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Under the banner of modernisation, David Willetts has announced measures to cut Disabled Students' Allowances (DSAs) from September 2015 – grants offered to disabled students to support their studies. Without this funding – a vital support mechanism in recruitment – higher education will no longer be viable for some. For others, cuts will mean persevering without necessary support, leading to higher drop-out rates, dissatisfaction and lower educational attainment.
Research shows that students who receive DSAs perform at the same level as non-disabled students. Cuts threaten to destroy this hard-won equality.
At present, a student can receive up to £5,161 for specialist equipment (including assistive technologies such as laptops, digital recorders, screen reading and voice recognition software), and £20,520 for non-medical helpers (such as note-takers, scribes/typists and library support) each year. An additional £1,724 is available for general costs such as travel expenses incurred due to disability.
The level and type of support is assessed and depends on individual needs. In 2011-2012, DSAs provided support to 53,000 students at a cost of £125 million. These figures are presented by Willetts in a trajectory of rising numbers and rising costs.
However, latest figures from the Student Loans Company (2012-13) show spending on DSAs has reduced. In 2012-13, the number of students receiving DSAs rose to 54,900 while the total amount paid reduced by over £5m to £119.9m for that period. This occured without cuts being implemented.
Bridging the funding gap
No additional funds have been announced for universities or disabled students to help bridge the funding gap for support. And disabled students are unlikely to be able to cover the costs for a number of reasons:
• Life costs more when you're disabled and student life (itself, increasingly expensive) is no different.
• Fees have already led to an increase in debt for disabled students in comparison to non-disabled peers.
• Disabled students have fewer options for supplementary income.
• Living and studying with impairments means less leisure time to commit to paid work.
• Workplace and transport barriers also limit employment opportunities.
• Even after graduation, disabled students are more likely to experience underemployment, leading to increased interest and repayments on student loans.
• Unchecked, the extra financial burden of support costs will lead to many disabled students being excluded from higher education, or being significantly disadvantaged in both their studies and later life.
Is disability in higher education being redefined?
Willetts stresses universities' role in bridging the gap in DSA support. However, universities will receive no monies to cover the financial gap at a time of economic stringencies and pay freezes.
Willetts emphasises the importance of new technologies for anticipatory inclusive teaching and learning within the established frame of "reasonable adjustment" required by the Equality Act (2010). However, technological solutions are limited. University eLearning environments cannot ensure universally accessible educational opportunities without (DSA funded) assistive technologies deployed by students, among a raft of other measures and costs. In the short term, at least, prospects for disabled students experiencing cuts to DSAs are bleak.
Concerns do not end here. Proposed changes to DSA funding may fundamentally redefine disability in higher education. Students with Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLDs), such as dyslexia, dyspraxia and ADD/ADHD, have been singled out for the largest cuts, and there is a real danger that their needs become invisible.
Willetts has chosen to restrict focus to more "complex" SpLDs and those requiring "most specialist" support. This betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of the relationship between a medical diagnosis and the support requirements that students may have. Indeed, it is ironic that the one group singled out for cuts to academic support are those whose disability explicitly affects learning.
What happens next?
The effects of cuts will be varied. Current students' arrangements are protected for 2015-16, and those disclosing most complex needs will continue to receive DSAs to pay for support currently supplied by universities' in-house disability services.
Disabled students who self-fund may need to look to more costly external suppliers to meet their needs. Other support providers, such as the British Assistive Technology Association, predict severe job losses and a reduction in the availability and quality of support for students.
Proposed cuts will also affect university rankings. Cuts target students with dyslexia, who make up the largest constituent group of disabled students. Students with dyslexia already express their dissatisfaction in student surveys such as the National Student Survey (NSS), a key performance indicator for university ranking.
Without anticipatory support in place, disabled students will be placed at a substantial educational disadvantage. The resulting lower satisfaction rates will influence NSS scores, with implications for ranking, admissions and the sector as a whole.
Most importantly, the proposed cuts put disabled students' studies at risk. Willetts advocates independence for disabled students while cutting the support they need to maintain that independence. Universities are already dealing with disabled applicants for the 2015 academic intake. An equality impact assessment is urgently required to ensure disabled students' rights to higher education are safeguarded.
Sarah Lewthwaite, research associate in student experience, King's College London – follower her on Twitter @slewth
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