Case summary September 2020 | Not Justified
A student needed an ergonomic chair. The provider agreed to pay for a chair for use on campus; DSA funding covered the cost of a chair for the student to use at home. Following an assessment with a chair specialist, the chair was supplied to the campus.
Public interest case July 2019 | Justified
The Open University
A disabled student enrolled on a distance learning master’s degree, having successfully completed undergraduate studies at the provider. The student found the process of applying for Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs) more difficult than in previous years, in part due to the changes in which funding body was administering the process. The provider and the funding body had to resolve a concern about how to deal with non-conventional academic years.
Case summary May 2019 | Partly Justified
A student was in the final year of a BSc programme at the time of the industrial action. In March 2018 they raised concerns about the impact of the action on their assessments and the availability of their tutors, and on their mental health. After successfully graduating, the student instructed solicitors. In a Letter before Action the solicitors said the student was dissatisfied with the University’s response to their concerns and that the University had breached its contract with the student.
Case summary April 2019 | Justified
After some time away from study, a student living with long term mental health conditions returned to their course. They provided medical evidence that they were fit to return.
Case summary March 2018 | Justified
An LLB student had been diagnosed with depression, general anxiety disorder, social anxiety which prevented her from leaving her house.
Case summary March 2018 | Partly Justified
A medical student complained to us after the provider dismissed her academic appeal. The provider concluded that she needed to repeat Year 4 because she had not satisfied the progression requirements.
Case summary March 2018 | Partly Justified
The student, who had been diagnosed with Bipolar Affective Disorder, was pursuing a Doctorate which involved a practical element of assessment. After a few periods of absence and an extension to her registration period the student was warned that no further sustained absences could be supported.
Case summary January 2018 | Settled
The student withdrew from his course nine weeks after enrolling and lodged a complaint.
Public interest case February 2017 | Not Justified
Falmouth University
A student at the University of Falmouth complained to us after the University rejected her complaints that she had been bullied by a senior lecturer and that no account had been taken of her disability. She first raised concerns after she received disappointing marks.
Public interest case February 2017 | Justified
University of Sussex
The Student Support Unit (SSU) at the University of Sussex sought additional reasonable adjustments to a disabled student’s examinations following an injury unrelated to her disability.
