A Student Accessibility Plan is your personalised on-course support at Northumbria. This is agreed at an appointment with an Accessibility Adviser. Your Student Accessibility Plan may include:
At this appointment, your adviser can also give guidance on your Application for DSA if eligible.
Your Student Accessibility Plan is an academic document, and cannot include medical or daily living support.
For full information on a Student Accessibility Plan, please see our SAP Guide.
Students with medical evidence of a diagnosed need or condition can register for a Student Accessibility Plan.
This includes physical conditions, sensory impairments, specific learning differences (SpLD) including dyslexia and ADHD, a social or communication difficulty such as an autism spectrum conditions, or long-term mental health conditions.
Medical evidence must be uploaded with the registration form. The medical evidence should be from a suitably qualified medical professional, such as a GP or consultant. It should be typed on letter headed paper, signed, and dated. Ideally, the letter should have been written within the last 6 - 12 months. If possible, the letter should state the impact that your disability or medical condition will have on your academic studies.
The University is unable to contact a medical professional to request medical evidence on your behalf. If the medical professional charges for medical evidence to be released, it is up to you to cover this cost.
Please note: For dyslexia and other specific learning differences, we cannot accept a Form 8 or dyslexia screener report as they do not provide the comprehensive range of tests that we need for Higher Education level study. A Form 8 is used in schools and colleges to apply for exam access arrangements, such as 25% extra time or the use of a scribe. It is not based on a full psychological assessment, which is required for support in Higher Education. See the “Dyslexia / Specific Learning Difference” section below for full information.
If you're applying to study at Northumbria, or if you're an offer holder, you should complete a Student Accessibility Registration Form, uploading your medical evidence.
Once you register and your medical evidence has been reviewed, you will be invited to book an appointment with an Accessibility Advisor. At this appointment, the support available to you will be discussed, and your Student Support Plan will be created.
If you have a Physical or Sensory Impairment, Mental Health Condition, Autistic Spectrum Condition, Dyslexia or other Specific Learning Difference, you may be able to get individual exam arrangements included on your Student Accessibility Plan. Depending on your needs, these arrangements can include extra time, use of a PC, reader or scribe.
To receive these conditions, you must be registered with our service and have a Student Accessibility Plan in place prior to the exam arrangement deadlines.
To receive support, you must provide a full diagnostic assessment report carried out by an Educational Psychologist (or other qualified professional) confirming you have dyslexia/specific learning differences. The report must meet the Guidance on SpLD Diagnostic Assessments. We cannot accept a Form 8 or dyslexia screener.
If you have a full diagnosis of dyslexia or another specific learning difference with a full diagnostic report as evidence, you should register as instructed above.
If you do not have a full diagnostic assessment report, we may be able to refer you for an assessment. You can apply for a funded assessment when you are fully enrolled at Northumbria. Alternatively, we may be able to refer you to our assessment providers prior to your course starting if you cover the assessment fee, and we reimburse the cost when you enrol on your course. If you would like to consider this "pre-enrolment assessment" option, you must book a Quick Query Appointment with the team. We cannot refund any assessment which has not been approved by us first.
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