>Quoting Ian Webb:
>
>an assessor has to be very clear that access to the internet is an
>essential part of the course and that it is for this reason only that costs are
>to be met through the DSA.
If internet access is an essential part of the course then it's not fundable from the DSA. This is the situation with a lot of OU students.
In order for the DSA to pay for it, the assessor must be satisfied that it is an additional cost related to a disability need. E.g. for a dyslexic student to be able to access research materials using their assistive software.
Of course, if a student says they don't already have internet access, you have to take their word for it.
>I am also aware that costs have fallen dramatically over the last decade and
>with costs being as low as £8.50 per month allowing costs of £200 seems a
>little excessive. Costs when this high usually include TV access and telephone
>calls, not sure that the DSA should be used this way.
Costs have fallen, but the method of billing can cause difficulty, especially as most providers insist on credit or debit card payment, which the majority of students tell us they don't have. This severely restricts the range of services that students can access. This is why we base our maximum costs on what BT charges, as it's possible to have this added to the monthly bill.
Also, as implied above, using an ISP relies on the student having access to a landline. I know of a couple of students who attempted to keep costs to a minimum by subscribing to the 'combined services' that Ian mentions, thinking they would get a monthly contribution towards the total cost. However, their LAs refused to contribute anything as internet access was shown on the invoice as 'free'.
While I agree with Ian that we should be careful that the DSA doesn't end up paying for TV access and telephone calls, it needs commonsense approach from the funding bodies.
Paul Dilley
Dis-forum list owner
CLASS Manager
www.class.org.uk
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