Özyeğin University provides access schemes for people with disabilities, including peer mentoring and individually targeted support, to help students with disabilities settle in, progress and succeed at university. These schemes are coordinated by the Disabled Students Unit in collaboration with the Office for Learning and Teaching Enhancement (OLTE).

Peer mentoring programme

• Peer Support Programme (Student Support Program): Run by the Office for Learning and Teaching Enhancement (OLTE). In the courses students find most challenging, they meet trained, paid peer supporters who recently completed the course with high grades and were nominated by instructors and selected by interview, in 60-minute one-to-one or small-group sessions. Peer supporters refer students who need disability support to the Disabled Students Unit.
• Personal assistant (peer) support: Part-time student assistants give one-to-one support to students with disabilities with note-taking, studying and library access (up to 15 hours a week, 60 hours a month per student). In 2025 they provided a total of 215 hours of support.

Targeted support schemes

• Individual support plan: Each student who contacts the Disabled Students Unit has an initial needs assessment; accommodations for classes, exams, housing and technology are agreed and communicated to the relevant units.
• Faculty notification: With the student's consent, instructors receive a letter at the start of each semester describing the student's needs and recommended accommodations.
• Regular follow-up meetings: Students with psychological or emotional conditions have monthly one-to-one meetings; other students also have follow-up meetings during the semester.
• Independent living and digital skills: Students who need it receive IT literacy training and visits to relevant institutions to build independent living skills.
• Academic adjustments: In line with Council of Higher Education (YÖK) decisions, exemptions or adapted assessment are recommended in foreign language courses and English preparatory exams.
• Housing priority: Students with disabilities receive priority in the allocation of accessible dormitory rooms.

Contact: Disabled Students Unit, specialneeds@ozyegin.edu.tr, +90 216 564 93 62, Student Center, Floor -2, 2B18B.