New home postgraduate disabled student journey

Course application

With a few exceptions, course applications for postgraduate taught and postgraduate research courses can be submitted year-round, but it is recommended applicants apply as early as possible.

The application form gives the applicant the opportunity to disclose a disability or health condition. This information is made available to the University, but is not made available to staff who are assessing the application and does not form any part of the academic decision on the application.

An offer (conditional/unconditional) is made. This may be following an interview with the department, which for all applicants will depend solely upon the programme and department.

Offer letters are issued as soon as possible after submission of an application and information on Disability Services is provided as part of University of York Student Life and Wellbeing services in the offer letter.

January

• Accommodation Services open for bookings for new postgraduate students who have accepted an offer of a place. The majority of postgraduate accommodation is in Wentworth, a postgraduate-only college. Applicants are encouraged to accept their offer and apply for accommodation early. Applicants apply for accommodation via the normal route and complete the additional requirements section.

April

• Students can apply for Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) once they have applied for a place and when DSA applications open. Most postgraduate students will apply to their appropriate central funding body (eg Student Finance England). There is no requirement for a prior disclosure to the University for DSA. Students can give their permission for a copy of their DSA report to be sent to the University and the Study Needs Assessor.
• Postgraduate research students in receipt of a Research Council funded studentship should contact Disability Services about their DSA application or, should they prefer not to disclose their disability to the University, can instead contact their Research Council directly for further advice.
• Any students identified as having complex needs are first invited to a Zoom meeting to discuss their requirements and then if needed are invited to a site visit, when other teams are involved, for example Disability Services, Estates and Campus Services and Health and Safety.

May/June/July

• Students on professional programmes can contact Occupational Health for support and advice.

June

• Successful accommodation applicants will start to receive room offers for accommodation from late June.

August

• From mid-August onwards, Disability Services will write to offer holders and encourage them to complete an online registration form and to upload suitable evidence. The registration form will be reviewed by a Practitioner, and they will contact the student if they need further information.

September

• Based on the evidence and information provided by the student, a Student Support Plan (SSP) is compiled and this will be shared with the Department and the Exams Office, so reasonable adjustments can be made.
• Students will receive a copy of their SSP for their records and informed that the academic adjustments can be reviewed if their circumstances change.
• If full consent has not been provided by the student, it is likely that they will need to meet with a practitioner to discuss their consent and support needs further.
• A practitioner will arrange to meet with any student who is studying for a PhD as the support required is often very different to an UG or PGT programme.
• From 2021 onwards home students can be eligible to apply for a UKRI studentship and if granted, will be eligible for UKRI Disabled Students’ Allowances. Students are advised to discuss this with a practitioner as the DSA process for research students is managed by the University.
• A practitioner will determine reasonable adjustments for a student’s course and explore what other support options may be available. For example, the student might benefit from having a support worker in their lectures, help meeting deadlines, or examination adjustments. If required, a referral might need to be shared with a non-medical help provider in order for human support to be arranged.
• Freshers week is a welcome to York where the Graduate Students' Association (GSA), the York Graduate Research School, plus our colleges and International Student Support team all organise events to help you get involved and build social connections. You will also receive information about professional services, for example, the Student Hub, Disability Services, Library Services. See more information about Freshers Week

Other information

Disability Services

• A student can contact Disability Services at any time.

PEEPS (Personal Emergency Evacuation Procedure)

• For campus accommodation, these are arranged through their College and Health and Safety.
• In the academic department, these are prepared by the Departmental Safety Adviser.

Student Support Plan (SSP)

• The SSP can be reviewed and updated by Disability Services as required to reflect a student's changing presentation or needs as they progress through their course. Any updated SSP’s would be shared with the department and relevant services on campus.

Support

• Ongoing support from department, named contact in Disability Services, external providers of support if used, Student Hub and GSA.

Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs)

• GTAs support student learning at the University of York. GTAs can either be engaged on a casual basis or on a contract of employment (usually on a fixed term basis). See the University Policy on Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) and the GTAs webpage
• If disabled GTAs require reasonable adjustments they should discuss these with their module leader.