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Disabled Students' Allowances (DSAs)
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The Disabled Students' Allowance is an allowance to help meet the extra cost of studying that a student may face as a direct result of a disability or specific learning difficulty. The allowance is designed to help disabled students study on an equal basis with other students.
The allowance provides help for full time, part time and postgraduate students, and is non income assessed. The allowances are paid on top of the standard student finance package and any support provided does not have to be repaid (unless the student subsequently does not attend higher education and did not inform the Local Authority before any payment was made).
Please click here for details of the standard finance package.
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The Disabled Students' Allowance covers:
- specialist equipment the student would need for studying - i.e. computer software
- a non medical helper - i.e. a note-taker or reader
- extra consumable costs - i.e. additional copy paper, tapes or Braille paper
- extra travel costs the student has to pay because of a disability.
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Application Process
To apply for additional assistance the student must complete a DSA1 Application Form and submit it, together with medical evidence from a GP or consultant, of the disability stating the nature of the condition and how it will affect the students studies. Please click here to go the Contact us page to find our address.
If the student has a Specific Learning difficulty such as Dyslexia a copy of an Educational Psychologists report undertaken after the age of 16 should be submitted together with the completed DSA1 form.
Please note: The Disabled Students' Allowance cannot meet the cost of obtaining the necessary evidence. If the student cannot afford to pay for the report, he/she can apply to their University/College for help through the Access to Learning Fund.
You can get hold of an application form in one of the following ways:
- Full Time Undergraduate Students
On completion of the PN1 or PR1 application form for student funding, tick the box on the main form to indicate that you wish to apply for DSA funding. You can either submit the medical evidence or Educational Psychologists report with this form and the DSA1 will be sent to you later to complete and return. Alternatively you can wait for the DSA1 form to be sent to you once you have submitted the student funding application and submit the completed form and evidence together.
- Part Time and Postgraduate students
If you are studying part time, or you are a postgraduate student, you must arrange for your university to sign the DSA1 form. Once this has been completed, you should submit the form to us (click here to go to the Contact us page for our address), together with the necessary medical evidence/Education Psychologists report.
Part Time Students - If you have already submitted a completed PTG1 Form for the Part Time grant assistance you do not need to arrange for your University/College to complete the DSA1 as they have already confirmed details of your course on the PTG1 Application Form
- All Students
You can download the DSA1 Form, DSA1 Notes and Bridging the Gap booklet from the Forms & Guides page of our website, or from the Student Finance Direct website.
- To order the application form and guidance booklet in alternative formats
All application forms and booklets are available in alternative formats, including large print, Braille and audio versions. You can order these from the Customer Support Office, Telephone number 08456 077 577
Once acceptable evidence of a disability has been received, and the student has been deemed eligible for assistance (please see below), the student will be sent a letter authorising attendance for a needs assessment. This assessment will make recommendations concerning the assistance the student may require whilst studying, taking into account the students disability and the nature of their course. The cost of this assessment is met by the Disabled Students' Allowance.
The completed report is then submitted to the Local Authority and the student will receive an authorisation letter detailing the support the Authority can assist with.
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Eligibility Criteria:
The student can apply if they are studying:
- a full time course that lasts at least one year (including distance-learning courses)
- a part time course that lasts one year and does not take more than twice as long to complete as an equivalent full time course (including Distance Learning)
- a recognised taught or research postgraduate course that lasts for at least one year and leads to a masters degree, doctorate, postgraduate diploma or certificate, for which the entry requirement is a first degree or equivalent (including distance learning). A part time postgraduate course should take no longer than twice the time of an equivalent full time course to complete.
All students must met the following criteria to be eligible for DSA funding. On the first day of the first academic year (i.e. 1st September if starting in the autumn term) the student must:
- have been habitual and normal residence in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man from choice and for a settled purpose throughout the three year period immediately before this date (other than mainly for the purpose of receiving education), apart from temporary or occasional absences.
- be ordinarily resident in England
- have 'settled status', which means that the student must be settled in the United Kingdom within the meaning of the Immigration Act of 1971
A student is not eligible for DSA assistance if they are in receipt of a NHS Bursary. If a student is in receipt of an NHS Bursary they should apply to the NHS Grants Unit, click here to take you to the NHS Grants Unit website.
A postgraduate student will not qualify for DSA assistance if they are in receipt of funding from:
- General Social Care Council
- the College or University (if the support is equivalent to the Disabled Students' Allowances)
Students who are attending the Open University should apply for assistance directly to the Finance Section of The OU. Please click here to take you directly to the Open University Disability website.
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Amount of Assistance Available
Full time Undergraduate Students
The maximum amounts available in 2008/2009 Academic year are:
- Specialist Equipment Allowance - £ 5,030 per course
- Non Medical Help Allowance - £20,000 per academic year
- General Allowance - £ 1,680 per academic year
- Travel Allowance - reasonable spending on extra travel costs because of a disability
Please note: The above amounts are the maximum amounts available, the amount of assistance a student receives is dependent on the recommendations of the needs assessment
Part Time Undergraduate Students
The maximum amounts available in the 2008/2009 academic year dependant on the percentage of a full time equivalent course studied
- Specialist Equipment Allowance - £ 5,030 per course
- Mon Medical Help Allowance - £ 15,000 per academic year
- General Allowance - £ 1,260 per academic year
- Travel Allowance - reasonable spending on extra travel costs because of a disability
Please note: The above amounts are the maximum amounts available, the amount of assistance a student receives is dependent on the recommendations of the needs assessment
Postgraduate students are entitled to a single allowance to cover all costs. The maximum amounts are:
- 2008/2009 Academic Year - £10,000
Please note: The above amounts are the maximum amounts available, the amount of assistance a student receives is dependent on the recommendations of the needs assessment
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