guide (DE)
In the Counseling Guide, you will find a collection of all RWTH contact points for various counseling topics, from the Central Examination Office to the Psychological Counseling Team.
Distress phone numbers
Here is a list of the most important emergency numbers and a brief guide on how to best communicate an emergency situation. Wondering what the University Guard actually does? Then you can learn more about it here:
https://www.rwth-aachen.de/cms/root/Die-RWTH/Sicherheit/~epg/Hochschulwache/
The hardship application (Härtefallantrag)
Another special application is the hardship application, which aims at the immediate admission to a study program, for example with the reason that the student suffers from an illness with a tendency to worsen. In addition, there is the from “Hochschulstart”, a site through which many application procedures for studies run, as well as instructions on how to apply for the hardship application.
Request for a vacation semester
There can be various reasons why you want or need to apply for a vacation semester (illness, an internship or study abroad, etc.). You can submit the prefabricated application to the Office of Student Affairs and normally receive a leave of absence for one semester.
Devices in the library, quiet room
There are regulations at RWTH Aachen University that are intended to make studying a little easier for students with disabilities or chronic illnesses. On the one hand, there is a “special status” of the library, which allows you, for example, to apply for increased loan periods.
In addition, there is a “quiet room”, which is not open to the public and offers students a relaxation or learning environment.
Restrooms
Here you can find orientation information about the restrooms in the RWTH buildings.
Parking zones
Here you will find information about all parking areas at the RWTH.
Handout barrier-free living
In this document VORSCHUB has compiled information about barrier-free living in Aachen. For further information and individual questions, students can contact vorschub@asta.rwth-aachen.de.