To study remotely or not to study remotely, that is the question
For today’s post, M2 student Alice Lemaitre writes about the often unseen and underestimated challenges of higher education for students with a disability.
Like roughly 1.3 billion people in the world, or approximately 16% of the global population, I have a disability (World Health Organization: WHO). In fact, I was born with it. I like to believe that disability and death are among the few things in life that do not discriminate: no matter who you are, or whom your parents are, it could happen to you tomorrow, it is just how life goes.
Although being born in the 21st century, in a rich country, and in a loving family tremendously helped me avoid feeling the impact of my disability on my life as I was growing up, I quickly realized that the world I was living in was not built for someone like me. I had a pretty regular childhood, with the regular experiences in school that came with it. However, I really started to feel like I did not belong during my last year of high school. The last year of high school is usually exciting for students: a new life awaits them, and everything is possible. Unfortunately, it was quite the opposite for me: when touring different universities near me, I realized that the aging buildings were highly inaccessible, and that I was now on my own.
A few weeks before my first day of university, I met with a doctor from said university; they were solely supposed to assess my level of disability to decide which
accommodations they would grant me. Instead, they decided to scold me and tell me that I was being unreasonable because I did not choose the same degree as one of my friends since it meant that I would not know anyone in my class. Nonetheless, I decided to attend university because that was what I wanted. Long story short, the first few weeks were horrendous: certain elevators were not functioning properly, certain teachers refused to accommodate my needs, and so on. When I told those in charge of the disabled students on campus how much I was struggling daily, they told me to either quit university, or study remotely even though it would mean studying something different since my degree was not available for remote students. Ironically, everyone began to study remotely a few weeks after this exchange due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The following months were very hard for me, I needed to decide what I wanted to do next: quit university or study something different remotely. I ended up choosing the latter. I could have continued to attend university like so many able-bodied students, but at what cost? My condition could have worsened due to the exhaustion, my mental health could have been negatively impacted, etc. For three years, I studied remotely and took my exams in person. After that, I decided to leave that place behind and study remotely in another university: I chose Aix-Marseille University. Being able to take my exams remotely was a huge factor to me when it came to choosing which university I would attend: I would no longer have to worry about inaccessibility.
Now that I am almost done with university, I can say that, while I am glad that I was able to get access to higher education unlike so many disabled people, I am sad that it happened in these conditions during the first few years. On the bright side, I was able to study at my own
pace and I met some wonderful distance-learning students who ultimately became friends. I know universities tend to be underfunded, which is probably why some of them cannot offer the accommodations that some students need, but it does not make it any less unfair. However, I am glad to see that certain universities try to make more degrees accessible remotely every year. I cannot speak for the entirety of disabled students in the world, some of my disabled friends had wonderful experiences, but I can tell you this: if you are disabled and you want to get a university degree, think about the pros and cons of studying in person and remotely in different universities, and it is okay to try things out, even if it does not go according to plan; if you are able-bodied, think about the fact that you, or those surrounding you, could become disabled at some point (and no, it does not only happen to others, my entire family is healthy, my dad even used to be a professional athlete), so try to make the world as accessible as you can, it might benefit you sooner than you might think.
Bibliography
World Health Organization: WHO. Disability. 7 Mar. 2023, www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/disability-and-health.
OpenEdition vous propose de citer ce billet de la manière suivante :
Laurence Lux-Sterritt (14 avril 2025). To study remotely or not to study remotely, that is the question. EN-globe. Consulté le 10 novembre 2025 à l’adresse https://doi.org/10.58079/13qwy


