The Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) is a Government grant for UK students enrolled on full-time or part-time higher education courses.

These grants help meet the extra costs students can face as a result of a disability, specific learning difficulty or health condition and are aimed at helping disabled people to study on an equal basis with other students.

This grant doesn’t depend on your household income and it is paid on top of the standard student finance package. And you don’t have to pay it back. The maximum allowances for full-time and part-time higher education students are meant to support the highest levels of need, so most applicants will not receive the full amount. To find out if you are eligible for the Disabled Students’ Allowance, which covers the entire course, visit GOV.UK for more information on the allowances and process. More is available for a non-medical helper.

Further information from Student Finance England can be downloaded as a PDF called: Bridging the Gap. This leaflet gives full details of eligibility criteria and how to apply. The process can take a while, so the sooner you do this the better.

Assessment Centres

If you qualify for a Disabled Students’ Allowance you will need to have a Needs Assessment. It is recommended you use one of the centres from the Disabled Students’ Allowance Quality Assurance Group (DSA-QAG); this web page will help you find the centre nearest to you.

iansyst’s role in the DSA Process

iansyst Ltd is an approved DSA-QAG (the Disabled Students’ Allowance Quality Assurance Group) Assistive Technology supplier and provide specialist equipment and training for students who have received the DSA award. With UK-wide coverage, iansyst, is one of the largest and most experienced DSA suppliers, meeting the needs of disabled students since 1996.

As part of the Needs Assessment, an Assessor or Disability Officer will be required to provide your funding body (i.e. Student Finance England (SFE), Student Awards Agency for Scotland (SAAS), Local Education Authority (LEA) etc) with a report which includes quotes from different suppliers for the equipment and training you need to help with your disability. iansyst provide a DSA Quoting System 24 hours a day, 7 days a week or alternately access to a quoting team to help generate quotes easily and efficiently , making sure your requirements are fulfilled.

Students who receive their equipment and training from us can note that iansyst took a leading role in setting up a the Service Level Agreement (SLA) for suppliers. To give you an idea of the high standards expected of a DSA Supplier you can read what is now known as the Quality Assurance Framework QAF (PDF). This is a base standard which we always try to exceed.