What Is Disabled Students' Allowances (DSA)?

We have Disabled Students Allowance Quality Assurance Group (DSA-QAG) registered centres in London and Surrey (Epsom). Any equipment bought with this allowance must have been included in the report from their Study Needs Assessment If their Study Needs Assessment recommends that they need a computer or laptop, the student will have to make a contribution of £200 towards it.
If you have completed an online application form for Student Finance and indicated that you want to apply for DSAs, Student Finance England will send you a DSA application form with your details already filled in for you to sign and return with evidence.



If your application for DSA is successful, money will either be paid into your bank account, if you are a SAAS funded student, or it will be paid directly to the equipment supplier, if you are a Student Finance England, Wales or Northern Ireland funded student.
The Disabled Students' Allowance is a grant available to support students in higher education with the extra costs they may incur disability student allowance on the course as a direct result of a disability, mental health condition or specific learning difficulty (e.g. Dyslexia).

The support recommended may be equipment such as a digital recorder or a computer (if a computer is recommended and agreed, you will be required to pay £200 towards the cost of this), assistive technology such as screen readers or mind mapping software, support workers such as specialist tutors and mentors or travel expenses.
Students are encouraged by Funding Bodies, to only use DSA-QAG approved equipment suppliers - these suppliers have agreed to meet the terms of a service level agreement set out by DSA-QAG and if anything goes wrong with their equipment will receive a more understanding response from their funding body.
After your Needs Assessment, your Assessor will prepare a report, which includes a bid for funding for your support costs. Please note, as of September 2016 Student Finance England have removed Disabled Student's Allowance funding for roles previously referred to as ‘Bands 1 and 2' support, e.g. note-taking and library support.

Once approved, your funding body should then contact you. DSAs are completely ignored when deciding if you qualify for means-tested welfare benefits such as Universal Credit, Employment and Support Allowance, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Reduction. It has been almost 25 years since the DSA scheme was reviewed, unlike other areas of student support.