New students with disabilities

The University of Brighton is committed to providing an inclusive and supportive learning environment for our students. We have a dedicated Disability and Learning Support team that can support you throughout your studies.

The Equality Act (2010) defines disability as any condition that has a substantial and long-term adverse effect on someone’s ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. This may include students with a:

  • specific learning difficulty such as dyslexia, dyspraxia or dyscalculia
  • mental health condition
  • sensory Impairment
  • mobility impairment
  • long term health condition
  • other unseen condition.

You may have applied to university already knowing about a disability, or you might discover that you have a disability, or develop a disability during your time with us. Whenever you become aware of your disability, it is important that you let the university know in order that we can put support in place and enable you to reach your full potential.

Checklist

1. Obtain disability evidence

In order to access support at university, you will need to provide third party evidence of your disability. This needs to show that your condition sits within the Equality Act (2010) definition of disability.

  • If you have a specific learning difficulty (such as dyslexia) – we would need to see a report carried out by a specialist teacher or educational psychologist. If you are not sure if your report meets these requirements or if you do not have a report – we can fund an up-to-date assessment for you.

If you have any other condition you will need a letter from your GP or other medical professional (consultant, psychiatric nurse etc) that names your condition, states that it has a significant impact on your study, and that it has lasted or is expected to last 12 months or more. You may already hold this evidence through existing correspondence, or you could ask your doctor to complete the SFE medical evidence form. This will ensure that your evidence meets the criteria above, regardless of whether you choose to apply for DSA support.

If you are not sure whether your evidence is sufficient or if you don't have any, we can help you - get in touch with us.

2. Request a learning support plan

Support is available for all disabled students at the university through a Learning Support Plan (LSP), which ensures that your lecturers are aware of your support needs.

The LSP will include reasonable adjustments to the way in which your course is taught and assessed to ensure that you can achieve your full potential. The types of adaptations it can suggest include (but are not limited to):

  • extra time in examinations
  • adjusted coursework deadlines of 10 working days
  • alternative or adjusted modes of assessment
  • timetable modifications to ensure rooms are fully accessible
  • adaptations to equipment
  • permission to use a voice recorder/audio note-taking device in lectures.

The exact recommendations in your LSP will depend both on your disability and your course requirements.

To request a Learning Support Plan, please log in to Student View and click 'Request Learning Support' upload your disability evidence. We will then contact you to arrange support.

If you have any other questions about setting up your disability support, what our team can offer, or want support in obtaining disability evidence, please get in touch with us.

Request learning support through Student View

3. Apply for Disabled Students' Allowance

Overview

The DSA can fund 1:1 non-medical help support such as study skills tuition, specialist mentoring or British Sign Language interpreting.

Depending on your condition(s) the DSA may also pay for some specialist IT equipment, software and training.

Although students are expected to pay a £200 contribution towards the laptop/computer itself you may be able to apply for a reimbursement of these costs through the university (depending on your income).

Students who aren’t eligible for DSA will still be given relevant support by the university for example 1:1 study skills sessions or being able to borrow equipment such as a voice recorder.

Provide evidence

If you have applied for a Student Loan and declared a disability on your original application, you will also be invited to apply for Disabled Students Allowances through the online system at the same time.

You will be asked to fill in an online form confirming your course and disability details. You will then be asked to submit copies of your disability evidence.

Section 6 of this form will ask you whether you are happy to share your DSA information with the university. Please agree to this, as it will allow us to support you better.

If you have not applied for a student loan, didn’t previously declare a disability, or prefer an alternative application format, paper forms are available to download from the government's DSA website.

If you need assistance with your application, please get in touch with via disability@brighton.ac.uk.

Needs assessment

If you have been successful in the first stage of your application for DSA, you will receive a letter from Student Finance England or your equivalent funding body asking you to make an appointment for a needs assessment.

This is an informal appointment which can last up to 2 hours and will determine what funding-related items or support you will need for your course. The appointment is carried out at a recognised assessment centre.

You can attend a Needs Assessment Centre wherever is most convenient and there are centres based around the country. There are five Needs Assessment Centres in Sussex. Many centres offer the option to attend an appointment online.

Find your nearest assessment centre.

Setting up support

We suggest that you apply for your DSA funding as soon as possible as this can take up to 5 months.

Once your needs assessment has been completed, it can take four weeks or more to receive your funding (DSA2) letter. 

This outlines the items and/or support that has been agreed. The letter will include instructions on how you can order any equipment and access support.

if you have any questions about this process get in touch with us.

If your funding is through Student Finance England, you will be asked to pay the first £200 of your computer equipment, but the university's DSA Contribution Refund can assist students whose household income is £25,000pa or less.

If you have had any non-medical helper support agreed, 1:1 specialist mentoring or 1:1 study skills tuition, we can help to arrange this for you if the University of Brighton is your recommended provider.

International and EU students

International and EU students can access support through a Learning Support Plan but will not be able to apply for funded support through Disabled Students Allowances (DSA).

The university's Student Advice Service may be able to help you find additional funding to accommodate your disability-related needs. To help with this process, please investigate the following options:

  • If you have a sponsor, ask if they can contribute money to cover disability-related expenses. Some scholarships offer funding to cover such costs.
  • You may be eligible for a grant from your own government, so contact your education department to ask what support they can provide. We know that the Ireland, Jersey and Guernsey, Sweden, Netherlands, and Thailand governments provide support, though others may also do this.
  • Finally, you may be eligible for support from non-governmental organisations in your home country.

If you are not eligible for funded support in this way, then the Disability and Learning Support team may be able to provide alternative support such as the use of loan voice recorders, computer equipment, specialist software and, in some cases, 1:1 support from Specialist Mentors or Study Support Tutors.

Please contact us to arrange a learning support appointment where we can discuss this. Contact details can be found below.

I've found a world of assistance that I didn't know was there for me, which has greatly encouraged me in my decision to study at Brighton. I had no idea that I could get so much help, or that I would not be left to fend for myself.

Matthew Tinsley, Information Studies MA

Get in touch