STUDENTS who receive Disabled Student Allowance (DSA) may be affected by proposed changes to ‘modernise’ the system.

DSA is awarded to students with disabilities, long-term health conditions, mental health conditions and specific learning difficulties.

It can be used to pay for assistance including specialist equipment such as computer software, non – medical helpers such as note takers or readers or extra funding.

The maximum funding a student can receive is £5,161 for specialist equipment (for the duration of a course), £20,520 for the non-medical helper allowance (per year) and £1,724 for a general allowance (per year).

David Willetts, the Universities and Science Minister, recently announced that he wanted to modernise DSA, identifying a number of key changes.

According to Mr Willetts, the government will now only pay “for higher specification or higher cost computers where a student needs one solely by virtue of their disability.”

Students with specific learning difficulties will continue to receive support through DSAs if their support needs are considered to be more complex

Mr Willetts outlined that the government will only fund “the most specialist non-medical help.”

The additional costs of specialist accommodation will no longer be met by DSAs, unless the circumstances are exceptional.

The changes will apply from September 1, 2015.

The move has been criticised by the National Union of Students, who admit that they are deeply concerned.

Hannah Paterson, NUS Disabled Students’ Officer, said: “The prospect of deeply unfair cuts to support for disabled students should concern us all.

“It is arrogant and out of touch to assume that disabled students can access ‘basic’ equipment or that universities will accept the new responsibilities ministers are seeking to place on them.”

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