Funding for your support

DSA is a non-means tested and non-repayable source of funding intended to help meet the extra disability-related costs incurred whilst studying at university. 

The Disability Advisory Service can assist you with your application and you can apply for DSA anytime during your course.  However, the earlier you apply the more likely you are to benefit from the support available.

Most funding bodies (e.g. Student Finance England, N.Ireland Educational & Library Boards, Student Finance Wales, the Student awards agency for Scotland (SAAS), and Research Councils UK) will require you to arrange a study needs assessment before they will make an award. 

Eligibility

You need to demonstrate to your funding body that you:

• Have a conditional offer from, or are attending University;
• Have proved yourself to be disabled using appropriate evidence (for example, a medical letter or chartered psychologist's report for dyslexic/dyspraxic students);
• Meet the residence requirement, which means that you must have been living in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for the three years immediately before the start of your course.

What is covered

• Specialist Equipment Allowance: to purchase specialist equipment to assist you in your studies (not for general daily living or medical needs), e.g. a computer, word processor, scanner, audio recorder, screen reader, CCTV, Braille embosser, and other specialist software.
• Non-Medical Helpers Allowance: to fund people to work with you, including specialist SpLD study skills tuition, mentoring, a note-taker, personal reader, sign language interpreter, communicator or someone to assist you in the library.   See our section on 'support for study' for more inforamation about specialist support workers.
  
• General Allowance: for other disability-related costs, including computer consumables, training on software, additional photocopying expenses, books and other small items.  It can also be used to 'top up' the other two allowances.
• Travel costs: the DSA may be able to contribute towards additional study-related travel costs incurred.

More details and current DSA rates can be found on the Gov.UK website.

Applying for DSA

Once you have an offer of a place to study you can apply for DSA immediately through your funding body, e.g. Student Finance England, N.Ireland Educational & Library Boards, Student Finance Wales, the Student awards agency for Scotland (SAAS).  The Disability Advisory Service can assist you with completing your application.

In order for the Disability Advisory Service to be able to help track your DSA application and implement any required support, it is important that you tick the relevant 'consent to share' box indicating that you are happy for the funding body to liaise with the university. 

Continuing students don’t need to reapply for DSA each year after the initial application.  When completing their online student finance application for maintenance and tuition fee loans they should indicate that they want their DSA support to continue.  This excludes part-time and post-graduate students, or students who are only applying for DSA and do not want/are not eligible for maintenance and tuition fee loans.  They will need to reapply each year using the full version of the DSA application form.

On receipt of your application most funding bodies will require you to have a study needs assessment before they will make an award. 

It can take several months to process each application so it is best to begin the process as early as possible.

Students in receipt of funding from the following research councils may be eligible for the Research Councils UK's (RCUK) Disabled Students' Allowances (DSA):

• Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC)
• Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
• Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPRS)
• Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
• Medical Research Council (MRC)
• Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)
• Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC)

You will need to contact the Disability Advisory Service in the first instance in order to establish your eligibility and arrange a study needs assessment.  Your Disability Adviser will then ask the research council to approve funding and will facilitate the implementation of any recommended study aids and strategies.

Non-UK students are not eligible for DSA.  However, the University has a policy of funding disability-related study support for non-UK students on the basis of a 25% college / 75% department breakdown of contribution, up to a level of £10,000 per student towards study support costs. 

This breakdown is used where there is no funding available from the student's own country, funding body, sponsor, research council or other source.  Clarendon scholars and other recipients of awards with a disability study support component would also not be eligible.

In order to assess the study support requirements of non-UK students, a formal study needs assessment will be undertaken which mirrors the experience of UK students.  The resulting assessment report will guide the University in making reasonable adjustments and facilitating any support required.  

The University has a central fund to assist students with dyslexia, dyspraxia and other SpLDs to meet the additional costs incurred because of their disability. The SpLD Fund can pay for:

• An assessment with an educational psychologist or specialist teacher with a valid practising certificate;
• Two sessions with a specialist SpLD study skills tutor pending an application for funding for ongoing support (you must have a formal SpLD diagnosis before we can provide this).

The SpLD Fund will not normally consider retrospective claims and will not pay for computer equipment or software (although the Disabled Students' Allowance may be able to help with this). The SpLD fund will not normally consider applications to support the cost of diagnostic assessments in excess of £400; we would usually anticipate overall costs to be less than this. 

Eligibility

To be eligible for a SpLD fund award your must be matriculated (i.e. enrolled) at the University of Oxford and need to speak to a Disability Adviser who will be able to establish whether further assessment is necessary or appropriate. 

Prospective students who have an offer from the University should arrange an assessment before they arrive at Oxford but will need to fund the cost of the assessment themselves.  However, after matriculation (i.e. enrolment) you will be able to seek reimbursement via the SpLD Fund. Your assessment must meet Oxford’s Guidance on SpLD Diagnostic Assessments and details of appropriately qualified assessors are available from the PATOSS website.  Contact the Disability Advisory Service if you have any questions before arranging an assessment.

Applying

Complete the SpLD fund application form stating whether you are applying for an educational psychology assessment and/or specialist study skills tuition, and return the completed form to the Disability Advisory Service.