Sakarya University offered peer guidance to international students, project mentoring to women students and individual support to students with disabilities in 2025. [2, 5, 7, 8, 14] The Barrier-Free Life and Support Coordination Office also reported individual support and legal and administrative advice delivered to academic and administrative staff with disabilities or additional needs in 2025. Its anonymised staff service summary is presented below.
In autumn 2025, the Department of International Trade and Logistics ran UTİC ile Bizden Bize. International students could apply for support, and upper-year students could volunteer as mentors. Mentors worked individually or in small groups on course material, study methods and adjustment to campus life. The department acknowledged its mentors in December. Its notice for the second cycle reports that nine mentors supported sixteen students in the first cycle. [1, 2, 3, 4]
TOKAS ran the free Women in Business programme from 10 May to 15 July 2025 and admitted 20 women students. Students developed research proposals with mentor support and received project feedback on 21 May. The prospectus set out eligibility and an 80% attendance requirement. [5, 6, 11]
For students with disabilities or additional needs, the coordination directive provides for psychosocial assessment and peer support. Article 15 allows part-time or volunteer students to assist with notes and learning materials. At the start of the academic year the student unit obtains intake information from Student Affairs and contacts incoming students. The unit and the Medico-Social Centre provide psychosocial support, while academic-unit advisers provide guidance on study arrangements. Note-takers and volunteer study partners can assist students with particular needs. [7, 8, 10, 11]
On 24 October 2025 the Coordination Office introduced its services and discussed students’ requests. The Library’s Visual Impairment Unit also provided advice on educational and social rights. In 2025 three students received independent mobility training, one received computer training and one received Braille-writing training. The Library reports each service separately. [9, 14, Fig. 5]
The Barrier-Free Life and Support Coordination Office reported the following services for academic and administrative staff with disabilities or additional needs during 2025. The summary records the support provided, recipients within each service record and meetings separately.
| Staff group | Recipients in each record | Support provided in 2025 | Reported meetings |
| Administrative | 1 | Individual support, including a student assigned through İŞKUR to assist with foreign-language learning for two hours per week in November–December 2025. Assistance was also provided with dealings with public and private organisations. | 5 |
| Administrative | 1 | Legal and administrative advice. | 1 |
| Academic | 1 | Individual support through a student assigned under the part-time student employment scheme. | 1 |
The three service records report seven meetings in total. The two-hour weekly schedule describes the language-learning assistance separately from those meetings. Recipient counts are presented for each service record.
Source. Barrier-Free Life and Support Coordination Office, institutional response on support provided to academic and administrative staff in 2025.
Staff with disabilities can contact the Coordination Office to request and follow up support. Article 4(4) of the disability directive extends applicable services to staff according to the nature of the activity and the resources available. Article 10(1)(a) assigns the social worker responsibility for assessing psychosocial needs and proposing solutions. Under Article 11(1)(m), the Office may convene students and staff with special needs in groups according to those needs. Its published services include psychosocial counselling for people with special needs. [7, 8, 12]
The Coordination Office described how this works in a report published on 12 December 2023. It had met students and staff to hear their needs and discussed possible solutions with unit representatives, through whom employees could also submit requests. This earlier account documents consultation in practice. The Office’s public staff guidance continues to explain how a request is followed up. [12, 15]
The General Secretariat confirms total actual expenditure of TRY 2,990,000 for the University’s accessibility works in 2025. This includes TRY 950,000 for the completed accessibility work package at the Rectorate and administrative building. The work included a ramp, tactile guidance and warning surfaces, glass safety markings, anti-slip stair strips, Braille door labels and floor plans, a Braille floor information board, an accessible-WC emergency call button and a counter hearing-assistance system. The institutional record gives the package’s status as completed at 31 December 2025.
These facilities support access to administrative services for people with mobility, visual and hearing impairments and complement the Coordination Office’s channels for requesting individual support. The expenditure figures relate to physical accessibility works.
Source. General Secretariat, “2025 YILI ENGELLİ ERİŞİLEBİLİRLİK KAPSAMINDA YAPILAN İŞLER”, 2025 actual expenditure and completion status at 31 December 2025. The University-confirmed total is the sum of the three recorded work packages, with TRY 950,000 relating to the Rectorate and administrative building.
The Coordination Office’s public account reports a TRY 2,500,000 architectural accessibility allocation for 2025 and describes completed campus improvements. The published allocation and the General Secretariat’s confirmed actual expenditure are distinct financial measures. [25]
The Personnel Department and the Barrier-Free Life and Support Coordination Office invited academic and administrative staff to a basic Turkish Sign Language course beginning on 17 February 2025. [21]
The 120-hour course ran from 17 February to 17 June 2025. An instructor from Serdivan Public Education Centre taught the course in person. Participants who passed the final assessment qualified for certification. The June course survey recorded 28 respondents and a satisfaction score of 92.95 out of 100. [21, 22, 23]
In November 2025, the University held a two-session panel on women’s role in society and working life. Speakers discussed barriers, employment and support for women with students, staff and external partners. [24]
The Medico-Social Centre’s counselling directive includes University personnel. Academic and administrative staff may book appointments through the University’s service. Across the general counselling system in 2025, the University recorded 1,016 student users and 156 instructors. [13, 16, 17, Fig. 8] These institution-wide figures are reported separately from the targeted staff support summarised above.
In a separate staff health programme, SAÜ and the Serdivan Healthy Life Centre offered individual nutrition assessments in 2025. On 22–23 May the University also provided cancer-screening education for women staff. [18, 19, 20]
Figure 1. Photograph published by the Department of International Trade and Logistics with the first-cycle peer-programme completion report. Participation totals are reported separately by the department. Source [2]
Figure 2. Women in Business, from the TOKAS programme gallery. The completion report records 20 admissions and mentor feedback on 21 May 2025. Source [5]
Figure 3. Sustainability Report 2025, printed p. 66. Strategic objective 1.4 covers student counselling, disability access and career guidance. Source [11]
Figure 4. Orientation for students with disabilities and additional needs on 24 October 2025. The meeting introduced the office and available services. Source [9]
Figure 5. Library report, section 5.3.6 and Table 38 (extract). The 2025 column shows training in mobility, computer use and Braille. The text below records guidance and support during the academic term. Source [14]
Figure 6. Article 4(4), PDF p. 3. Applicable services extend to staff with special needs within the stated conditions. Source [8]
Figure 7. Article 11(1)(m), PDF p. 7. The Office may convene students and staff with special needs to discuss issues by need and submit findings to the Commission. Source [8]
Figure 8. General counselling system usage in 2025. The Activity Report records 1,016 student users and 156 instructors, indicators PG1.4.7 and PG1.4.8, printed p. 77. Source [13]
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