Supporting Disabled PG Students

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Supporting Disabled PG Students

• Elaine Shillcock and Bryan Coleman
• Disability Support Office

2
Framework

• Legal
• SENDA - Special Educational Needs Disability
  Act 2001
• DDA Disability Discrimination Act 1995, 2004,
  2005
• DES University of Manchester Disability
  Equality Scheme

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What is a disability?

• Legal definition (DDA) a disability is
  something that has a long-term, adverse effect
  upon a persons ability to carry out normal
  day-to-day activities
• Long-term 12 months
• Adverse more than minor or trivial_

• It includes
• Dyslexia and other SpLD
• Visual impairments
• Deafness
• Mental Health Issues, inc depression anxiety
• Long-term medical conditions
• Other disabilities

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Which Students?

• All students and applicants
• Home /International
• Short / Longer courses

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What is unlawful?

• It is unlawful for an education provider to
  discriminate against a disabled person in
  relation to the provision of education and
  related services it is also unlawful for an
  education provider to harass a disabled person
•  Can treat disabled people more favourably than
  those who are not disabled, although there may be
  other legal obligations that affect this.

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Discrimination

• Four kinds of discrimination
• Direct discrimination.
• Failure to make reasonable adjustments.
• Disability-related discrimination.
• Victimisation.

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Direct Discrimination

• One of the ways in which an education provider
  discriminates against a disabled person is where
  the education provider treats the disabled person
  less favourably, on the grounds of his
  disability.
• NO JUSTIFICATION IT IS UNLAWFUL
• Burden of proof rests on the University to prove
  that discrimination hasnt occurred.

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Failure to make reasonable adjustments

• Applies to 
• a provision, criterion or practice, other than a
  competence standard, applied by or on behalf of
  the education provider or
• any physical feature of premises occupied by the
  education provider,
• places disabled persons at a substantial
  disadvantage compared with people who are not
  disabled. There is no defence in law to a failure
  to make a reasonable adjustment.

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Disclosure

• A student at a large university tells a
  university librarian that she has a disability.
  The universitys teaching and learning
  arrangements put the student at a substantial
  disadvantage because of the effects of her
  disability and the student claims that a
  reasonable adjustment should have been made. It
  would not be a defence for the higher education
  institution to claim that it did not know of her
  disability. This is because the librarians
  knowledge means that the education providers
  duty under the Act applies.

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Confidentiality

• A disabled person has a right to request that the
  existence or nature of his or her disability be
  treated as confidential. In determining whether
  it is reasonable to make an adjustment the
  responsible body must have regard to the extent
  that making the adjustment is consistent with a
  disabled persons request for confidentiality.
•  In some instances this might mean that
  reasonable adjustments have to be provided in an
  alternative way in order to ensure
  confidentiality.

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Statistics

• 3342 Disabled Students in University
• 869 postgraduate students

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Roles

• DSO

• Schools / Faculties

• Provide advice and guidance
• Assess student needs
• Advise support staff working with disabled
  students / applicants
• Circulate information
• Manage central funds
• Ensure operating within legislation

• Admit students
• Support ALL disabled students
• Ensure info is fully circulated within school
• Ensure staff aware of and providing adjustments
  required
• Manage local funds
• Ensure operating within legislation

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Contributions

• A disabled person is not required to contribute
  to the cost of a reasonable adjustment, therefore
  an education provider should not charge a student
  for any reasonable adjustments. To do so is
  likely to amount to discrimination.

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University Funds this year

• 25,000 for international students
• 15,000 for home students plus 12 of Access to
  Learning Funds also used to cover costs of
  educational psychologists assessments
• HEFCE Premium funds mainly cover some DSO
  salaries
• (Less DSA for PG students compared to UG students)

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Allocation of funds university and DSA

• DSO assess student support costs
• DSO identify what we can provide
• IT equipment
• Ask school to contribute what they can provide
• Equipment / Personal assistance
• University funds used to top-up expensive
  students and meet short-term urgent costs

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Legal decisions - 1

• Information about a dyslexic student not passed
  on to academic members of staff
• A visually impaired student did not receive
  handouts in advance of lectures
• Student with mental health issues refused
  on-campus accommodation by university

• University agrees to 5-year voluntary binding
  agreement with DRC (CEHR)
• University agrees to 5-year voluntary binding
  agreement with DRC (CEHR)
• 9500 savings on reduced rate of accommodation
  plus 2500 injury to feelings

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Case Studies

• See handout split into small groups
• Do you think the student had a valid claim?
• Explain your answer
• If you thought it was valid, what would you have
  awarded to the student if you were overseeing
  this case? (ie in terms of compensation and other
  recommendations)

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Legal Decisions - 2

• Adjustments not made for a student diagnosed with
  dyslexia during a degree course.
• Additional support not provided by a University
  for a student with chronic fatigue syndrome.
• Visually impaired student not provided with
  course materials in his required format for the
  duration of his degree course.
• University failed to provide reasonable
  adjustments for a deaf student.
• University student had difficulty accessing the
  campus due to misuse of accessible parking bays,
  faulty automatic doors in buildings and the
  layout of furniture in classrooms.

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Contact Details

• DSO
• 2nd Floor
• University Place
• Email dso_at_manchester.ac.uk
• www.manchester.ac.uk/disability