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Apologies if I've said this before, but there is an issue worth noting for the above students. LEAs are generally a bit sceptical about students who apply for the DSA in their final year, wanting to know how they managed so far. For our part, we all know too well how this can happen but have come to accept that the package of measures we are likley to have accepted will be cut back a bit. Especially where the PC is concerned since it does not have to have 3 year credibility. Until now that is. Post grad students now have access to their own DSA but at a much reduced level. Part of the reason for this is that the student will probably have been well taken care of as an undergrad. OK, again we all know this may not be the case. But where it could all go wrong is with a third year first time applicant, intent on doing post-grad study but allocated a minimal IT spec. Upgrading basic systems is not cost-effective so when, and if, they enter post grad study they are likely to be stuck. On the other hand, simply saying "I plan to do a PhD" is too easy and is going to cause even greater cynicism in some quarters. The DfEE feel something stronger is called for and have expressed interest in the following strategy: The student should be able to bring to the DSA assessment a letter from an appropriate academic tutor, saying something like: "X has expressed interest in post-graduate study and his/her grades so far show this to be a realistic expectation" How much detail they supply is up to them, but the above contains the essentials. Of course this won't prevent a capable student, with no intention of staying on, from fiddling the system, but unless we start using lie- detectors (and ours is on the blink) I don't see what more we can do. Any views? For our part it has already become an issue and this is how we are dealing with it. Dave Laycock Head of CCPD Computer Centre for People with Disabilities University of Westminster 72 Great Portland Street London W1N 5AL tel. 020 7911-5161 fax. 020 7911-5162 WWW home page: http://www.wmin.ac.uk/ccpd/ %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%