As one of the accessibility reps and the deputy lead rep my role is all about advocacy and ensuring that those students who need help will receive it. Distance learning can be pretty isolating and without support from a community it’s very easy to feel lost if you don’t know where to turn to.
As many of you know if you ever need help with timelines, extensions and so on, you can email learner support but for the other things you are not sure on or would like some guidance, myself and Emma Clements are here to help.
So far we have been able to chat with students about their needs and requirements when it comes to studying and taking that forward to OCA and the Program Leaders. Being able to sit in crucial meetings about future course changes has allowed us to share the experience of what students with disabilities need to be able to access content and learning materials. Whilst it has admittedly been a slow change and there is still a lot more to come, we hope to improve the overall learning experience for students with disabilities and ensure that the learning OCA provides is accessible for all.
Additional support can be provided by Student Finance in the form of a DSA (Disabled Students’ Allowance). To be eligible you have to live in England, be eligible for Student Finance and have a disability that affects your ability to study. After a needs assessment you’ll receive a report listing equipment and other support you can get for your course. This may include specialist equipment, non-medical helpers, extra travel to attend your course (study events) or other disability-related study support.
Education is not one size fits all and we all have different learning styles and methods that suit us better than others. If you are struggling with your course because of your disability please get in touch with either myself, Emma Clements or Learner Support.
Emails;
katie523988@oca.ac.uk
emma524053@oca.ac.uk
learnersupport@oca.ac.uk