Students on our Higher Education Courses who require additional support need to apply for a Disabled Students’ Allowance.
The Disabled Students' Allowance (DSA) are grants that help to pay for extra equipment and support that you may need as a direct result of your disability, on-going health condition, sensory impairment, mental-health condition or specific learning difficulty.
The Disabled Students' Allowance can help with the cost of having a non-medical helper, specialist equipment, and the cost of extra travel and other items for your course, such as extra books and photocopying.
Eligibility
To show that you qualify for Disabled Students' Allowance you will need to provide evidence that you have a disability, mental-health condition, medical condition, or a specific learning difficulty, such as dyslexia, which affects your ability to study.
You may need to pay for any tests or letters to prove that you qualify. If you cannot afford this you may be able to get financial help through the College. You should speak to the Student Services about this.
You should apply for the DSA as soon as possible. You do not have to wait until you have a confirmed place at College, although you can apply at any stage of your course.
If you have completed an online application form for Student Finance and indicated that you want to apply for DSAs, Student Finance England will send you a DSA application form with your details already filled in for you to sign and return with evidence.
You will need to wait for an approval letter from your DSA Funding Provider before you arrange a DSA Needs Assessment. They will look at your application and let you know whether you qualify for Disabled Students' Allowances.
After you receive the approval letter, you can go ahead and arrange your Needs Assessment at a location that suits you; some Needs Assessment Centre’s may even be able to undertake Home Visits. You should attempt to do this as soon as possible after receiving DSA approval.
You can choose any DSA Needs Assessment Centre that best suits your location from the DSA Needs Assessment Centre Directory.
You must reapply for DSA for every academic year of study at whichever institution you choose.
More information on this can be found at:
The Direct Gov website
The Student Room website