Students with disabilities
If you wish to contact us about Disabled Students' Allowances (DSA), please follow this link contact us.
- What help is available?
- Who is eligible for DSA?
- How do I apply for DSA?
- Evidence
- Study needs assessment
- What if my requirements change?
- How much is available?
- How is it paid for?
- Do I have to repay this allowance?
- Specialist equipment allowance
- Non-medical helper's allowance
- General allowance
- Travel allowance
Help available for students with disabilities 2008/09
If you have a disability you may be eligible for additional support. DSA are available to help with extra costs you may incur, as a direct result of your disability, in attending your course. Please see the Aim Higher website for information on what DSAs are available.
Who is eligible for DSA?
Full-time and part-time students who have a disability, attending under-graduate and post-graduate courses, also students studying by distance learning. To be eligible for the DSA you must be eligible to receive student support.
How do I apply for DSA?
You can apply for DSA at any stage before or during your course.
If you are a new full-time student starting your course in September 2008 you will need to complete an Application for Higher Education Support 2008/2009. You are asked to indicate if you want to apply for DSA and to provide details of your disability.
What happens next?
When we have received your Application for Higher Education Support we will send you an information pack containing ‘Bridging the Gap: a guide for disabled students’ an information leaflet explaining what you need to do next and a DSA1 student consent form.
Evidence of disability
To consider your application for DSA we require evidence of your disability. Please send us medical proof of your disability such as a letter from your doctor or specialist.
If you have a specific learning difficulty, such as dyslexia, the evidence we need must be a full diagnostic assessment. If this was undertaken before your 16th birthday we will also need an update report (often referred to as an assessment of performance attainment). Evidence must be from either:
a qualified psychologist experienced in working with dyslexic adults, or
someone with a qualification from a professional training course involving assessing adults with dyslexia.
We cannot pay for a report confirming your disability to establish your eligibility for DSAs.
The DSA information pack gives guidance on the type of evidence you should send to apply for the DSA. Please send us your evidence with the completed DSA1 student consent form.
Then what happens?
Once we have received your evidence and DSA1 we will ask you to attend a study needs assessment to find out what additional help you need for your course. It is your responsibility to arrange this assessment, we are not able to do so on your behalf.
The cost of you attending a study needs assessment can be paid for from the DSA.
Your study needs assessment will detail the additional help and equipment that you need for your course.
The assessment centre will send you a draft copy of the report which you are required to check, sign and return to the assessment centre. They will then send us a copy. This tells us what equipment or other support you will need, how much it will cost and where it is available from.
Once we have received your study needs assessment we will approve recommendations in accordance with the Student Support Regulations. We will write and tell you what allowances, if any, we have approved.
If we have received your completed DSA1 form, we will be able to order any equipment on your behalf.
Where you are purchasing the equipment or services, we will reimburse the cost of these (within the allowances we have approved) upon receipt of proof of purchase.
Study needs assessment
We ask that the assessment is undertaken at an agreed assessment centre. There are assessment centres located throughout the country, please visit www.nnac.org to find the centre most convenient for you. Alternatively, the disability co-ordinator at your university will be able to give you details of the local centre.
What if my requirements change?
The support you receive from the DSA can be amended at any stage of your course as your needs change. In the first instance you should seek advice from your disability co-ordinator at university or the assessment centre which undertook your study needs assessment.
If they agree with your request they will contact us to recommend an amendment to your support. We will then contact you to confirm whether or not we can approve the recommendation.
How much help is available?
The amount and type of allowance you receive will depend on your individual needs. The following table details the maximum amount available to full time students in 2008/09
Maximums for full-time and part-time higher education students:.
Type of allowance |
Full-Time students |
Part-time studentsPeriod |
|---|---|---|
|
Specialist equipment |
£5,030 for entire course |
£5,030 for entire course |
|
Non-medical helper |
£20,000 a year |
£15,000 a year (depends on intensity of course) |
|
General Disabled Students Allowances |
£1,680 a year |
£1,260 a year (depends on intensity of course) |
If you are studying part-time the maximum amount of non-medical and general allowance are pro rata according to the period normally required to complete a full-time course leading to the same qualification.
The amount you will receive does not depend on your income or that of your family, it is based solely on your needs. More detailed information about each of these allowances can be found below.
How is it paid?
The Student Loan Company will pay this to you, or your supplier of the specialist equipment or services. Before we can make payments to a supplier you will have had to complete and return a DSA1 form to us. This gives us your permission to pay them direct.
Do I have to repay this allowance?
No, you will not have to repay this help. Although if we order your equipment before you start your course and subsequently you do not go to university you will have to repay the cost of the equipment.
Specialist equipment allowance
This allowance is for buying any equipment recommended at your study needs assessment. The equipment may be bought, hired, or rented depending on your needs and how long you have left to study.
The allowance can also be used towards insurance or warranty costs arising from the ownership of equipment paid for from DSAs.
This allowance must last for the duration of your course. You do not have to use it all at once, you can use it as your needs change. Once the allowance has been used you cannot claim any more, although the general allowance may be used to fund extra equipment costs.
If any equipment is recommended we will normally order it on your behalf from the recommended suppliers. You will be sent a DSA1 form to complete to enable us to do so. If you want to purchase your equipment from another supplier, please contact us with the details so we can advise you further.
If you wish to upgrade your equipment you may do so but you must pay any additional costs, this may include extra insurance costs.
Please note that we cannot be held responsible for any problems you encounter if your equipment is ordered from a supplier different from that recommended by the assessment centre, or if you upgrade your equipment
We can order equipment before the start of the course. However, if you then do not start the course, you will have to repay the cost of the equipment.
Non-medical helper's allowance
This allowance provides for helpers such as readers, note-takers or interpreters that you need in order to benefit fully from the course. The type of support you need from this allowance will be detailed in your needs assessment.
General allowance
You can use this allowance for costs arising from the ownership of equipment paid for from the DSA, such as insurance and ink cartridges. It can also be used for books and photocopying costs incurred as a result of your disability. Payments cannot be made for any items which all students on the course require. Again recommendations for support from the general allowance will be included in your needs assessment.
Travel allowance
The travel element of the DSA is to pay the additional costs of travel to and from the institution which are incurred because of a disability. For example, if you need to travel by taxi rather than by bus because of mobility or visual difficulties, then the DSA will cover the additional expenditure that represents. In this instance, the amount of travel allowance from the DSA would be any excess between public transport costs and taxi costs for the journey.