I see HEFCE are
considering included students in receipt of the Disabled Students Allowance
in the list of exemptions for the ELQ policy. See 9b?
Has anyone worked
out how this wouldl operate in practice, eg do we need to ask applicants
for potential ELQs, if they have also applied for the DSA and if so, then tell
them their fee rate is dependent on whether they are given DSA?
At enrolment, our
forms will have a section saying if the student is in receipt of
DSA they tick a box (we need this for funding monitoring too). If the
student has a combination of an equivalent or prior qualification (assuming they
have declared it) and the DSA, they don't have to produce proof of their
prior qualification at enrolment (eg a degree certificate) but we
will need them to show evidence they are in receipt of the DSA before we
give them the reduced fee presumably?
We get electronic
data about SLC but do we get electronic confirmation for DSA does anyone
know? It's locally authority assessed, but do they notify
SLC?
If a student has yet
to receive confirmation of their assessment, we presumably charge them the
higher fee until they receive their assessment?
I suppose we should
be grateful for any small mercies/exemptions, but it seems to raise yet a few
more administrative problems and uncertainties in my mind.
What do
others, particularly those running enrolment/fees, think about the
practicalities of this alongside all the other issues relating to
ELQ?
Mike Milne-Picken
University Centre Registrar
Bradford College
Tel 01274 433008
