TSU Presents the Best Inclusive Education Practice

The competition is organised by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation, the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation, and a non-profit corporate organization, the Association of Inclusive Universities. It is held to improve the quality and accessibility of inclusive higher and secondary vocational education. The competition is aimed at identifying, supporting, and further spreading the best practices in the field of inclusive education that have earned the trust of the professional community in Russia, as well as the formation of an inclusive culture as a mandatory component of inclusive society development. There are 16 nominations in the competition. Among them are Career Guidance Work in the Conditions of Inclusive Education, Individualisation of Students’ Educational Route in Inclusive Education, Digital Technologies in the Inclusive Educational Process, Media Assistance of Inclusive Processes and Events in Social Networks, Practices of Involvement in Sports, Tourism, and Cultural Activities of People with Disabilities, and other nominations.

This year, the competition was held for the third time. Applications were received from 141 universities. After the first preliminary stage, which took place from May to October 2023, 21 best practices of inclusive education in universities from 17 subjects of the Russian Federation made it to the finals. Among the finalists is Togliatti State University, with the project Building an Adaptive Model of Inclusive Online Learning Based on Analysing the Students’ Digital Footprint.

TSU presented the designed adaptive model of inclusive online learning on the Rosdistant platform. The creation of an online higher education system promoted under the Rosdistant brand was initiated in 2015 by TSU Rector Mikhail Krishtal. It addressed the task of providing quality higher education to people who want and are able to get it but, for some reason, cannot do it in the traditional way. In 2023, Rosdistant was awarded the Russian Government's Prize in the field of education. Anna Bogdanova, Head of the TSU Online Education Technologies Department, told the competition experts about the stages of the project implementation at TSU, the methods used, and quality criteria at the in-person presentation.

“The experts were particularly interested in the way online education is implemented at TSU in terms of convenience for people with different disabilities. I told them that we offer electronic textbooks and study guides that can be read and listened to. In addition, special hybrid learning technologies, including video captions for students with hearing impairments, have been incorporated into the training,” says Anna Bogdanova.

The collection of students' digital footprints helps to improve the accessibility and quality of inclusive education at the university. The analysis provides an opportunity to identify the needs and preferences of students with different individual characteristics and knowledge levels. Thus, as a result, we can create inclusive learning materials and programmes that take into account the diversity of the student population.

“For example, digital footprint analysis can help identify early signs of learning difficulties that students have. This is to provide them with additional support and resources in time to overcome their difficulties and achieve academic success. From the digital footprint, we can also understand which teaching methods and learning materials are most effective for different groups of students in order to create more accessible and adaptive learning programmes,” adds Anna Bogdanova.

The implementation of inclusive practices at TSU has already proven its effectiveness: since 2015, the number of TSU students has doubled. Today, about 22,000 people from all regions of Russia (including Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the Moscow Oblast) and 24 countries around the world study at the university. At the same time, online students study with a 100% personal curriculum.

According to Anna Bogdanova, in the process of preparing an application for the All-Russian competition, TSU's practice of inclusive higher professional education was examined by CLIO, the Togliatti public organisation of disabled people with musculoskeletal system disorders.

“We have been cooperating with TSU for a long time. University students with a major in Adapted Physical Education regularly undergo practical training with us, and we are grateful for the new experience. Online learning improves accessibility and quality of higher education for people with disabilities and eliminates all the barriers that may arise in traditional forms of full-time education,” says Liliya Bystritskaya, Chairperson of CLIO and Chairperson of the Commission on Health and Social Policy of the Public Chamber of Togliatti. “I myself graduated from TSU, and I can confidently say that the university has always met the needs of students with disabilities in the organising of the educational process with maximum convenience.

The results of the All-Russian Competition of Inclusive Higher and Secondary Vocational Education Practices 2023 were summed up on December 7 on the platform of the Festival of Inclusive Practices of the Network (Industry) Forum Inclusive Higher Pedagogical Education: Trends and Prospects for Development. Togliatti State University took first place in the nomination for Digital Technologies in the Inclusive Educational Process. In the same nomination, another first place was awarded to M. K. Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk, which uses adaptive technologies for visually impaired students in the educational process. All the finalist practices were given the label Recommended by the Federal Methodological Centre for Inclusive Education for implementation in professional educational organisations. This allows them to scale their educational models throughout Russia.

“This recommendation confirms the high quality of the Rosdistant online higher education system and its applicability as the best solution for inclusive education. For TSU itself, this victory will contribute to attracting new students, building partnerships with other educational institutions, and enhancing the university's reputation in the field of inclusive education,” states Mikhail Krishtal.

For reference:

The Rosdistant Online Higher Education System developed at TSU is a comprehensive technology, including the invention patent of the same name, a package of know-how.

The invention patent issued by the Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent) confirms that there are no analogues of such a unified ecosystem of digital services of distance admission, studying, and assistance of students to graduation, neither in Russia nor in the world.

In 2019, TSU, with the project Rosdistant Online Higher Education System, became the best in the nomination Project Management in the System of Higher Education and Science of the All-Russian competition of professional project management Project Olympus 2019, held by the analytical centre under the Government of the Russian Federation.

In 2023, the project on creation of an online higher education system Rosdistant was awarded the Prize of the Government of the Russian Federation in the field of education.