[access-uk] Re: Request regarding DSA
- From: "Barry Toner" <barry@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sat, 16 Oct 2010 09:36:50 +0100
Folks,
This topics straying, please move it onto another rlist that?s more
concerned with General VI issues.
Cheers,
Barry
List Admin
From: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of
TONY CRETNEY
Sent: Saturday, October 16, 2010 9:25 AM
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Request regarding DSA
An interesting point here Eleanor! in 2007 i was told by an O.U. assessor
that the rate that would be paid for a helper was £15 per hour. I abandoned
the course that i had intended to start in 2008, but have booked myself onto
a similar one to start in February of next year. Am I now to understand
that the rate of pay for such people has been reduced considerably over the
last few years.
Tony
----- Original Message -----
From: Eleanor <mailto:eleanorburke@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Burke
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Friday, October 15, 2010 9:32 PM
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Request regarding DSA
Hi Barry, I note you address your comments to Irene but that my e-mail is
below your comments. I am Eleanor, not Irene.
The Open University permit me to have non-medical helper, a person of my
choice though I do accept that if I did not have someone to nominate, the
university would nominate someone. I am also aware that if the university
did nominate someone that person would be paid a lot more than my chosen
person who is paid only £8 per hour.
Eleanor
----- Original Message -----
From: Barry G <mailto:lister@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Friday, October 15, 2010 8:20 PM
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Request regarding DSA
Hi Irene, I obviously don't know, but I would assume that's an arrangement
with an individual rather than an organisation.
Most campus-based universities have their own ancilliary learning support
workers such as note-takers, readers, library support workers, as well as
other roles such as mental health mentors, specialist assistive ICT
trainers, specialist study skills tutors etc., but a number use one of the
agencies, as do the OU.
I do assessments for OU students in the South West region and the OU's
preferred supplier of "non medical helper" support is Randstad, although the
assessor can specify another supplier if he/she feels it is appropriate, be
that an organisation or an individual. You can check out the rates with a
bit of digging on the sites of Randstad, Clear Links, Claro Learning etc.
You might be interested to see that a specialist dyslexia study skills tutor
and a mental health mentor will be charged to the funding authority at
anything between £50 and £78 per hour, although that's not what the person
carrying out the actual work gets paid... My figures for the cost were
based on the cost I have to factor in to my DSA needs assessment reports.
All the best,
Barry G
----- Original Message -----
From: Eleanor <mailto:eleanorburke@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Burke
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Friday, October 15, 2010 6:58 PM
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Request regarding DSA
I read Barry G's e-mail response to Mike and note the fee he states for a
Reader. I have been a student at the Open University for some years now and
my Reader is paid the sum of eight pounds per hour!!! I also note that the
fee never increased over the years!!!!
Eleanor
----- Original Message -----
From: Barry G <mailto:lister@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Friday, October 15, 2010 5:14 PM
Subject: [access-uk] Re: Request regarding DSA
Hi Mike, I'm a DSA assessor at Southampton University's Wessex Needs
Assessment Centre and have recommended this item in the past, but that was
before SFE took over the world. Your course website or handbook should give
some sort of breakdown of the hours expected for private study and you can
cite that in your case, and the assignment marking schemes include an
element for evidence of wider reading than the handouts and the core
booklist, again an element for your case - bearing in mind that you would be
"placed at a significant disadvantage against your peers" if denied access
to private study material - ultimately, if your assignment marks are lower,
so will your degree classification.
You might also like to argue that the alternative is to have a sighted
support worker to describe material to you at a cost of somewhere between
£15 and 25 per hour to SFE - if you cost that out at say 2 hours/week over
a 30-week academic year x the 3 or four years of[ your course and then add
the other two arguments...
As for the argument that the university should do all that is reasonable to
put material in accessible format, that is certainly true, but they can't
put the entire library in that format unfortunately, and you need to be able
to follow ideas and avenues as your research develops, waiting for someone
to transcribe/transform it destroys your freedom to follow those thoughts,
and they aren't that expensive in the scheme of things.
The main weakness in your case would be if you have been provided with some
other piece of kit that could be argued to be capable of representing
graphical information. My final point would be, your DSA needs assessor
should be making this case to SFE for you if they are satisfied that you
need the kit!
All the best,
Barry G
----- Original Message -----
From: Mike Moore <mailto:mikeis@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Friday, October 15, 2010 4:16 PM
Subject: [access-uk] Request regarding DSA
Hello,
I hope this is within the boundary's of the list:
I am requesting a Zychem fuser to give tactile representations of graphs,
which I create. DSA are saying that it does not fall within their
requirements of supply, and it is the responsibility of the University to
provide all class material and handouts in a format I can access.
My argument is that this is for my independant work at home and has in
effect nothing to do with the University's duty to provide other materials.
Can anyone advise please?
Thanks,
Mike
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