Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

Changes to Disabled Students Allowances (now closed)

Student Money Week 2017

Are you worried about changes to DSA's? Ask SFE's expert advisors.

SFE Advisors for this Q&A

Amy Hedges, Quality Officer, DSA

Amy has worked in SFE’s Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) team for five years. As the Assistive Technology Specialist she deals with questions about the technology supplied through DSAs.

Anne-Marie Wylie, Customer Advisor

Anne-Marie has worked in SFE’s Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) team for four years. She’s involved in processing DSAs applications and specialises in complex cases.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 1

Tiger Rag

Are only new applicants affected?

Reply 2

colourful lamb

Could you outline some of the key changes that are taking place?

Thanks :biggrin:

Reply 3

Sazzy890

Who will the changes affect?

Reply 4

Amy Hedges

Official Rep

Original post by OU Student

Are only new applicants affected?

Hi there,

Any student who is applying for Disabled Student Allowance (DSA) for the first time in the 2015/16 academic year will be affected by the change.

Anyone who already has their DSA support in place won't be affected in 2015/16.

I hope that answers your question.

Reply 5

Amy Hedges

Official Rep

Original post by benthelamb

Could you outline some of the key changes that are taking place?

Thanks :biggrin:

Hi there,

At the moment we have not yet finalised the guidance for assessing what people will get from DSA in the 2015/16 academic year. We are still working really closely with our partners to get this finished.

There are two things however that are confirmed - as these have been put into the regulations, these are:

1 - we need to establish that your disability/condition meets the Equality Act definition of a disability - you can find more details about that here:
https://www.gov.uk/definition-of-disability-under-equality-act-2010

2 - that if you are recommended a computer to be funded from the DSA you will need to pay the first £200 of this - we will then pay the rest, along with covering the full cost of any other equipment/software that you need (up to £5,212 - this is dependent on need and most students get less).

I hope that answers your question - sorry that I'm not able to give you anymore detail at the moment.

Thanks!

Reply 6

Amy Hedges

Official Rep

Original post by Sazzy890

Who will the changes affect?

Hi there,

Any student who is applying for Disabled Student Allowance (DSA) for the first time in the 2015/16 academic year will be affected by the change.

I hope that answers your question.

Reply 7

Amy Hedges

Official Rep

Hi everyone,

Despite there being a delay in the guidance being finalised, you are not prevented from applying for DSAs. The DSA service was successfully launched on the 26th January 2015 and you can now submit applications to Student Finance England.

If you’re studying full-time, just select the option to apply for DSAs in your main student finance application. Once you’ve submitted your application you can download a short version of the DSA application form from your student finance account.

If you only want to apply for DSAs and no other type of student finance or if you’re studying part-time you can download the full DSA form at www.gov.uk/studentfinance

If you have any questions about the application process just ask or further information is available on the dedicated student finance zone at www.thestudentroom.co.uk/studentfinance

Thanks

Reply 8

Sarah SFE

Thanks Amy!

For more information on DSAs, we've created a playlist for you to watch on our YouTube channel.

You can also find our range of helpful tools and guidance on our dedicated student finance zone on The Student Room.