Student Services offer specialist advice, assessment and resources for students with learning difficulties and / or disabilities. We aim to improve access to curriculum areas, to study skills support and to college services. Lincoln College provides a full range of professional services aimed at meeting the needs of all students throughout their time at the College.

Advice and help is readily available on grants, loans and other financial matters. A confidential counselling service is run by the college to ensure that students can have help with personal matters which may be affecting their studies.

Lincoln College values equality of opportunity and support students regardless of race, gender, religion, learning difficulty, disability, marital status, or age.

Our Student Services staff work closely with local Assessment Centres to ensure that appropriate support is put in place for disabled students.

• We provide information and support for students with disabilities about what help is available.
• Our staff will ensure that disabled students receive the financial support they need to set up support including advice on applications for Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSA).
• Our local Assessment Centre (at the University of Lincoln) will carry out an assessment of need which may include an assessment by an Educational Psychologist.
• Students then arrange a package of support according to their disability and we can refer to local agencies who supply support staff.
• We can assist with the organisation of special examination requirements in liaison with teaching staff and the University
• We can advise about local suppliers of adaptive technology and IT and let you try out specialist equipment.

If your needs change, you will need to refer back to Student Finance England but we can offer advice on this. We can also make referrals and suggest local organisations and agencies who may be able to help you.
Academic tutors will be monitoring your performance and if there are any issues with your support or your needs change, just let us know and we can help. If there are problems with attendance or meeting deadlines, we can offer a range of services including access to professional counsellors and student support staff who can advise about help you may be able to get.
We welcome your feedback and your views about how our services meet your needs. You can talk to the college via your student rep, your course tutor or by filling in the Student Survey. You can email us directly on studentservices@lincolncollege.ac.uk or text us on 07870 755 571. We have a Disability Equality Scheme (DES) and welcome the views of disabled students, disabled staff and local and national organistaions of disabled people who form our DES Task Group and devise our DES Action Plan.

The Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs)

If you have a disability, medical condition, experience mental health difficulties or specific learning difference, such as dyslexia, you could be eligible to claim for the Disabled Students’ Allowances. The Disabled Students’ Allowances offer financial assistance for the additional cost you may incur whilst attending your course as a direct result of your disability.

How do I apply for the DSAs?

You will need to complete a registration form known as a DSASL. This form can be obtained from Student Finance England or you can contact their Customer Support Office on 0845 607 7577 or by textphone on 0845 604 4434

When completing the Application for Student Finance make sure that you tick the check box on page two saying that you want to apply for Disabled Students’ Allowance and that you want to be sent an application form. It is very important that you complete this section, as this will trigger Student Finance to send you further information and an application form for the DSAs.

What will happen next?

Student Finance England will ask you to complete a form specifically regarding the Disabled Students’ Allowances this form is called a DSA application for form. You will be asked you to submit supporting documentary evidence that you have a disability or medical condition or specific learning difficulty or mental health condition.

Examples of supporting documentary evidence would be:

• A Doctor or Consultant’s letter;
• An Educational Psychologist’s report.

Important Information for Students who have a Specific Learning Difficulty e.g. Dyslexia

If you do not currently have an Educational Psychologist’s report confirming your specific learning difference, or you were under the age of 16 at the time of your last assessment report, then you are strongly advised to obtain an updated report from your school or college. The reason for this is that Student Finance England will require this as evidence that a condition exists and to assess your eligibility for claiming the DSAs.

It is your responsibility to provide this evidence, without it Student Finance England will not be able to accept your application.

If for any reason you are unable to obtain this evidence then you have the following options:

• Pay for a private assessment, which can cost anything between £300 – £600;
• If you are unable to afford the fees charged then you can apply to your College’s Access to Learning Fund to help meet the costs of the private assessment. Your Student Support office should be able to assist you with this;
• Finally, wait until you have enrolled at University and then contact the Disability Service in order to apply for assistance from the University’s Access to Learning Fund. This option should really be your last resort as this option will ultimately prolong any support that you may be eligible to claim and it is not guaranteed that you will be awarded the funds to pay for an Educational Psychologist’s assessment.

Once you have completed and returned your application to Student Finace England with supporting documentary evidence and you meet the criteria for DSA, you will then be asked by Student Finance England to attend an Assessment Centre for a Needs Assessment.

What is an Assessment Centre?

There are approximately 34 Assessment Centres across the UK, The University of Lincoln operates one of them. The Assessment Centres provide assessments of a student’s educational support needs, and this information is used to for the basis of a student’s Disabled Students’ Allowance claim. You will often hear this process termed as a Needs Assessment.

After your Needs Assessment the Assessment Centre will present in a report to you and to the LEA their findings and recommendations. This report forms part of your DSA application and provides details of the type of support you require throughout your studies and the monies required to fund it. It is really your choice which Centre you use. If you would like to know where the nearest Assessment Centre is to you then you can contact your LEA.

Summary of key points:

• You need to complete a registration form from Student Finance England indicating on that form that you have a disability;
• You will then receive a DSA application form from them, you will need to complete this and return it to Student Finance England with supporting documentary evidence regarding your disability or condition;
• A Needs Assessment will have to be undertaken by an Assessment Centre;
• This will form the basis of your DSA claim.

This is a very brief description of the process, designed to give you a head start as it can take quite some time to complete. Timing is important, as the sooner you begin this process the better. You should aim to begin making your enquires in the month of March, this is the very earliest Student Finance England can process your application. Following, the completion of your forms you should begin to receive confirmation that they wish you to attend an Assessment Centre so that your individual needs can be assessed, (Needs Assessment) this is likely to happen in the months of May -June with a view to the Needs Assessment being undertaken from July onwards.

Source: University of Lincoln