1

Oxford Brookes Students Union

Student Consultation: Disabled Student Voice

Executive Summary

The University’s Disability Services department approached the Students’ Union to undertake a consultation

with students with disabilities. A number of feedback areas were identified at a series of meetings, as outlined

in the background section of this report.

It was agreed that the activity would employ two consultation mechanisms. The preliminary activity would

take the form of a survey, sent directly to a mailing list of students who had declared a disability via their UCAS

application. This would be followed by focus groups, further exploring the results of the survey with students

keen to share their experiences of the support they had received from the Disability Services department.

The results of the survey included a good level of representation from different demographics; including

students from all possible faculties, sites of study, disability classifications, etc. The results were, on the whole

positive but also highlighted some clear opportunities for the development of the service, in such areas as

communication, promotion and academic liaison.

The recommendations from the activity, which can be found, in full, in the recommendations section of this

report, are summarised as follows:

1. For a joint communications campaign to be devised and delivered by the Students’ Union, Disability

Services, and other relevant departments, to raise awareness of various support mechanisms

available to 1st year students, struggling to settle in to life at university.

2. For Disability Services to increase proactive communication to students declaring a disability via their

UCAS application.

3. For Disability Services to utilise their web presence to provide a comprehensive and accessible

resource in supporting students with disabilities, and to use this resource as a key mechanism in

inducting students newly registered to the service.

4. For Disability Services to invest resource into the training of academic staff, to ensure that they are

able to properly and appropriately support students with disabilities, and that they understand and

are able to effectively implement the support mechanisms provided by Disability Services (e.g. blue

card system, extra time for exams, etc.).

5. For Disability Services to utilise the survey data provided by the Students’ Union, and the pool of

students who have expressed an interest in attending focus groups, to continue to further explore the

results of this activity, and to ensure that student opinion and experience is included in ongoing

reviews of the service.

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1. Background

The stated aim of this activity, as presented by the Disability Services department in their initial activity proposal was: “To engage with the Students’ Union as a partner in eliciting disabled students’ feedback about their experiences at the university and work with the Student Disability Service to develop the channelling of such information.” Initially, the objectives and outcomes of the activity, outlined in the proposal by the Disability Services Department were complex and various. At a meeting between the Students’ Union and the Disability Services department, it was agreed that many of the outcomes outlined in the activity proposal fell outside of the scope of this preliminary activity. It was agreed that the consultation activity by the Students’ Union would seek to obtain top line feedback in a number of areas, which would help to steer future consultation activity, to be conducted by Disability Services. To this end, the raw data from the survey will be supplied to the Disability Services department, to enable them to analyse it as they wish. To further assist this principle, it was agreed that this activity would seek to identify a number of students who would be happy to attend focus groups moving forward. These students could be contacted by Disability Services at a future time, should they wish to explore the activity’s findings in more detail, or to explore some of the areas of interest outlined in the initial activity proposal, which were not covered in the initial consultation activity. At this meeting, it was agreed that the activity objectives would be set as follows: Objective One: - To obtain feedback in order to assess the level of awareness of the support available to disabled students; Objective Two: - To obtain feedback about perceived development opportunities for the provision of support for disabled students; Objective Three: - To obtain feedback about the perceived positive aspects of the provision of support for disabled students; Objective Four: - To obtain top-line feedback about disabled students’ perception of inclusivity at Brookes. Objective Five: - To provide a list of students who may be willing to take part in focus group activity, outside of the scope of this consultation.

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2. Methodology

The Students’ Union was given access a list of all current students who had declared a disability through their

UCAS application. These 1,770 students were sent a direct email, encouraging them to complete an online

survey about their experiences at Oxford Brookes. 245 students responded to this email correspondence; a

response rate of 14%.

It was agreed that a number of profiling questions would be included in the survey (see fig.1. Disability Survey

Questions) to allow Disability Services to interrogate the survey data based on certain student demographics.

The responses to the student profiling questions indicate a good level of representation from different

demographics; including students from all possible faculties, sites of study, disability classifications, etc.

As part of the survey, students were invited to put their names forward to attend focus groups, to further

explore the results of the survey. 77 students expressed an interest in attending a group (although only 66

provided contact details to enable further contact) and 10 students responded to a subsequent invitation and

attended one of two focus group sessions.

The SU also received a report from a Brookes student, who completed a study, entitled ‘An Interpretive

Phenomenological Analysis of the Experiences of Disabled Students with Hidden Disabilities in Higher

Education’. This study was undertaken as part of a course at Brookes and involved interviewing 8 Brookes

students with disabilities about their experiences at university. The findings of this report are referenced here,

where relevant, to support some of the data captured through our own consultation activity. The full report

can also be found as an appendix to this report (see appendix 1).

Fig.1. Disability Survey Questions

Question Available Options

Gender Radio buttons, single answer

Male / Female / Prefer not to disclose

Faculty Multiple choice

Faculty of Business / Faculty of Health & Life Sciences / Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences / Faculty of Technology, Design & Environment.

Main Site of Study Radio buttons, single answer

Ferndale / Gipsy Lane / Harcourt / Headington Hill / Marston Road / Wheatley

Study Profile Multiple choice (students encouraged to select 2 from a possible 4 options)

Full-time / Part-time / Postgraduate research / Postgraduate taught / Undergraduate

Disability Classification Multiple choice

Dyslexia/SPLD / Sensory impairment / Mental health issues / Medical health issues / Other (please specify)

At what point were you made aware of the provisions available to disabled students at Oxford Brookes? Radio buttons, single answer

Pre-arrival / At enrolment / On initially contacting the Student Disability/Dyslexia Service(s) / Other (please specify)

What prompted you to register with the Disability and/or Dyslexia Service(s)

Accessibility support / Course delivery adjustments / Exam adjustments / Health concerns / Other (please specify)

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Multiple choice

Preferred Assessment Method Radio buttons, single answer

Essay assignments / Examinations (unseen) / Examinations (open book, or seen) / Critical diaries, learning logs, journals / Oral examinations / Multiple choice testing / Student led seminars, Presentations and/or discussions / Practical examinations or tests / Other (please specify)

To what extent do you agree with the following statement? “The Disability and Dyslexia Service website is useful.” Radio buttons, single answer

Strongly agree / Agree / Disagree / Strongly disagree / I am unaware of the site

To what extent do you agree with the following statement? “I know where to find information about what I need to do at Oxford Brookes, to get the support I need.” Radio buttons, single answer

Strongly agree / Agree / Disagree / Strongly disagree

To what extent do you agree with the following statement? “I feel included in the student life of the University.” Radio buttons, single answer

Strongly agree / Agree / Disagree / Strongly disagree

What's the best thing about the disabilities services provision at Oxford Brookes and why? Free text field (paragraph)

N/A

If you could change one thing about the disabilities services provision at Oxford Brookes what would it be and why? Free text field (paragraph)

N/A

We would like to form a focus group, to gather ongoing student feedback about the provision of Disability Services at Oxford Brookes. Would you be interested in being a part of this group? Radio buttons, single answer

Yes / No

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3. Survey Results

Student Profile Question #1 – Gender

Count of Gender

Gender Total

Female 66.5%

Male 33.1%

Prefer not to disclose 0.4%

Grand Total 100.0%

Student Profile Question #2 – Faculty of Study

Which faculty does your course belong to? Total

Health and Life Sciences 31%

Humanities and Social Sciences 31%

Technology, Design and Environment 20%

Business 18%

Grand Total 100%

0.0%

10.0%

20.0%

30.0%

40.0%

50.0%

60.0%

70.0%

Female Male Prefer not to disclose

66.5%

33.1%

0.4%

Gender

Total

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

Health and Life Sciences

Humanities and Social Sciences

Technology, Design and

Environment

Business

31% 31%

20% 18%

Faculty of Study

Total

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Student Profile Question #3 – Main Site of Study

Main Site of Study Total

Gipsy Lane 39%

Marston Road 18%

Wheatley 18%

Headington Hill 13%

Harcourt 10%

Ferndale 2%

Grand Total 100%

Student Profile Question #4 – Mode of Study

Study Mode Total

Undergraduate 80%

Postgraduate Taught 16%

Postgraduate Research 4%

Grand Total 100%

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

Gipsy Lane Marston Road

Wheatley Headington Hill

Harcourt Ferndale

39%

18% 18%

13%

10%

2%

Main Site of Study

Total

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Undergraduate Postgraduate Taught

Postgraduate Research

80%

16%

4%

Mode of Study

Total

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Student Profile Question #5 – Frequency of Study

Full-time/Part-time Total

Full-time 86%

Part-time 14%

Grand Total 100%

Student Profile Question #6 – Disability Category

How would you categorise your disability? Total

Dyslexia/SPLD 62%

Medical health issues 18%

Mobility impairment 8%

Mental health issues 7%

Sensory impairment 5%

Grand Total 100%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Full-time Part-time

86%

14%

Study Frequency

Total

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Dyslexia/SPLD Medical health issues

Mobility impairment

Mental health issues

Sensory impairment

62%

18%

8% 7% 5%

How would you categorise your disability?

Total

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Disability Service Question #7 – Awareness of Service

At what point were you made aware of the provisions available to disabled students at Oxford Brookes? Total

Pre-Arrival 53%

On initially contacting the Student Disability/Dyslexia Service 29%

At Enrolment 10%

Other (please specify) 8%

Grand Total 100%

Other (please specify)

I found out as I hit problems using facilities at Oxford Brookes

When I was well over half way into my first year of a previous degree here and had been struggling a lot.

AFTER THEY GAVE ME THE THINGS AND TOLD ME I WON'T PAY FOR THAT LIKE MY STUDENT LOAN

Upon my own research

year 2

Only after years of complaining and nobody knew where to go, or what to do. VERY POOR OBU COMMUNICATION!

I completed my undergraduate degree here and received provision, unfortunately Brookes was the only University I applied to, for which the disability team never contacted me so I had to contact the disability team to see if they could match the provision that other universities were offering me.

When I was diagnosed

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Pre-Arrival On initially contacting the Student

Disability/Dyslexia Service

At Enrolment Other (please specify)

53%

29%

10% 8%

At what point were you made aware of the provisions available to disabled students at Oxford Brookes?

Total

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Disability Service Question #8 – Reason for Registering

What prompted you to register with the Disability and/or Dyslexia Service? Total

Exam adjustments 37%

Accessibility support 30%

Course delivery adjustments 19%

Health concerns 14%

Grand Total 100%

Other Reasons for Registering (please specify)

1-1 support

A lecturer questioned whether I could be dyslexic

Ability to meet deadlines

Adjusting to doing a Masters course after 6 years out of an academic environment.

Application form required honest completion and the information was picked up by the university. This was passed to the Disability Service who has kept in on file.

Assignment help

Automatically registered when declaring disability on application

Because I have to

coursework deadline ajustments

Ensuring help would be available should it be necessary to seek it.

finances,

Funding

general support and information.

I am a mature student who struggled at school and initially I wanted to access my learning style and learn as much as I could about the way I absorb/process information

I am deaf in one ear and was concerned about being able to hear lectures.

I am studying Graphics and Design which requires an element of engineering drawing. The lecturer sent all students an email announcing a closed book test during one of the practical sessions. I was concerned that I may not be able to complete the drawings in the time allotted for the test and when I discussed this with the lecturer, he advised me to contact the Disability and Dyslexia Service.

I did not qualify, I was said not to be a serious case.

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

Exam adjustments Accessibility support Course delivery adjustments

Health concerns

37%

30%

19%

14%

What prompted you to register with the Disability and/or Dyslexia Service?

Total

10

I had a previous dyslexia test at sixth form so I informed my university of this and then had the full test

I just wanted to check in and see what services were offered.

I learn well by seeing; like a presentation or demonstration. Taking notes of what’s important at the same time is near-impossible; so I am supplied with note takers for my modules.

I was advised by a colleague and friend that I perhaps could have a test to see if I would need support during my time of study.

I was assessed for dyslexia toward the end of my first year

I was required to as part of application process

I was under severe anxiety about changes in my writing. Supervisors, faculty admin and other students did know anything about your office. It is as if you expect people to come to you. We are the customer and you hide behind office doors with part time people, who do not answer the phone, do not answer emails and go on vacation without delegating tasks to a point of contact responsible!

It is something I felt I should mention.

It took a chance meeting with Hayley card for me to even learn it existed! I greatly need the service for catch up support, examination help and deadline extensions.

It was a continuation from being registered at college.

it was deemed suitable as part of my care package

Just general help and so that the university know

just in case I needed any help

personal tutor for assignments

Prelim discussions with Caroline Moughton were very informative and re-assuring

Previous Higher Education experience

Recommendation of my secondary school.

The extra help provided.

The form that came with the enrolment information...I wouldn't have done otherwise.

University decided for me

Useful accessories (laptop, keyboard, organisational tools ect...)

was tested and received help at my college although i had to be tested again at Oxford Brookes

Wasn't aware that I had

We were encouraged to get assessed by our course. The fact the assessment was subsidised enabled me to get tested when i never have been able to afford it before.

Disability Service Question #9 – Preferred method of assessment

What is your preferred method of assessment? Total

Essay assignments 42%

Multiple choice testing 14%

Practical examinations or tests 13%

Student led seminars, presentations and/or discussions 9%

Examinations (unseen) 6%

Other (please specify) 6%

Oral examinations 5%

Examinations (open book, or seen) 3%

Critical diaries, learning logs, journals 2%

Grand Total 100%

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0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

40%

45%

Essay assignments

Multiple choice testing

Practical examinations or

tests

Student led seminars,

presentations and/or

discussions

Examinations (unseen)

Other (please specify)

Oral examinations

Examinations (open book, or

seen)

Critical diaries, learning logs,

journals

42%

14% 13%

9%

6% 6% 5%

3%

2%

What is your preferred assessment method?

Total

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Disability Service Question #10 – Usefulness of Website

The student Disability and Dyslexia service website is useful Total

Strongly agree 6.9%

Agree 45.8%

I am unaware of the site 44.4%

Disagree 2.3%

Strongly Disagree 0.5%

Grand Total 100.0%

Disability Service Question #11 – Awareness of Support Mechanisms

I know where to find information about what I need to do at Oxford Brookes to get the support I need. Total

Strongly agree 19%

Agree 59%

Disagree 16%

Strongly Disagree 6%

Grand Total 100%

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

40.0%

45.0%

50.0%

Strongly agree Agree I am unaware of the site

Disagree Strongly Disagree

6.9%

45.8% 44.4%

2.3% 0.5%

The student Disability and Dyslexia Service website is useful

Total

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Disability Service Question #12 – Feeling Included

I feel included in the Student life of the University Total

Strongly Agree 25%

Agree 52%

Disagree 18%

Strongly Disagree 6%

Grand Total 100%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Strongly agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

19%

59%

16%

6%

I know where to find information about what I need to do at Oxford Brookes to get support

Total

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

Strongly Agree Agree Disagree Strongly Disagree

25%

52%

18%

6%

I feel included in the Student life of the University

Total

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Disability Service Question #13 – Best thing about disability services provision

What's the best thing about the disabilities services provision at Oxford Brookes and why? Total

Staff attributes 36.6%

General support 18.9%

Academic support 16.3%

Mentoring (one to one) 10.6%

Accessible 8.4%

Equipment provision 4.4%

Blue card system 3.5%

Disability Assessment 0.9%

Financial support 0.4%

Grand Total 100.0%

0.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

40.0% 36.6%

18.9%

16.3%

10.6% 8.4%

4.4% 3.5%

0.9% 0.4%

Best thing about Disability Services provision

Total

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Disability Service Question #14 – One thing that could be changed to improve the provision

If you could change one thing about the disabilities services provision at Oxford Brookes what would it be and why? Total

Improved support 16%

Increased availability of staff 13%

Improved communications 12%

Better promotion of services 12%

Geographical location 10%

Improved academic support/liaison 8%

Improvements to dyslexia support 7%

Simplified registration process 6%

Staff attributes 6%

Improvements to site/facilities 6%

Changes to funding/financial support 1%

Website improvements 1%

Efficiency of the service 1%

Extracurricular activities 1%

Increased confidentiality 1%

Improved equipment provision 1%

Grand Total 100%

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0%

2%

4%

6%

8%

10%

12%

14%

16% 16%

13%

12% 12%

10%

8%

7%

6%

6% 6%

1%

1% 1% 1% 1% 1%

One thing that could be improved

Total

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4. Conclusions

Objective 1 -

To obtain feedback in order to assess the level of awareness of the support available to disabled students.

The survey asked students when they were first made aware of the support available to them at Oxford

Brookes.

Over half (53%) of the respondents had been aware of the support available prior to enrolling at Brookes. This

suggests a certain level of efficacy in terms of pre-arrivals communication by Disability Services. In focus

groups, some students reported to have seen information about Disability Services in the offer pack. Others

discussed the presence of information in prospectuses and whilst some students reported to have found

information via this source, others did not remember having seen anything at this stage. One student

suggested that there should be a small box dedicated to disability support located within each course section

in prospectuses, as ‘most students just head straight for the section about their course’. The student in

question had studied an Undergraduate degree at Reading University, prior to starting a Postgraduate course

at Oxford Brookes and cited Reading’s approach to integrating disability support information into prospectuses

as excellent.

A further 10% of respondents suggested that they became aware of Disability Services support during

enrolment. The inclusion of awareness raising activity at this time is, therefore, clearly important in

communicating the message to those who may have missed a call to action pre-arrival. However, an

improvement in pro-active communication with those declaring a disability via UCAS could also address this.

Nearly one third (30%) of respondents indicated that they had not heard about the support mechanisms

available until they had contacted Disability Services themselves. The reasons for this may be various.

One possible cause of so many students only approaching Disability Services after enrolment is that some

students may not feel they require support for their disability until they have started their course and

experience issues with access, course delivery, etc. This could be more likely with disability such as Dyslexia,

where the level of assisted teaching experienced in schools may have been manageable but the step change to

university level learning may become unmanageable. This possibility is supported by the results of the

question asking students what prompted them to register their disability, where the single most frequent

driver (37%) was exam adjustments. This suggests that some students did not feel that they needed support

until toward the end of their first semester at Oxford Brookes.

This potential scenario has been discussed with the Students’ Union’s Disabled Students’ Officer, the Students’

Union Advice Centre, and Disability Services and has been given credence by all parties. In discussion at a

meeting between the Students’ Union and Disability Services, it was suggested that this situation might be

addressed by implementing a communications campaign 6 weeks into semester one. The aim of the campaign

would be to address a number of areas where students might be struggling in their first few weeks at

University (coping with a disability, finance, housing, studying, etc.) and would signpost to sources of support.

All relevant departments felt that this was a good idea but further discussion is necessary to develop the scope

of the campaign and assign responsibilities. It may also be prudent for Disability Services to carry out some

targeted awareness-raising activity ahead of exams, taking into account the high percentage of students for

whom this was the point at which they first required additional support from the University.

Another potential cause is that there is a lot to do and huge amount of information for new students to digest

pre-arrival and during enrolment. One student supported this view at a focus group, stating that ‘freshers’ is

really busy, we need a reminder afterwards’. It may be that the message about available support was not one

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that stood out.

At focus groups, students were asked what they thought would have made this message stand out from the

rest. Many of the participants felt that personalised email would be an effective communication mechanism.

All students at focus groups reported to check their email. The efficacy of this channel is supported by an

unconnected poll carried out on the Students’ Union Facebook page, where 85% of students reported to check

their Brookes email account at least once every 6 hours. Focus group participants felt that it would help if the

emails were personalised, from an expected source and opened with a synopsis of the important content of

the email (as the first line of the email shows as a preview in Google Mail).

Another suggested mechanism to promote the support available to disabled students was the website.

However, it should be noted that 60% of the focus group participants, and nearly 45% of survey respondents

were not aware of the existence of the website. This clearly suggests a need for more promotion of the site.

Finally, some students at focus groups felt that posters would be useful in raising awareness of Disability

Services, although it was suggested that these would need to be targeted to relevant locations, within

faculties, in the library, etc. It was suggested that if posters were used, they should follow a standard format,

colour, etc., so they were easily distinguishable from the plethora of posters around Brookes campuses.

It should be noted that the survey was only sent to students who have registered as having a disability through

their UCAS application and, therefore, the results of this question do not account for students who didn’t

declare a disability at this stage, or who have developed disabilities since they started at Oxford Brookes. Focus

group feedback also suggests that there may be scope for improvement to the processes around contacting

students who declare a disability through their application. One student who took part in a focus group stated

that she had applied to 5 universities through UCAS and Brookes was the only one not to proactively make

contact, to follow up on the student’s disability declaration.

Responses to a question asking students how strongly they agree that they know how to access support at

Brookes were mixed. On a positive note, over ¾ of respondents (78%) felt that they knew how to access

support. However, the remaining 22% disagreed that they knew how to access support. It would appear that

there is some scope for improved communication to students who declare a disability via their application, to

ensure that they know what support is available and how to access it.

The combination of the lack of awareness of the Disability Services website, a lack of understanding of what

support is available and how to access it, and the feedback from focus groups that web based communications

might be effective, suggest that developing the Disability Services website to ensure that it contains clear and

comprehensive information about support for disabled students and then using the website as a key

mechanism for the induction of newly registered students into the service may be an effective approach.

Objective Two:

To obtain feedback about perceived development opportunities for the provision of support for disabled

students.

Students were specifically asked what they would change, if they could change one thing to improve the

provision of support to disabled students at Oxford Brookes.

Feedback was very diverse but there were some key themes, which are detailed in fig.2.

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Fig.2. Feedback themes from Question #14 – One thing that could be changed to improve the provision

Feedback Area Specific Feedback

Improved support More specialised staff (e.g. course specific note-takers)

Better one to one study skills mentoring

More regular support

Faster appointment times

Increased support with funding

More support accessible remotely

Increased availability of staff Drop in service

Telephone appointments

More staff

Improved communications Clearer information about processes

More information about what support is available

Regular email circulars

Better promotion of services More pre-arrivals information

Better publicity during enrolment

More general publicity around campus

Geographical location A presence at different sites

Increased remote support (e.g. web based)

Improved academic support/liaison Increasing the awareness of disabilities among academic staff

Improving access to lecture notes

Increasing deadline extensions

Improvements to dyslexia support

Simplified registration process

Staff attributes Increased flexibility

Listening more

Being more helpful

Improvements to site/facilities

Although it doesn’t appear in the top 3 areas of feedback from the survey, academic liaison was a strong

theme in both the focus groups and in the report received from a student.

Both activities highlighted issues with the understanding of disabilities among some academic staff. This

ranged from insensitive communications, such as a lecturer introducing a note taker to the whole lecture

group and a students’ ‘special needs support’, to academic staff not being aware of the mechanisms available

to support students with disabilities, such as special exam arrangements. One focus group participant stated

that he had been told that he could have extra time for an exam but that the rest of his group would need to

stay behind until he was finished. The student felt that this would not engender a good feeling from the group,

so declined the offer.

One support mechanism that was mentioned repeatedly, as not working consistently, was the blue card

system. Students fed back that some academic staff seem not to understand them, some seem to ignore them

and others appear angered at having to ‘deal with them’. One student reported that a member of academic

staff brought her blue card in to a lecture and handed it to her in front of the rest of the group, stating ‘you

seem to have left something in my tray. Don’t do it again.’ Whilst the blue card system is clearly valued by

students with disabilities and was raised as one of the best things about the available support, it serves as a

good example of where the implementation of a system appears not to be of a consistent standard, across the

organisation.

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Objective Three:

To obtain feedback about the perceived positive aspects of the provision of support for disabled students.

Students were specifically asked what they felt was the best thing about the provision of support to disabled

students at Oxford Brookes.

Again, feedback was very diverse but there were some key themes, which are detailed in fig.3.

Fig.3. Feedback themes from Question #14 – Best thing about disability services provision

Feedback Area Specific Feedback

Staff attributes Understanding

Caring

Approachable

Knowledgeable

Professional

Reliable

Supportive

Efficient

Friendly

Helpful

General support Advice

Someone to talk to

Help to fill in forms

Academic support Exam provision - extra time, etc.

Coursework support

Liaison with academic staff

Mentoring (one to one)

Accessible

Equipment provision

Blue card system

The appearance of areas such as academic liaison & the blue card system in the responses to this question

further reinforce the importance of these elements of support to disabled students.

Objective Four:

To obtain top-line feedback about disabled students’ perception of inclusivity at Brookes.

Of the 245 responses to the survey, 77% either agreed, or strongly agreed, that they felt included in the

student life at Oxford Brookes.

Of the 23% who disagreed or strongly disagreed with the statement, 35% were part time students (see fig. 4.).

This suggests that there is scope for further inclusivity promoting activity among part-time students. However,

it could also be reflective of a general lack of a feeling of inclusivity among part-time students and not be

endemic to students with disabilities.

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Fig. 4 – Split of students who indicated a lack of feeling of inclusivity by full-time/part-time

Objective Five: To provide a list of students who may be willing to take part in focus group activity, outside of the scope of this consultation. Details students who expressed an interest in being part of a focus group have been provided to the Disability Services team, as part of the survey data. In line with data protection regulations, this data should only be used for the purpose of contacting these students about future focus groups and the data should be destroyed by 14

th November 2012. Students who

have been contacted by this time and agreed to be contacted further may be kept on a separate list, in accordance with data protection regulations.

65%

35%

Full time/Part time

Full-time

Part-time

22

5. Recommendations

The following actions are recommended by the Students’ Union, as a consequence of this activity.

1. Discussion should continue between Disability Services, the Students’ Union, and other relevant

departments, with a view to implementing a communications campaign, aimed at new students, in week 6 of

the 2012/13 academic year. The campaign’s objective should be to target 1st

year students, to communicate a

range of support mechanisms available to them, should they be experiencing issues settling at university. This

might include (but may not be limited to):

- referrals to Disability Services, for students who might be struggling due to challenges connected to a

disability;

- referrals to a source of dyslexia testing, for students who might be struggling with the step change in learning

styles between school and university;

- details of the support available through the Students’ Union Advice Centre, in such areas as finance and

housing;

- details of how students can access academic support through the Upgrade service;

- links to a comprehensive list of the support available to students through the University’s Counselling Service.

2. Disability Services should increase proactive communication with both students with a disability, declared

via UCAS; and with the student body in general. This proactive communication should promote the support

available to students at Oxford Brookes who have disabilities and clearly explain how students can access this

support.

3. Disability Services should develop their areas of the Brookes.ac.uk website, to create an accessible and

comprehensive resource for disabled students at Oxford Brookes. This website should be used as a tool to help

promote the available support and also to induct students newly registered with the service.

4. Disability Services should invest resource in to the education of academic staff in effectively supporting

students with disabilities. For examples of issues in this area, please reference appendix 1. It would be

beneficial if this included both training on soft skills and on understanding and effectively implementing the

support mechanisms provided by Disability Services, such as the Blue Card Scheme, additional time for exams,

etc. We recommend that Disability Services involve OCSLD in conversations around how this could best be

developed and delivered.

5. Disability Services should contact the students who have expressed an interest in attending focus groups

early in the 2012/13 academic year, with a view to setting up ongoing focus group activity, to explore the

results of this activity in more detail and/or to seek ongoing feedback from users of the service.

Summary Report: An Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis of the Experiences of Disabled

Students with Hidden Disabilities in Higher Education

For the submission of an undergraduate dissertation, 8 undergraduate students were interviewed

regarding their experience of university with a disability, dyslexia or health condition during the

academic year 2010-2011. Interviews were conducted in a semi-structured format and were

analysed through Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). For the purpose of anonymity,

pseudonyms have been used in place of names and all other identifying information has been

removed including subjects studied and names of any staff.

Whilst the main report focussed on psychological wellbeing and identity, employing a humanistic

and existential framework, the following brief report focusses on the aspects of the students

experience which may be of interest to the disability team.

Out of the 8 students, two who had chronic health conditions are not included within this report as

they were not registered with the disability service, however one did express some uncertainty

about whether this was an option, what conditions the disability service really include and how they

could be approached:

“People say I could register with the disability team, and I guess I could register with them

and maybe make life easier when I’m ill but I don’t really know if I’d be allowed, I mean what

can I do? Just go and say to them I’ve got a problem? I don’t know if that’s what they cover”

Ellie

All were home students, and were within the average age of undergraduate students with the

exception of one mature student. Out of the six students whose experiences are reported below,

three were dyslexic students, one had mental health problems and two had chronic health

conditions.

Library:

With regard to the library, two students’ noted concern about the level of support offered and the

awareness of the librarians regarding the help they needed and the need to be discrete.

“because um… I find it really hard to work out the number system… in fact I still can’t work it

out today and I went up to one of the librarians in my first or second year and said look I’ve

been looking for these books for over an hour I really don’t understand the library system I’m

asking if I can have some help to find these books and she was like what do you think we’re

here for, we don’t have time to find student’s books, I can put you into contact with someone

who can give you a tour but apart from that I have to stay at this desk, I can’t help you look

for your books but I said to her I have a disability I have dyslexia so I find it hard...I can’t

really work out the number system but she didn’t want to help me” Claire

“I don’t find the library the most accessible...when I asked for help once...they helped but the

woman...she didn’t want too...she… and she made a huge issue of it, practically shouting to

another librarian across the library “I have to help this disabled student”...she couldn’t have

said the word ‘disabled’ any louder, it was so embarrassing, I didn’t even want the books

anymore I just wanted to go” Jack

Academic Staff:

Difference between departments:

With regard to their interactions with academic staff, student’s on joint honours programmes noted

discrepancies between the different departments they were studying within and the awareness and

training of staff in relation to disability issues.

“...I’ve noticed a difference between the two schools...I’ve noticed and I’m not sure if I’m

allowed to say this but (school) have been slightly more understanding than some of the

(other school)...so...the huge difference between both schools...I don’t know why that is…

don’t know...now I’m majoring in (one field) I still go and see (other field’s) support

coordinators” Jennifer

“it depends on the training they have as well....it depends how informed the academic are

about disability and how they view it...they’ve obviously got to see that there’s a fine line

between constantly making you feel like a disabled student and constantly asking you what

you need and then going the opposite way...the opposite extreme where they don’t offer you

anything even though you’ve let them know” Jennifer

“the (current field) department has been particularly difficult and inflexible when dealing

with my disability, to the degree where virtually all of the (current field) staff I have

encountered ignored my disability, penalising my grades to the degree where I would hand in

a piece of work, and they would hand back the blue card” Claire

“It has been a big mix of supportive, rude, kindness and uncaring attention…in my first year,

one of my (subject) teachers was very rude when I asked for help, whilst an (other subject)

lecturer didn't seem to care about students... other staff however have been exceptionally

supportive and helpful, explaining concepts and ideas, taking time out to understand my

disability when it was announced and so on” Karen

“It’s mixed...it depends on the academic really...you never know what to expect...whether

they will help you or not...” Jack

Dyslexia support:

Out of the three dyslexic students’, all three commented on the inconsistency in staff’s

understanding of the role of the blue card and how this should be taken into consideration in their

marking.

“I’ve never had professors work with dyslexia, they’ve always got angry about it like ‘oh

these blue little tickets, these um…these you know...’ like people maybe who don’t know

anything about it say oh it’s not going to make a difference, it’s not fair...it’s not fair that

they’re getting this… that you don’t get marked down for your grammar mistakes so yeah

instead of getting helpful professors…they get annoyed” Gemma

“the way they marked my work and stuff they didn’t kind of take a different approach to it

compared to another persons and I feel that because they didn’t take on board the fact I was

dyslexic… I remember one occasion it was the compulsory module and they... (lecturer) was

filling in for the module leader and we had a piece of work..the first assignment and I

remember giving her the blue card and I attached it to the work and I remember getting the

mark back...the grade back and although I got a 60 a lot of the comments on it were...a lot

of the crosses were against it were for grammar and stuff and on the bottom she wrote ‘see

upgrade’ and the thing that happened was she gave me back the work and said ‘oh yes and

you left this blue card in my pigeon-hole’… and I said no ‘that’s for you’ but she walked off

and it registered to me that she didn’t even read the blue card, she just thought I’d attached

some blue card so the marks she’d given me… she hadn’t read the blue card that said this

student is dyslexic ,don’t discount marks for grammar” Claire

“one other module ...the first piece of work was a short interview and analyse it but I

remember feeling this is weird the mark should be higher than this and she sat there and said

you would have got higher but I had to deduct marks for the grammar and spelling…and this

was even despite the blue card” Claire

“so the blue card is there..I’m not sure how much lecturers follow it…I know there’s debate

amongst the Uni…how much lecturers take notice of the blue card…I understand in

coursework you might not need to look at it as much because you can read through it and

have the help of your dyslexia tutor...but I think definitely exams they’re needed and

lecturers need to take notice of them… the blue cards are good depending on how much

lecturers listen to them… there’s a lot of you know…some lecturers don’t listen to them that

much” Laurence

Disability Team:

The following comments were made about the disability team itself:

“they have always been exceptionally helpful and have been excellent advocates on my

behalf, especially when dealing with the (Current field) but I feel that in a way I kind of feel a

bit angry with the disability team because I feel it’s their job to be educating the rest of the

university…the staff and also the people in the library as well” Claire

“I think the thing that people don’t realise that you...it’s like an extra thing to work with it’s

not just like it makes working difficult there’s a whole extra pile of things that you have to

work on because of your dyslexia or like...so you have a learning support person or

something but that in itself is like taking a whole other module (laughs) so I don’t know for

me it feels like I’m doing a whole other courses and things just because I’m dyslexic and I felt

the dyslexia service didn’t understand that” Gemma

“I think there is a gap…obviously each person is assessed dependent on their particular

disability but I felt that there’s a generic thing that you go for and it’s not as flexible enough,

as I say everyone’s disability affects them in different ways and they seem to have this

standard package that they offer…and that’s the impression I got this is the standard

package we offer and that’s what you’re going to get…I didn’t feel like they always listened

to me…” Jennifer

“In my first two years the support from my disability advisor was really good, she kept in

regular contact and helped with problems but when I was struggling on my placement

abroad, I was struggling and there was no support, my disability advisor just seemed to try

and placate me and the problems and after 4 months she’d only contacted me once... it was

almost as if because I was not at Brookes this year I was no longer her problem” Karen

Assessment of needs (DSA)

Five of the six students’ commented on the length of time it took to receive their provision and the

lack of support they felt during this time:

“the process just seemed to take forever…it was…I was almost through the first year before I

got any of the help that they said I could have…because you sort of go to the disability

service and talk to them…then they refer you to a disability somebody…an assessor who’s at

the um…Oxford college for further education…that’s where all of the assessment’s are done

for oxford…so I had to wait and I think…I enrolled in the September and it wasn’t until I was

almost at the end of the 2nd semester that I had my assessment” Jennifer

“in my second year, in my second term of my second year I’ve only had one session of

dyslexia help you know it’s taken a year and a half to kind of organise these things which is

what I mean… it’s more like extra work because you know these people are here to support

us and help us but in a way you know they...thy don’t communicate with each other, just like

a normal beurocracy it’s just like impossible to kind of sort it out when you’re dyslexic and it’s

like you’re making my life harder not easier... yeah they have given me the what do you call

it?... equipment, but you think what’s the point if you can’t use anything (laughs)” Gemma

“by the time they sorted it out, it was about week 10 or 11 or 12 or something and I was like

what’s the point for this semester…exams are coming and I don’t have the time to sort it

out……but then…of course it took me a while to get used to the equipment…the training

wasn’t very good on the equipment at all… it’s not dyslexic people that are training…or

people aware of dyslexia were training us on the equipment…they’re not exactly training us

right because they don’t know how we work…” Laurence

“it just took too long before the support arrived, you were already behind by that point”

Karen

“it was the waiting for the help...you’d asked for help, you needed help and they were going

to help but it just took so long and there was no emails, nothing to make sure you were okay

until the help arrived...” Jack

One student suggested it would be helpful for the disability team to make students aware that they

can access software through any pooled computers within Brookes and have had access to training

on the software from the university:

“I’d seen the disability support officer but I was still waiting for all of that package to come

through...I didn’t even know you could access this stuff through the Brookes system which

would have helped hugely...although I didn’t know how to use it then…which would have

been useful” Jennifer

Mitigating Circumstances:

A couple of students also commented on the new mitigating circumstances procedure and how they

felt this made obtaining extensions more difficult for them:

“…I needed to do the mitigating circumstances which was mega stressful and I was just

getting more and more stressed with the new process...” Jennifer

“It was easier when it was discretionary of the module leader but now it’s impossible, you

waste the extensions time just trying to get the extension time” Claire

Fellow Students:

One of the other areas, the students commented on the awareness and understanding of other

student’s in relation to their disability.

“my housemate she always used to think I was a little bit stupid and always used to feel free

to say it kind of like...kind of a joke...kind of a bit oh you know you’re hard to understand

aren’t you” Gemma

“they don’t understand how much harder I have to work and I remember one situation and it

really made me angry it was with my housemates in my first year and I was getting a

computer and they were like oh my god that’s not fair but why can’t we get that and I think

that kind of sums up their attitude to it because like if they’re seeing it as an unfair situation”

Claire

“You get the ‘oh I wish I was dyslexic so I could have the free stuff’ and I’m like what? No!

Why do you wish you were dyslexic so you could have free stuff? I would do anything…”

Laurence

“I think on the whole they do shy away from mature students as well as disabled students

and it’s not until you get into study groups and they think oh you’re not so bad...now I’ll sit in

the canteen and people will come up and chat to me...depending on where I am…but I still

think there’s that stigma attached, rightly or wrongly...” Jennifer