FAIT DU SOIR Cévennes: the campus is in the meadow

It was her social worker who referred her to the related campus. ” Otherwise, I would not have been able to go to higher education “, he admits. This Cévennes chooses an AES license from the University of Besançon: “ She was the only one who allowed her to take exams on campus under the supervision of a tutor. Between two tests, I changed diapers. Melody will complete her final year of graduation on campus. So, you finish studying. She says she has an employer ready to hire her as soon as she graduates.

Attendance agreement with the campus

Upon entering the campus, students sign a contract and undertake to come at least 12 hours a week, at the times they prefer. Recent graduates who do not have a side job must be present at 6pm. Each time the student goes to campus, he signs an attendance sheet. He must give notice of his absences. If he gives up and increasingly forgets to come, an interview with the tutors is arranged after a month. CV, stress management with a sophrologist… Students must also commit to attending at least five group workshops out of the 32 offered this year.

Long brown hair, hoop earrings, Manon Chalvidan, 23, is a regular visitor to the related campus. Since 2019 she has been coming every day by car from Mars, a village located 10 minutes from Vigan. Manon had previously spent three years at the Paul-Valéry University of Montpellier. Despite the scholarships, she had to combine jobs: animation during the week in schools and work at the Vigan supermarket on weekends. She thus managed to validate two years of the ‘educational sciences’ licence. For the third, change of postponement: you return to Vigan at the connected campus. You have climbed the ladder: license, master 1 with the University of Cergy-Pontoise. She even agrees to do an eight-week internship in the schools of the Versailles Academy. For master 2, she chooses Rodez face to face. She lets go after two days,” too much pressure about the contest. So here she is back with her gigantic kit on the connected campus to follow a “managerial action support” of BTS.

Maintain a social connection

On the blackboard this Thursday there are still traces of the accelerated economics course that Rachid Mdaam gave him. Holder of a master’s degree in STAPS (sports) and sociology, he does not hesitate to unblock the notions they stumble upon with the students. On Wednesday evenings, from 17:00 to 18:00, to combat the perverse effects of a sedentary lifestyle, he also holds a sports course suitable for student volunteers. Alumni from the connected campus are invited. ” We are well supported. This campus allows you to have social connections. In my village there are 180 inhabitants. I’m like the only one in my age group », Manon acknowledges, amused.

Connected headphones screwed to his ears, Romain Berthézène, her table neighbor, occasionally picks up the PDF that scrolls on his computer to exchange it with her. This 19-year-old young man comes from Molière-Cavailhac. His grandmother takes him to school in the morning at the same time as his sister. “ I had a bac pro reception here. I went straight to BTS on campus. He smiles then admits: “ I have a family made up mainly of mountaineers, woodcutters, hunters. I didn’t feel like going to the city and finding myself among everyone, oppressed ».

Four of the 15 students enrolled on campus study at the university. The others are in BTS. General knowledge courses are basically the same from one sector to another. ” We can help each other. Last year, four or five of us did economic and managerial culture, adds the boy. When we’re at home, we tend to be distracted. »

Coffee, cake and ringtones

The connected campus occupied three rooms on the ground floor of the André-Chamson school complex. Twenty computers with headphones plugged in were set up in two former classrooms. Even though the schoolyard is just opposite, everything has been done to create a welcoming atmosphere. The red linen has been replaced by a faux parquet floor. Indian blue covered the doors and some ceiling panels. In the bathroom, a yellow sofa sits alongside gray armchairs and a microwave. On the wall, Shaun the sheep observes a poster about the passage of the Tour de France in Vigan. A game of chess is in progress. ” Coffee, tea, sweets are free. They make us a small list and we supply them, Rachid points out. We also have nine computers that we can lend them for the year. There are only the virulent music ringtones that remind us hourly that we are in a high school.

Students could eat at the school canteen. Frankly, it doesn’t tempt them. ” I joined the connected campus because, at 29, I couldn’t see face-to-face with 20-year-olds in class Anahita bursts out laughing. Dressed in boots and a black beret, this young French-Iranian woman graduated from an art school in Belgium. Her project: to create a botanical and artistic garden hosting festivals, environmental education … she She worked in the Tarn and enrolled remotely in a BTS “management and protection of nature” offered by the Sup agro Dijon. She studied on her own at home. During a face-to-face meeting, another student tells him about the connected campus. Anâhita packs her bags: On campus, manage your schedule however you want. It’s great. »

Enroll in a university for real

Since 2019 there are about fifty students. 5% dropped out. About 70% passed the exams. The campus should act as a stepping stone to pursuing face-to-face higher education. Chaima succeeded. After a BTS obtained on campus, she left for her third year of licentiate in Montpellier. ” The first year was difficult. It took him two years to validate it. He now he works at the Société Générale in the Ganges “says Rachid Mdaam.

The connected campus works in collaboration with the University of Nîmes, Unîmes, so that students gradually become familiar with the “real” university world. Campus students have access to the university library and participate in Unîmes highlights. Two students from the current campus promotion want to integrate a face-to-face master’s degree in psychology next year in the city-prefecture.

For some it will be mission impossible. One boy, who lives an hour and a half drive from Vigan, travels twice a week with his parents to come to campus. “ He suffers from autistic disorders. He is enrolled in a master’s degree in art history at the University of Lille, says Jana Boivin, the other tutor on the linked campus. He had started his studies alone at home. He’s been coming here since last year. There, he is in a protected environment. It’s the one that stayed the longest at our end-of-year party. »

This article is taken from the Objectif Gard magazine, number 52 released on October 28, 2022. You can discover it in its entirety by clicking on the front page:

Sabrina Ranviere