Issue with DSA
Hello wondering if anyone has any advice. So I had a DSA needs assessment 4 years ago. Now at the time my condition was new to me and university life was new to me and the assessor basically admitted knowing very little about my condition (Narcolepsy) and seemed to rely on my suggestions and I didn't have a clue. Ended up with a reccomendation of a pen with a microphone in it and a cam corder I ultimately decided wouldn't be of use and never took delivery of. ( If I fall asleep in lecture and pen would just get dropped, how the hell would I record the lecture?). At the time I had a fairly new laptop so provision for one wasn't on the report.
Fast forwards 4 years and I start postgraduate MSc at a new university and am told that despite what the information had always said about assessments I'm not entitled to a new assessment they will go off the old one. However now I have no laptop, I have a course with 50% research based on simulations two taught coding modules, all lectures are recorded and notes put online accessible via a computer. Yet I'm stuck at stationary workstations often in rooms too full of students causing the temperature to generally be far too high which makes it significantly more likely ill fall asleep or all computers on campus are taken. All I want from DSA is a laptop (ngl ideally a mac purely because one of the coding frameworks I have to use dropped all Windows support years ago and everything else is Linux based too, however at this point any laptop would do). However they refuse any kind of reconsideration of needs despite the new course and the assessment people will only go by the 4 year old report....
Has anyone had a similar experience with DSA /got any advice how to deal with the matter. I'm almost a term in and it's definitely effecting my studies and making my life harder than it should be.
Fast forwards 4 years and I start postgraduate MSc at a new university and am told that despite what the information had always said about assessments I'm not entitled to a new assessment they will go off the old one. However now I have no laptop, I have a course with 50% research based on simulations two taught coding modules, all lectures are recorded and notes put online accessible via a computer. Yet I'm stuck at stationary workstations often in rooms too full of students causing the temperature to generally be far too high which makes it significantly more likely ill fall asleep or all computers on campus are taken. All I want from DSA is a laptop (ngl ideally a mac purely because one of the coding frameworks I have to use dropped all Windows support years ago and everything else is Linux based too, however at this point any laptop would do). However they refuse any kind of reconsideration of needs despite the new course and the assessment people will only go by the 4 year old report....
Has anyone had a similar experience with DSA /got any advice how to deal with the matter. I'm almost a term in and it's definitely effecting my studies and making my life harder than it should be.
Original post by extermin8or
Hello wondering if anyone has any advice. So I had a DSA needs assessment 4 years ago. Now at the time my condition was new to me and university life was new to me and the assessor basically admitted knowing very little about my condition (Narcolepsy) and seemed to rely on my suggestions and I didn't have a clue. Ended up with a reccomendation of a pen with a microphone in it and a cam corder I ultimately decided wouldn't be of use and never took delivery of. ( If I fall asleep in lecture and pen would just get dropped, how the hell would I record the lecture?). At the time I had a fairly new laptop so provision for one wasn't on the report.
Fast forwards 4 years and I start postgraduate MSc at a new university and am told that despite what the information had always said about assessments I'm not entitled to a new assessment they will go off the old one. However now I have no laptop, I have a course with 50% research based on simulations two taught coding modules, all lectures are recorded and notes put online accessible via a computer. Yet I'm stuck at stationary workstations often in rooms too full of students causing the temperature to generally be far too high which makes it significantly more likely ill fall asleep or all computers on campus are taken. All I want from DSA is a laptop (ngl ideally a mac purely because one of the coding frameworks I have to use dropped all Windows support years ago and everything else is Linux based too, however at this point any laptop would do). However they refuse any kind of reconsideration of needs despite the new course and the assessment people will only go by the 4 year old report....
Has anyone had a similar experience with DSA /got any advice how to deal with the matter. I'm almost a term in and it's definitely effecting my studies and making my life harder than it should be.
Fast forwards 4 years and I start postgraduate MSc at a new university and am told that despite what the information had always said about assessments I'm not entitled to a new assessment they will go off the old one. However now I have no laptop, I have a course with 50% research based on simulations two taught coding modules, all lectures are recorded and notes put online accessible via a computer. Yet I'm stuck at stationary workstations often in rooms too full of students causing the temperature to generally be far too high which makes it significantly more likely ill fall asleep or all computers on campus are taken. All I want from DSA is a laptop (ngl ideally a mac purely because one of the coding frameworks I have to use dropped all Windows support years ago and everything else is Linux based too, however at this point any laptop would do). However they refuse any kind of reconsideration of needs despite the new course and the assessment people will only go by the 4 year old report....
Has anyone had a similar experience with DSA /got any advice how to deal with the matter. I'm almost a term in and it's definitely effecting my studies and making my life harder than it should be.
what exactly did they say was the reason for refusing? your needs have seemingly changed so they should consider it. They won't fund a mac these days though, they'll only fund the cheapest laptop to run any software you need.
Original post by claireestelle
what exactly did they say was the reason for refusing? your needs have seemingly changed so they should consider it. They won't fund a mac these days though, they'll only fund the cheapest laptop to run any software you need.
They said the reason was because the original (4 year old report) had me not needing a laptop. Exact words. Despite fact that I was offered one at the time and but declined as I had a perfectly working one (I mean I had to replace that in the intervening years but that's irrelevant).
(edited 6 years ago)
Original post by extermin8or
They said the reason was because the original (4 year old report) had me not needing a laptop. Exact words.
Which funding body are you with?
If your funding body is Student Finance England, then I think you need to speak to your study needs assessor (or another assessor at your original access centre if they're no longer there). They are responsible for any subsequent recommendations. I don't believe your situation as you've described will warrant a new assessment; you don't mention that your condition has got worse significantly, or that you have another disability which wasn't taken into account when you had your assessment, and moving from an undergraduate to postgrad course isn't ordinarily considered a significant enough change.
As you seem to just want a laptop to do your coursework on, it's unlikely you'll get one. All your fellow students will need a laptop or computer for their coursework, so you don't appear to need the computer for disability related reasons.
As you seem to just want a laptop to do your coursework on, it's unlikely you'll get one. All your fellow students will need a laptop or computer for their coursework, so you don't appear to need the computer for disability related reasons.
I'm a needs assessor, and have to agree with Lovesick above.
Your justification does not seem to be disability related - it is more about getting a laptop to do your coursework.
I would want to do an update needs assessment on your condition, since your last needs assessment was 4 years ago - maybe a letter from your GP detailing what medication you are on, what issues you have compared to 4 years ago. Narcolepsy can be managed with effective medication and strategies.
And I'm afraid a Mac would not b entering my head :-)
Kind Regards
DSA_Assessor
Your justification does not seem to be disability related - it is more about getting a laptop to do your coursework.
I would want to do an update needs assessment on your condition, since your last needs assessment was 4 years ago - maybe a letter from your GP detailing what medication you are on, what issues you have compared to 4 years ago. Narcolepsy can be managed with effective medication and strategies.
And I'm afraid a Mac would not b entering my head :-)
Kind Regards
DSA_Assessor
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