Dear colleague

 

Further to my email below which I sent yesterday I’d just like to clarify that ideally the equality and diversity manager or disability service manager should take the lead on completing any questionnaires. We would very much welcome a good response rate to the questionnaire and hope that you can contribute to your institution supporting this project.

 

Kind regards

 

Stuart Moore

Policy Adviser (Disability)

Equality Challenge Unit

 

From: Stuart Moore
Sent: 26 August 2009 16:28
To: 'Discussion list for disabled students and their support staff.'; '[log in to unmask]'
Subject: Managing funding for anticipated and reasonable adjustments for disabled students and staff in higher education

 

 

 

 

 

Managing funding for anticipated and reasonable adjustments for disabled students and staff in higher education

 

Equality Challenge Unit (ECU) has commissioned Impact Associates to undertake a project which aims to support a more proactive and anticipatory approach to funding support for disabled students and staff in higher education.

 

The Disability Equality Duty requires institutions to anticipate and make reasonable adjustments for disabled people. Through consultation with the sector the project will identify current practice in determining, funding and implementing anticipatory and reasonable adjustments.  The project is funded through HEFCE’s disabled student strategy with the primary focus on funding adjustments for disabled students in Higher Education in England.  It will also identify innovative and good practice for funding staff adjustments as well as areas for future work. 

 

The attached questionnaire is the first stage of the study and has been emailed to you as the named equality and diversity contact on ECU’s mailing list. We would be very grateful if you could provide a response.  We anticipate that the questions can be answered by the equality and diversity manager and the disability service manager. However it may also be appropriate to consult with other key staff in your HEI when considering your responses, i.e. occupational health staff, human resources staff, Additional Learning Fund manager and finance managers. Please return your responses to [log in to unmask] by 11th September.

 

The second stage of the project to be undertaken in September will involve identifying ten HEIs to explore in more detail their practice and models with potential for transferability. It is intended to follow up examples that adopt anticipatory approaches to disabled students and staff which diminish the need for, and the costs of, individual reasonable adjustments. 

 

This study will result in a report and briefing which will identify proactive steps institutions can take to develop inclusive management and funding mechanisms for adjustments in HE. The project findings will be disseminated at an appropriate event for the sector.

 

An advisory group has been established to support the project with representation from: Association of Managers in Student Services, British Universities of Finance Directors Group, Association of University Administrators, Association of Heads of University Administration, National Association of Disability Practitioners, University and College Union, National Association of Student Money Advisers, University College Employers Association, Unison, National Union of Students, SKILL and Access to Work.

 

We look forward to receiving your responses and thank you in advance for your contribution to this valuable project.

 

Kind Regards

 

IMPACT Associates and Equality Challenge Unit