Support for Disabled Postgraduate Students

1. Support for Disabled Postgraduate Students Dr Emma Rowlett Disability Adviser for Postgraduate Students http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/graduateschool/support-for-disabled-students/index.aspx

2. 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)

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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/

13. 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

14. Study Skills and Strategies

15. Introduction We will look at three areas: • Reading • Writing • 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!

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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!

19. 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?

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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!)

23. 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?

24. 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?

25. 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

26. 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