I think that what both Joel and Bernard write is very pertinent and I take on
board what Fay has said about the increasing number of recommendations for
support and the difficulty of making provision. In contrast another university
has often asked for an increase in tuiotion to 2 or even 3 hours support a week
and for continuation of this support through the holiday periods.

Joel's points 2 to 4 are in my opinion very sensible and represent best
practice. The only comment I would make on point 1 is that if the LEA agrees to
fund 1 hour per week the student is entiotled to 1 hour per week. The university
is not obliged to do more than help the student locate a tutor, they could
seek support frpom other suitably qualified sources (although in areas of high
demand this is often not possible).

As to the increase: During assessments I have noticed an increased
willingness on the part of students to agree to the provision of this type of support. 3
or 4 years ago it was common for students to decline this support and just
accept the technology.

I'm with Bernard when he says "I am constantly struck by how much virtually
all the
students I see would benefit from individual attention to their work and
their ways of working, far more (I suspect) than from the technology"

Sometimes students tell me that one teacher or 'special needs person' had
really helped them to develop strategies to help them cope. They rarely tell me
that technology turned round their lives.

Mick Trott

 [log in to unmask] writes:

<<  The volume of applications for support has now
 reached a point where we have to use available resources (mainly tutors
 with dyslexia background) as efficiently and imaginatively as possible,
 e.g:

 1. Sessions every other week or two students to one tutor
 2. "Study Skills" groups when several students have been referred from
 one course
 3. "Curriculum Support" - essentially a drop-in facility plus guidance
 to course tutors on inclusive teaching strategies
 4. Staff development to improve delivery for dyslexic learners on
 courses, who may then not require additional support
  >>

Bernard writes:
At the same time, I am constantly struck by how much virtually all the
students I see would benefit from individual attention to their work and
their ways of working, far more (I suspect) than from the technology (or
the technology without human support) that tends to be our focus.  In
this regard, I am not surprised that the number of recommendations is
increasing.  Some students need a great deal of help and advice with
virtually every area of their work: with it, they succeed; without it,
they fail.  Who is to provide it in a modern university where the
function of the individual tutor has changed so dramatically in the past
decade or so?