Funding

The Disabled Student's Allowance (DSA) is a grant provided by Central Government through Local Authorities (LAs), to help meet the additional costs that students with an ALN might incur whilst studying at University.

Other sources of funding may be available to you, depending on your circumstances. Seek advice from your LA, the University?s Registry or the Student Advice Centre when you start your studies, to establish whether or not you are eligible for any additional funding.

The Disabled Students' Allowance is normally available to:

• Full time undergraduate / postgraduate students
• Part time undergraduate / postgraduate students
• Distance learning students

The Disabled Students' Allowance is not available to:

• Students from other European Union countries
• International students

How to apply for financial support through the DSA scheme

Prospective ALN student

• Contact your Local Authority (LA) who will send you the DSA application forms and ask you to return them with appropriate evidence
• Your LA will contact you to confirm whether or not you are eligible for support through the DSA scheme. If you are, they will recommend that you have an assessment of your educational needs at an assessment centre
• The assessment will be undertaken at either a centre local to you or at the University, as we are working in partnership with assessment providers to offer this service
• After the assessment you will receive a report which makes a number of recommendations to support you with your studies
• If you have your DSA assessment before you start a university programme, please provide a copy of the report to the ALN Service at the University or to one of its contacts at the Partner Colleges, when you first approach us
  

ALN student enrolled on a University programme

• Make an appointment to see an ALN Adviser. Please bring all information to the interview where an ALN adviser will assess whether or not the available evidence would be approved by your Local Authority for support through the DSA scheme
  
• If the ALN adviser feels the available evidence could be acceptable, we are able (subject to your permission) to send the evidence to your LA and act on your behalf accordingly
  
• If we feel the provided evidence is not acceptable we will advise you accordingly
  
• Once we have received confirmation from your LA that you are eligible to receive support through the DSA scheme, we will contact you and arrange for a DSA assessment at the University or one of our Partner Colleges if appropriate
  
• After the assessment, you will receive a report which makes a number of recommendations to support you with your studies
  
• Once you have received your DSA report you are advised to make an appointment with an ALN Adviser, to discuss the recommendations
  

Even if you think you are not eligible for the DSA, it is recommended that you make contact with one of the Additional Learning Needs Advisers, as they may be able to help. They can be contacted via our contact form, or by telephone or email:

• Tel: 01202 965663
• E-mail: alnge@bournemouth.ac.uk