Access Schemes for People with Disabilities

LAU provides a range of access schemes designed to support students with disabilities, ensuring they have equal access to academic opportunities and resources. These services include:

• Tailored Assessments: All admitted students with disabilities undergo close assessment to determine required accommodation based on their specific needs.
• Academic Accommodations: Services such as tutoring, additional exam time, and access to audio-visual materials are available.
• Library Resources: LAU Libraries are equipped with software for the visually impaired, ensuring accessibility to academic resources.
• Mentorship Programs: Faculty mentors are assigned to students with challenges, especially those with vision impairments, to support academic success.
• Student Assistance: Peer support can be assigned to assist students with disabilities in classroom settings.
• Faculty Coordination: Faculty are notified and collaborate with the Dean of Students’ Office to meet individual needs.
• Career Services: Partnerships with organizations offer internship and employment programs specifically for individuals with disabilities.

These access schemes reflect LAU’s commitment to inclusivity and tailored support for students with disabilities. In addition, LAU also provides mental health counseling services through the Counseling Center, which supports students’ emotional well-being and provides personal counseling sessions.

Career Guidance and Academic Advising

Career Development Plan

Start early and sharpen your skills before graduation and boost your employability!

Consider your Choice of Major

• Take the Strong Interest Inventory to identify your interests and the relevant majors, especially if you are unsure about your choice or unhappy with your current major

Secure Academic Advancement

• Keep your GPA as high as possible to increase your chances in earning scholarships and getting into a strong graduate program
• Attend Time Management and Study Skills workshops
• Visit the International Services and Programs Office to learn about exchange and study abroad programs

Explore Career Possibilities

• Enroll in diverse courses to explore different areas that interest you
• Consider internship and part-time job opportunities
• Attend panel discussions, recruitment presentations, career events, etc.

Engage in Self-Development

• Join clubs and take part in the fun and engaging extra-curricular activities on campus
• Volunteer in civic, and leadership activities to strengthen your CV, sharpen your skills, and stand out in the job market
• Attend soft skills and professional development workshops (i.e. CV writing, job search strategies, interview preparation, LinkedIn, etc.)

Get ready for the job market

• Draft your first professional CV and keep it updated with the help of the Career Development Services staff
• Join LinkedIn and other professional social media platforms
• Build a professional network with your professors, advisors, peers, and staff

Connect with your Career

• Take part in the Alumni Mentoring Program to get tips from industry experts
• Check the LAU International Career Portal to view and apply to available internship and job opportunities
• Attend career fairs
• Secure at least one internship before you graduate. Interns are often hired by the same company if they prove themselves

Before you graduate

• Refine your professional resume and develop an “elevator pitch”
• Write cover letters that you can use when applying for internships and jobs.
• Identify your most-desired employers and research employment opportunities.
• Attend the International Education Week to explore graduate-study opportunities.
• Connect with the Alumni Relations Office and join the alumni chapters.

Academic Advising: Your Personal Roadmap

Clarity about your next steps reduces stress: Our academic advisors empower you to develop a course plan consistent with your individual interests and abilities. Along with your faculty advisors, the academic advisors will provide you with all the academic support you may need. Through these services, you will:

• Get all the help to understand your degree evaluation, rules, and other academic matters to make the right academic and career decisions.
• Benefit from one-on-one advising sessions and learn about the available resources for you, such as CAPP, Portal, Banner, Starfish, etc.
• Know the steps and requirements for graduation.
• Overcome any academic difficulty by getting personalized advising meetings.

• LAU students can schedule the academic advising appointments through Starfish on Portal. Through Starfish, you will:

• Connect with your faculty and the staff from various departments.
• Schedule appointments online wit your academic advisor or faculty advisor.
• Receive a notification if you are academically at risk.
• Save meetings notes in your records for future reference.

• The academic advisors also support students who need to overcome any academic challenges through the Academic Success Center.

Accessible Library Software

In line with the university’s Strategic Plan IV-Pillar III, Innovate to Inspire, the LAU Libraries have recently acquired software that makes their content accessible to the visually impaired community. Designated desktop computers on each campus have been improved with JAWS (Job Access for Speech), a software that enables screen reading, and OpenBook, which converts print materials and PDFs into speech.

Counseling Services

Counseling at LAU helps you power through your university years. Starting with the school-to-college transition and all its emotional baggage, to dealing with anxiety such as that associated with remote learning, university counselors equip you with essential tools to effectively manage current and future problems.

Sessions are strictly confidential and free of charge for all students. They are typically scheduled once a week and may expand over several weeks depending on the objectives identified by the counselor.

When Should I Seek Help from a Counselor?

If you are experiencing one or more of the following concerns:

• Test anxiety
• Sleeping problems
• Low self-esteem
• Alcohol or drug abuse
• Concentration problems
• Decision making problems
• Dramatic mood swings
• Hopelessness or helplessness
• Exposure to sexual, physical, or emotional abuse
• Anxiety, fear, or anger that affects everyday life
• Eating disorders
• Suicidal thoughts
• Loneliness and/or homesickness
• Procrastination
• Relationship issues (family, friends, romantic)
• Loss of a family member or loved one
• Poor academic performance.

What Types of Counseling Services Are Offered at LAU?

• Short-term individual counseling
• General consultation
• Group counseling
• Academic skills guidance
• Career/vocational counseling
• Crisis interventions
• On/Off campus referrals
  If the counselors believe that the student’s concerns are beyond the scope of the services provided at LAU, they will provide the student with a list of off-campus professionals (i.e., psychotherapists and/or psychiatrists) from which to choose.

How will a Counselor at LAU Help Me?

Counseling at LAU offers you the chance to:

• Disclose and discuss sensitive issues in a safe environment
• Confide in someone who can be trusted for their open-mindedness and professional help
• Receive support and aid in overcoming distress

While knowing that all the information discussed during counseling sessions:

• Will not go on your official record, nor on your transcripts
• Are strictly confidential – unless the counselor identifies that there is potential for self-harm, or harm to others.

Tips During these Challenging Time

Surviving and Thriving in War Time

In Response to the Recent Unrest

Guidelines and Tips

Mindfulness Benefits

Counseling in a nutshell (video)

For a smooth transition to university

Dealing with anxiety and online learning

Dealing with Beirut explosion aftermath

Learning Challenges and Support (video)

Mindfulness Benefits

Dealing with Anxiety

LAU Counseling Services

Counseling at LAU helps you power through your university years. Starting with the school-to-college transition and all its emotional baggage, to dealing with anxiety such as that associated with remote learning, university counselors equip you with essential tools to effectively manage current and future problems.

Writing Center

Welcome to the LAU Writing Center!

We are pleased you are visiting our website and we hope you find the information helpful.

We provide writing support for LAU undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, staff and the external community. We will work with you through the stages of writing and advise you on issues such as structure, clarity and grammar, in a flexible and friendly environment. We also provide several tutoring services including one-on-one, either in person or virtually, group tutoring and library walk-ins.

Bring your assigned papers and reports, projects, grant proposals, dissertation chapters, unfinished articles and conference papers, and our professional and peer tutors will help you at any stage of the writing process to produce a polished final draft.

We hope to see you at the Writing Center soon!

LAU students, faculty and staff:

We’d love to assist! You can schedule your individual free writing appointments through the WCOnline platform.

Book an Appointment

Non-LAU members:

We provide various paid consultancy services. Click on the “Book a Meeting via Email” button to schedule an appointment to assess your needs, we will then provide you with a work plan.

Book a Meeting via Email

Disabled Access (ADA)

LAU follows international standards from the earliest design stage of new projects in order to guarantee buildings and grounds accessibility, offering an equal learning opportunity for physically challenged people.

Campus Accessibility Plans

Facilities Management provides accessibility plans that give students, faculty and staff a clear idea of the location of accessible buildings and grounds on both campuses Beirut Campus (PDF - 6MB) and Byblos Campus (PDF - 4MB). The accessibility plans are also used for ease of identification of elevators, external elevators and ADA toilets.