Conference Program

This contribution presents a monitoring questionnaire developed within the activities of the CABES Committee (University Committee for Students with Special Educational Needs) at eCampus University, together with its first administration to students benefiting from the measures provided under the CABES resolution. The instrument was designed to collect information on the academic experience of students using the support measures offered by the University. It is explicitly conceived not as a tool for assessing academic performance, but as a device for institutional listening, aimed at understanding whether students feel supported, whether existing measures remain appropriate to their current needs, and whether revisions or new forms of support may be required. From this perspective, the questionnaire may be interpreted as a device of institutional care, consistent with a vision of the university as a “care-full” space, capable of recognising differentiated needs and translating inclusion into organisational practice (Moreau et al., 2025).

Methodologically, this is an ad hoc questionnaire for institutional monitoring, predominantly quantitative but with qualitative openings, consisting of 41 items organised into 9 sections: general information on the course of study; progression through the degree programme; use and effectiveness of the measures set out in the resolution; quality of teaching and learning materials; relationships with teaching staff and administrative services; emotional well-being and study experience; relationship with the CABES Support Office; currently perceived needs; and request for contact. The instrument combines closed questions, multiple-response items, frequency and rating scales, as well as optional open-ended questions, thus collecting both summary indicators and narrative elements useful for interpreting students lived experiences.

From a sociological perspective, the questionnaire frames university inclusion as a relational and organisational process, not reducible to formal access to compensatory measures alone (Cardano et al., 2021). Questions concerning academic progression, credits acquired, use of examination sessions, and the perceived causes of delays make visible the factors affecting students’ continuation in higher education, including health conditions, organisational difficulties, relationships with lecturers, family problems, and work commitments.

From a pedagogical perspective, the instrument investigates the adequacy of support measures in teaching activities and examinations, the quality of lessons, materials, recordings, and study supports, as well as the improvements that students consider necessary. The focus is therefore not limited to individual compensation but extends to the inclusive quality of the learning environment, in line with Universal Design for Learning and with approaches that take the variability of learning as a starting point for rethinking teaching practices and pedagogical mediation (CAST, 2024). The psychological dimension emerges in the sections devoted to psychological well-being and students’ quality of life, with particular attention to the emotional aspects of university experience. In this way, the instrument shifts attention from academic performance alone towards psychological well-being, belonging, and self-efficacy, recognised as central factors in students’ participation and persistence in higher education (Ryan & Deci, 2020; Thomas, 2012; Granieri et al., 2021).

Overall, the CABES questionnaire may be interpreted as a multidimensional device of institutional care, capable of transforming inclusion from a formal measure into a reflective and transformative practice within higher education.