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Support for Disabled Postgraduate Students
Dr Emma RowlettDisability Adviser for
Postgraduate Students
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/graduateschool/support-for-disabled-students/index.aspx
Session Structure
• Introduction
– Support Overview
– Dyslexia and SpLDs
– Disability
– Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA)
– Other support
– Coming to see us
• Any questions?
• Study Skills and Strategies (optional)
Support Overview
• Alternative examination arrangements (e.g. extra time, rests breaks, use of a computer)
• Other reasonable adjustments (e.g. recording lectures, handouts and slides in advance, adjustments to Viva Voce Examinations)
• Support to develop useful study strategies
• Advice about applying for Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA)
• Signposting to other services e.g. Counselling
Dyslexia and SpLDs
• Dyslexia Support (within Academic Support)
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/studentservices/supportforyourstudies/academicsupport/index.aspx
• You will need to provide a post-16 report from an educational psychologist or a specialist teacher
– Academic Referral Forms (ARFs)
– One-to-one support sessions
– Screening and formal assessment of SpLDs
Disability
• Disability Support
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/studentservices/supportforyourstudies/disabilitysupport/index.aspx
– Sensory and physical disabilities
– Long-term medical conditions
–Mental health difficulties
• You need to provide medical evidence of diagnosis/symptoms, affect on study, duration (i.e. 12m+), medication side effects
• Disability Referral Forms (DRFs)
• Accessible transport around campus
• Examination and timetabling arrangements
• Information about extending studies and voluntarily suspending/taking sick leave
• Mental Health Referral
• Disability Sport Officer
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/sport/getinvolved/disabilitysport/index.aspx
Disabled Students’ Allowance
• Not means tested, don’t have to pay it back
• “Assessment of Needs” may recommend:
– specialist equipment and software (e.g. mind mapping software, text-to-speech, audio recorders, ergonomic furniture)
– non-medical helpers e.g. notetakers or mentors
– general allowance e.g. photocopying, ink, paper (unless Research Council funded)
– extra travel costs because of disability
If you’ve had DSA before
• PG DSA based on most recent assessment report unless:
– significant changes to condition or course
– equipment broken or more than 4 years old
• Apply and once accepted let us know why you feel you need an updated assessment
• NB: do not dispose of any equipment, PCs and laptops may need ‘Health Check’ first
Application process
• Depends how you are funded:
– Research Council/DTC: contact Emma
– NHS Bursary: http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/Students/3949.aspx
– NHS Social Work Bursary: http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/Students/Documents/Students/DSA_FORM_13-14.pdf
– Other or self-funded (England only): https://www.gov.uk/disabled-students-allowances-dsas/overview
PG Research Students (PGRs)
• Disabled PGRs: Emma - A13 Highfield House
– Including MRes and students with 1+3 Research Council funding (Masters progressing to PhD)
• Moderated online course: “Surviving the PhD”
• Support to choose and access other Graduate School courses
https://training.nottingham.ac.uk/cbs-notts/Portal/DesktopDefault.aspx?GoHome=1
Further courses and resources
• Academic Support “Study Resources”
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/studentservices/supportforyourstudies/academicsupport/studyresources/index.aspx
• Vitae “Making Research Education Accessible”
http://www.vitae.ac.uk/policy-practice/187791/About-Premia.html
• Graduate School “Online Courses and Resources”
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/graduateschool/traininganddevelopment/onlinecourses/index.aspx
• University Counselling Service
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/counselling/index.aspx
• The Careers and Employability Service
http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/careers/index.aspx
• The Disabled Students’ Network
http://www.su.nottingham.ac.uk/getinvolved/network/disabled/
• The Postgraduate Students' Association (PGSA)
http://www.su.nottingham.ac.uk/organisation/7655/
Coming to see us
• Dyslexia Support, D floor Portland Building– Drop-ins until 4th October, 9.30am-3.30pm• Only for students with post-16 reports
(either provided in advance or on the day)• Book on the day at desk outside Disability
Support on C floor Portland Building– Or phone to make appointment
• Emma Rowlett, A13 Highfield House– Book an appointment now or phone
0115 8232070
Introduction
We will look at three areas:
1) Reading
2) Writing
3) Identifying and developing other key skills
• Skills all students need
• If disabled can be even more important
• It isn’t necessarily the hours spent studying that are important, it’s how productive you are!
Reading academic material
• How do you read?
• Top of first page to bottom of last page?
• May work for fiction…
In groups:
• If you do read cover to cover how well does that work for you?
• If you don’t, what do you do?
• Nominate one person to feedback 2-3 key points
• This is just one method and may not work for you!
• If it is a book, look at the contents list to identify the most relevant chapters first – you may not need to read them all
• If an article, read the abstract to check it is relevant
• Read the introduction and conclusion
• Look at the headings and subheadings to get an overview
• Start reading, making notes on how it relates to your topic and the information you want
• Reading needs to be active, not passive
• Finally, don’t forget to look at the references at the end, they may be useful to you!
• Identify as much as you can that has been written on your topic but you may need to prioritise your reading:
• How useful is this book/chapter?
• Do I need to read it now?
• Should I put it to one side for later?
• Do I need to read it all?
• Am I reading when I should be moving on to writing?
Academic Writing
• In groups:
• How do you write?
• Where do you write?
• What do you do if you get writer’s block?
• Nominate someone to feedback 2-3 key points
• Write something, there is nothing worse than staring at a blank page!
• Bullet points, lists, index cards, mindmaps
• Key ideas, themes, phrases, questions
• Fill in details of resources you might refer to, (look at the notes you made while reading!)
• Expand on the ideas in note form
• Reorganise this and start to flesh them out
Reading and writing
• Are both intertwined – don’t leave the writing until the last minute!
• You also need to fit in time to collect data, carrying out experiments etc
• And have a life outside university
• Organise your time, pace yourself
• Discover where and when you work best
• Break tasks down into chunks
• Take breaks (even holidays!)
Other key skills
In groups:
• what skills do research students need?
• Nominate someone to feedback 2-3 key points
• Do any of you have all of these?
What areas do you feel you need to develop?
• Understanding what a PhD is?
• Referencing and bibliographies?
• Research skills - qualitative, quantitative, interviews, surveys, experiments?
• Giving presentations and going to conferences?
• Producing and presenting research posters?
• Software – NVivo, SPSS, LaTeX?
• Your school or DTC may run courses and provide information
• PGRs and eligible PGTs can also take Graduate School courses as part of the Researcher Development Programme:
– http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/graduateschool/documents/development/graduate-school-researcher-development-programme-2012-13.pdf
Coming to see us
• Dyslexia Support, D floor Portland Building– Drop-ins until 4th October, 9.30am-3.30pm• Only for students with post-16 reports
(either provided in advance or on the day)• Book on the day at desk outside Disability
Support on C floor Portland Building– Or phone to make appointment
• Emma Rowlett, A13 Highfield House– Book an appointment now or phone
0115 8232070
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