Queen’s Register of Support Providers
Providing Campus Assistant Support to Students
The role of the Campus Assistant is to assist a student to negotiate the physical environment in and around the University campus and to help with any educational support requirements the student cannot complete for themselves independently.
Campus Assistants most commonly work with students who are wheelchair users, have visual impairments, have learning difficulties such as Asperger’s syndrome or experience mobility issues arising from conditions such as arthritis, osteoporosis, cerebral palsy and ME.
A Specialist Campus Assistant will possess the specialist skills and experience required to meet a particular student’s needs. This might include, for example, being able to note take for a Music student or assisting a Science student with practical laboratory classes / experiments.
A Campus Assistant may be required to assist with the following:
· Orientation and mobility around the campus.
· Sourcing library books, photocopying, scanning using the Zoom-Ex OCR (see below) and some note taking.
· Opening doors and guiding the student along the most accessible routes.
· Carrying personal belongings, books, folders, bags and study materials for the student.
· Assisting the student at break and lunch times with trays in cafés and canteens.
· Assisting in computer and laboratory classes.
Zoom-Ex Machine
Located in the McClay Library, the Zoom-Ex machine is a digital scanner/OCR that converts any printed text into multiple formats such as speech, large print, sound files and text files etc. As such, it is useful facility for students with visual impairments or dyslexia who find it easier to understand the spoken word or are better able to read text in larger fonts.
If you are matched with a student who requires scanning support, training courses are periodically arranged by the Register. The scanner may also be borrowed for short periods by contacting Sally Bridge, the Library’s Information Services Disability Co-ordinator on , 90 976145.
Support Boundaries
A Campus Assistant will not be responsible for providing assistance with personal care ie dressing, toileting, bathing, shaving etc. You may inadvertently harm yourself or the student and you would not covered by insurance. Such personal care needs will be catered for through a dedicated support provider arranged privately or through the Health Service Executive.
For similar reasons, you should not assist with any manual handling or lifting of the student. If he/she is a wheelchair user, you should not assist with transfers to and from the chair as again, you are not covered by insurance and you may inadvertently harm yourself or the student.
Guidelines
· Excellent interpersonal and communication skills are essential. At the first meeting with your student, it is important to ascertain exactly what assistance is required and when.
· It is important to check your student’s access requirements ie will your student need to take a lift or can they use stairs; what distance are they able to walk comfortably; are they able to negotiate steps; are handrails necessary; do they need help to carry books/bags; does anything need to be set up for them at the start of class etc.
· Make sure you have a copy of the student’s timetable/classroom locations and that you are familiar with the layout of the campus. Identify the best routes to/from classes, the most appropriate building access points and the emergency exit points.
· Sensitivity, confidentiality and respect for the privacy of the student at all times are paramount. Assisting your student when they are with friends requires particular skill and sensitivity. It is important to keep a low profile and be as unobtrusive as possible but do remember to check whether your student requires assistance at break/lunch times or if they would prefer to socialise with friends on their own.
· Remember to not speak on behalf of the student to others such as lecturers and peers. You are there to simply facilitate the student’s participation, not to complete the actual work for them.
· Arrive punctually at the agreed times; communicate and discuss any problems as they arise.
· If you find that you are unable to match your own timetable with that of your student’s, let the Register know so that another Campus Assistant may be allocated to the student as soon as possible.