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Caryl, I was a little concerned as to the full extent of your request, ie that some institutions might construe the meaning and letters might possibly be sent to disabled applicants without any assessment of their needs or physical requirements. I therefore consulted a colleague at the Disability Rights Commission who sent me the following: "I'm not sure there is a stock answer to this, although the e-mail suggesting advice had been sought from the legal officer and that ownership of the decision was at a senior level seems eminently sensible. In terms of the law, it is of course the 'responsible body' which would end up in Court, so perhaps a process which sought their counsel/sign off would be sensible, but I suppose that depends on how much authority they delegate to their managers? In terms of process, would there have been a discussion with the student or prospective student (including any advocates) and the seeking of advice etc leading up to such a decision. And would a 'right of appeal' be offered to the student - all important both in demonstrating that reasonable steps have been taken (even if ultimately a particular adjustment cannot be made) and also in resolving issues outside the Courts. The issue of how a decision has been arrived at is as much a factor in determining reasonableness as the final decision itself, as it is this which determines in many ways the credibility of the decision, and so whether reasonable steps have been taken. So to summarise that ramble (!) the key issues are the decision making process and ownership!" I also asked in a subsequent message what would the situation be if rejection letters were sent out without assessing the student and the possible reasonable adjustments. The reply was: "Indeed! Without an assessment they could be accused of applying a blanket policy and this would almost definitely put them in dangerous territory re the DDA, other than when they are applying common objective criteria to refuse admission (e.g. the requirement to hold particular levels of qualifications, other credible academic standards)" Hope this clarifies the situation. Regards, John. -----Original Message----- Just a quick enquiry regarding a subject which has just emerged on the dis-forum mailingllist relating to admissions. The original message and one reply are below. Would be interested in your views. Cheers, John. John Gregory Access Officer -----Original Message----- From: Sue Green [mailto:[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> ] <mailto:[mailto:[log in to unmask]] <mailto:[mailto:[log in to unmask]]> > Sent: 07 May 2004 15:28 To: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> > Subject: Re: Admissions We have, unfortunately... Various people involved in the decision including our Legal Office. Final arbiter was the Academic Registrar. Letter explaining decision signed by Admissions Office manager. Sue -----Original Message----- From: Caryl Davies [mailto:[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> ] <mailto:[mailto:[log in to unmask]] <mailto:[mailto:[log in to unmask]]> > Sent: 07 May 2004 15:05 To: [log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> > Subject: Admissions Hi Everyone I'd be grateful for any information anyone can share with regard to notifying applicants that reasonable adjustments cannot be made. Have any of you had to do this? Who makes the decision and signs the letter. I should say that we don't actually have anyone that is in this position (yet!) but we seem to have a gap in our process which I'm trying to close. Thanks Caryl Davies This e-mail is confidential and may contain legally privileged information. You should not disclose its contents to any other person. If you are not the intended recipient, please notify the sender immediately. Whilst the Council has taken every reasonable precaution to minimise the risk of computer software viruses, it cannot accept liability for any damage which you may sustain as a result of such viruses. You should carry out your own virus checks before opening the e-mail (and/or any attachments). Unless expressly stated otherwise, the contents of this e-mail represent only the views of the sender and do not impose any legal obligation upon the Council or commit the Council to any course of action. ________________________________________________________________________ This e-mail has been scanned for all viruses by Star Internet. The service is powered by MessageLabs. For more information on a proactive anti-virus service working around the clock, around the globe, visit: http://www.star.net.uk ________________________________________________________________________