[vip_students] Strong supports at third level for students with disabilities - Education | Third Level | The Irish Time - Mon, Jan 20, 2014
- From: "tony sweeney" <tonymsweeney@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: "the students list" <vip_students@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 20 Jan 2014 11:04:57 -0000
Morning folk,
Trust the below is okay for the list and that at least some of you derive
benefit from it.
Don't know any more I'm afraid but you will see contact info below, for
anyone interested.
Good luck,
Tony Sweeney
People with disabilities may feel that considering studying at third level
would be impossible, given the limitations of their circumstance. They may
also feel they might be more successful in securing a college place if they
hid their disability totally from the institutions they are hoping to secure
a place in.
On both counts they would be totally wrong. All our third-level colleges
welcome applications from people with disabilities. Our disability support
services are now performing to the highest international standards. This
success can be traced back to the establishment of Ahead 25 years ago by
Prof John Kelly, then registrar of UCD.
From humble beginnings, disability support services at third level have
grown and developed to the point where a comprehensive range of supports is
now available in most colleges to all students with a diagnosed disability.
The following are examples of the types of supports available: an
orientation programme to introduce students to university/college; study
skills; extra tuition if required; exam support; access to assistive
technology and training; one-to-one meetings with support staff; mentoring;
and organised social gatherings.
You will also have access to "Read Write Gold", a vocabulary support
software package that talks, types, corrects spellings and learns your
writing style, as well as "Live Scribe Pen", which enables you to record
lectures and save notes to a computer.
Increasingly, lecturers are posting lecture notes online on platforms like
Moodle and Blackboard, making the whole learning experience easier and more
interactive.
In the past few years, a number of third-level colleges including all of the
universities, teacher training colleges and the Athlone, Dublin and Cork
institutes of technology, have devised a common supplementary entry
mechanism for students who are eligible for the Disability Access Route to
Education (Dare). This enables applicants to secure a third-level place on a
reduced points' basis, having of course met the basic entry requirements as
published in the college literature.
If you are applying for a college place this year and have a disability, you
should tick the appropriate box on the online CAO process, which indicates
that you wish to be considered for Dare.
You will then be provided with a "supplementary information form", which has
to be returned to the CAO by April 1st next, including the appropriate
consultants' reports, to be considered for a place on the supplementary
list. This qualifies you to compete for your desired course on a lower
points entry requirement than those on the standard application list.
Whether you are successful or not in securing a place on the Dare list, if
you secure a college place and have a diagnosed disability, you will be
offered access to the academic, personal and social supports while studying
at third level as outlined above.
For comprehensive information on the Dare scheme go to accesscollege.ie. To
discuss access and supports for students with disabilities at third level
contact Lorraine Gallagher, Ahead, telephone: 01-7164396; email: lorraine.
gallagher@xxxxxxxx; or see ahead.ie.
Higher Education Access Route The Higher Education Access Route (Hear) is an
admissions scheme that offers places on reduced points and extra college
support to school leavers from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
Applicants must meet a range of financial, social and cultural indicators to
be considered for a reduced points place and extra college support, chief
among them being having a family income on or below (in the year ended
December 31st, 2012) the Hear income limit. Following this there is a
further series of financial, social and cultural indicators, a combination
of which determine eligibility.
Successful Hear applicants receive a similar range of supports to Dare
students, which are appropriate to their personal circumstances. The
application dates and closing deadlines for provision of documentary proof
are identical to Dare, as outlined on accesscollege.ie.
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