Apologies for cross posting

 

Dear all

 

I would be grateful for thoughts on the following.

 

We currently have four disabled international students.

 

One is severely visually impaired, for whom we have arranged a needs assessment. Notetaking alone comes to over £8,000 for the year which will take up most of the budget that has been set aside for international disabled students.

 

He has also been recommended equipment which totals £3884.80 without training. Altogether, the recommended support is likely to be in excess of £15,000.

 

My question is first of all, how are other institutions funding international students with a disability and also with students that require a high level of support, what level of funding is considered reasonable for the University to provide? For instance, does anybody ask the student/family to contribute? Is it reasonable to ask the student to purchase the equipment themselves when it would be provided through SFE if they were from the UK? Do other institutions work within a policy or are decisions made on a case-by-case basis? What is reasonable in such cases?

 

I would be grateful for any responses -- many thanks.

 

Caroline Irwin
Disability Advisory Service, Carrington Building,  University of Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 6UA
0118 378 4249

 

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