Dear all
There seem to be less students applying for DSA this year. The NNAC
Assessment Centres in the south, who do a lot of external assessments,
have noticed that there are less students calling for assessments this
year. I've also spoken to a few LEA awards officers who have also seem
to think that numbers of students applying for DSA are down. Either
there are less students with disabilities coming into HE this year, or
something is causing students to hold back applying for DSA. Many LEAs
are now requiring full time students to fill in some sections of the DSA
1 form (normally used for PG or PT students) and return it. It seems
that not all students are doing so happily. Perhaps with all the other
forms they have to complete the DSA 1 is a step too far for many,
obviously with the inevitable consequence that they don't get DSA
support they need or it is delayed. Might be worth being aware that
some students may need some encouragement, assistance with the
increasing amount of red tape associated with applying for support.
Bryan Jones,
Manager, Disability Support Services
& North London Regional Access Centre,
Middlesex University
Tel: 020 8411 5366
|