Three students sat in the quad at St Antony's College, Oxford
Three students sat in the quad at St Antony's College, Oxford

What support is available?

There are a wide range of individual adjustments and study support available for disabled students, and the DAS will help you determine what support is appropriate for you at Oxford.

In order to determine what support might be appropriate for you at Oxford, the DAS will:

  • Discuss your experiences and expectations with you
  • Review your evidence of disability
  • Consider your current course of study

The support listed on this page is only a sample; there might be more options or other ways of working available. Not all support listed is always available to all students in a particular category. The DAS will work with you to consider your individual circumstances.

Support can be considered in these categories:

  • Teaching adjustments
  • Human support (also known as non-medical help)
  • Reasonable adjustments to the built environment
  • IT equipment and study technology
  • Travel between study sites
  • Examinations and assessments
  • Libraries

Support or funding is not provided for:

  • Daily living support (for UK students, the local authority service in your home remains responsible for social and personal care and non-study-related support)
  • Medical support

The collegiate University shares responsibility for meeting the needs of disabled students. This is set out in the Common Framework for Disabled Students.

The DAS will liaise with your college and department disability coordinators to implement your support. A Student Support Plan may be prepared. You can use this to share information about your disability as you choose.

Your Student Support Plan

Your disability advisor outlines recommendations for individual support in a Student Support Plan. The DAS will advise you on implementing certain support such as:

  • Getting in touch with tutors, mentors or other support workers
  • Arranging delivery of technology and training

We recommend you share your SSP with people who are supporting you. In addition, the DAS will send your SSP to:

  • Your college disability coordinator
  • Your departmental disability coordinator (the lead department if you are doing a joint course)
  • The Disability Librarian at the Bodleian Library (if you have library-related needs)

These people will share this information to core members of staff who need to know about your disability to support you.

We have produced two example Student Support Plans to show you what support may be available. The example SSPs are for a student with a mental health condition, and a student with a physical impairment or mobility issues. However, Each Student Support Plan is individual and based on discussions between the DAS and yourself, so we recommend you get in contact with us for an initial appointment. 

The SSP represents recommendations only. Final responsibility for decision making in respect of reasonable adjustments rests with the appropriate body legally responsible for meeting the requirements of the Equality Act 2010: colleges in matters relating to college provision and the University in matters relating to departments and faculties. The DAS recommendations are made to support colleges and the University as they consider their obligations to make reasonable adjustments. More information is available from https://academic.admin.ox.ac.uk/disability/student-support-plan.

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