Three allowances make up the DSA. These are:
- the basic allowance;
- an allowance for large items of equipment ; and
- an allowance for non-medical personal help .
DSA is not income assessed.
The basic allowance
This is a yearly allowance. You may claim up to £1,725 during the academic year for items like tapes, Braille paper, extra photocopying charges, other small items of equipment and so on.
You can also use any unspent basic allowance to top up the other two allowances if necessary.
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An allowance for large items of equipment
The amount you can claim is set at the maximum for the academic year in which you make your first application. If you are applying for this allowance for the first time in 2010-2011 or later, you may claim up to £5,160 over the whole period of your programme of study. It will cover the cost of equipment such as a personal computer, a braille printer or note-taker, a portable loop or a radio aid, or close circuit television. If the equipment you need costs more than the maximum, you may use any unspent basic allowance to make up the difference. However, you cannot later use the basic allowance to buy other large items of equipment.
As long as you do not go over the maximum for your course, you may also use the allowances for basic or large items of equipment to pay for:
- approved repairs, modification or updating;
- insurance or extended warranty costs arising from owning the equipment; or
- initial training in how to use the equipment or software.
- In certain circumstances, we may ask you to lease rather than buy a major item of equipment if this would be more economical or beneficial (for example, if you only need equipment for a short period of time or if you are near the end of your course).
We will take into account any equipment you already own or have access to before we decide what support you can get from this allowance.
In some instances, for example, if you are nearing the end of your course or course year or if you only require equipment for a short period of time, we may award you DSA to hire equipment rather than purchase it.
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Non-medical personal help (NMPH)
This is a yearly allowance for course-related personal help, for example:
- readers for people with sight difficulties
- sign language interpreters
- lip speakers
- note-takers
- helpers for people in wheelchairs
You can get up to £20,520 during one academic year. If your NMPH costs more than the maximum for your course for that year, you may also use any unspent basic allowance. We cannot pay the cost of private tuition out of DSA. DSA is not intended to meet the costs of extra academic tuition or support in the subject you are studying. Institutions may meet these costs as part of providing the course.
If you need a helper, you may find the publication 'Employing Support Workers in Higher Education' helpful in deciding who to use and how to arrange this. More information about how we pay for NMPH is also available in our booklet Students Guide to the DSA NMPH Allowance. If it is recommended that you receive NMPH we will send you a copy of this booklet when we process your application for DSA. Alternatively you can download one from our website.
If you are applying for DSA for the first time you will need to have a needs assessment carried out. A needs assessment is a report carried out be a qualified individual which lets us know the type of support and equipment that you need to undertake your course.
Many colleges and universities have trained staff who can carry out needs assessments. However, if there is no one at your institution who can undertake a needs assessment we can refer you to an Access Centre or institution near where you live or study.