Dankook University helps high school students with disabilities prepare for campus life

For students with disabilities, starting university can be an isolating experience — adapting to campus life is rarely easy, and few people step forward to help. Dankook University is working to change that.

The university's Disability Student Support Center will run a five-day "College Life Experience for Students with Disabilities" program from Monday through Oct. 2 for high school students with disabilities in Gyeonggi Province.

The program is designed to help students with disabilities build confidence about entering university and map out concrete career paths by experiencing campus life firsthand. Participants are matched one-on-one with student support staff and take part in a range of activities: a campus introduction and tour, admissions counseling, department visits and class observations, career counseling, and meetings with current university students with disabilities who can share their own experiences.

"Dankook University has built deep expertise in education and support for students with disabilities, including establishing the first special education department among four-year universities in Korea," center Director Kim Won-ho said. "We hope this college life experience program helps students with disabilities plan their academic and career paths, and we will continue providing support for a stable and fulfilling university life."

The university was recently selected for two programs administered by the Ministry of Education and the Korean Council for University Education's Center for Higher Education for Persons with Disabilities: the "Regional Leading University for Disability Student Support" project and the "University Disability Student Support Center Operation Support" project — recognition of its capabilities in supporting students with disabilities.

Dankook has been selected for the support center operation project for five consecutive years, underscoring its sustained commitment to helping students with disabilities navigate university life.

The university has also been named a top-rated institution five consecutive times in the Ministry of Education's assessment of education and welfare support for university students with disabilities, reflecting the strong infrastructure it has built for this student population.