HE Administrators equal opportunities list
<[log in to unmask]> writes:
>Colleagues,
>
>I'd be interested to know what your admissions depts do when recruiting
>disabled students. Here, if a student answers the question "have you
>got a disability", with a "yes",they are asked the "nature of their
>disability", which in my view is a silly question. Then, if they meet
>the criteria for a course, they, unlike their able bodied peers, are
>told that somebody will phone them to discuss their impairment, and
>whether they can have a place. Only when they have filled in an
>assessment sheet about their impairment, and spoken to a member of the
>disability support service will a decision be made about whether they
>can have a place at MU.
>I'm sure in the majority of cases a place is given, but am I alone in
>feeling uncomfortable about this process. Are they being treated less
>favourably? On what grounds would they be refused a place. It doesn't
>sit well with me when set against our staff recruitment processes.
>
>It reminds me of my own application to a certain university, where I
>wasn't given a place, despite good A level grades, until I had seen the
>university psychiatrist. This, I was told, was because a previous blind
>student had " dropped out and joined a drugs culture". Well, it's a well
>known fact that blind people are all the same!
>
>
>I'm not an expert on admissions, though I am an Equal Ops professional;
>I'd be interested in what other colleagues, and disabled members think
>about this. Is it a necessary safeguard in case a disabled student
>cannot be accommodated? Where does this leave SENCO?
>
>Responses eagerly awaited.
>
>Susanna.
Hi Susanna (no I don't really spend all day looking at my emails - I have
just got a difficult job on the go and need a break!).
Being a bit unfamiliar with our process (I started just as students were
disappearing from the Campus in June!) I looked on our web-site
(www.surrart.ac.uk) and found a flow chart for Disabled Students:
Application and Support Procedure. If you look at this you will see that
stage 7b of the flow chart says 'Support needs cannot be met, reasonable
adjustments not possible. SNC/SNA/LM informs Academic Registrar, who
informs student of decision.Then in caps: 'THIS IS A VERY RARE OCCURENCE'.
I guess you could say it's less fair than our staff admissions procedures
(as we would select on merit and only then look at reasonable
adjustments). I would like to find out a bit more from our learning
support staff and get back to you.
Penny
Penny Alder
Equality and Diversity Advisor
Personnel Dept
The Surrey Institute of Art and Design University College
Falkner Road
Farnham
Surrey
GU9 7DS
Tel: 01252 892997
Fax: 01252 892680
email: [log in to unmask]
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