Responsibility for disability support in higher education

Short answer

Both. Support for disabled students in higher education in England and Wales is shared between the university and Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSAs), but they cover different things and rest on different legal foundations. The two systems are meant to work together, with the university providing “reasonable adjustments” as a legal duty, and DSA funding certain additional individual support on top of that.

The university’s responsibility

The university’s duties come from the Equality Act 2010. A higher education provider must not discriminate against disabled students and, importantly, is under a positive duty to make reasonable adjustments. This duty is anticipatory as well as reactive, which means the institution is expected to think ahead about the adjustments its disabled student population may need, rather than only responding once an individual asks.

Reasonable adjustments can cover a very wide range of things, including admissions procedures, teaching and delivery methods, the format of course materials, examination and assessment arrangements (such as extra time, a separate room, or alternative assessment formats), and aspects of the physical environment and access. The Government’s clearly stated position is that all reasonable adjustments are the legal obligation of the HE provider, and the provider must bear that cost without additional public funding. In other words, the university cannot simply direct a disabled student to DSA and treat that as discharging its own legal duty.

The university’s duty applies whether or not a student qualifies for or claims DSA. A student who does not apply for DSA, or who is not eligible for it, is still entitled to reasonable adjustments from the institution.

What DSA covers

Disabled Students’ Allowances are a separate, government-funded stream administered through Student Finance England (or Student Finance Wales for Welsh-domiciled students). DSA provides support to an individual student to meet needs identified in a needs assessment, over and above what the institution provides through its reasonable adjustments.

DSA typically funds things that are personal to the individual student rather than adjustments to the institution’s own provision. This commonly includes specialist equipment and assistive technology, non-medical helper support such as specialist study skills or mentoring, and certain additional costs a student incurs because of their disability. DSA does not depend on household income and is not a loan, so it does not have to be repaid.

The design principle, confirmed in Government policy, is that DSA continues to provide support where the support the institution provides through its Equality Act duties is not sufficient to meet the student’s assessed needs, once reasonable adjustments have been made. DSA therefore sits on top of, and fills gaps beyond, the university’s own obligations.

How the two fit together

The dividing line is essentially this. The university is responsible, at its own cost, for reasonable adjustments to its courses, teaching, assessment and facilities. DSA is responsible for funding additional, individually assessed support, particularly equipment and personal non-medical help, that goes beyond what the institution reasonably provides for its student body generally.

This split has shifted over time. Reforms in England were introduced specifically to “rebalance” responsibility, placing more of the burden on institutions to meet their Equality Act duties, with DSA focused on higher-level or more individual needs. Where a need is relatively mild or is the type of thing an institution should routinely provide, the expectation is that the university handles it rather than DSA.

In practice the two are meant to interlock, and a needs assessment for DSA will often specify which recommendations are for DSA to fund and which are matters for the institution to provide as reasonable adjustments.

Where problems arise

Disputes commonly arise when a student is passed back and forth, with the university saying something is for DSA and DSA (or the needs assessor) saying it is a reasonable adjustment the institution should provide. If that happens, the key point to hold onto is that the university’s reasonable adjustment duty under the Equality Act is a legal obligation it cannot outsource to DSA. If the institution refuses an adjustment on the basis that DSA should pay, that does not, in itself, discharge the university’s legal duty.

Practical steps if you are caught in this situation:

1. Ask the university’s disability or student support service to confirm in writing what adjustments it will provide, and register formally with that service.

2. If you are eligible, apply for DSA and complete a needs assessment, so that assessed needs and recommendations are documented in writing. Keep the assessment report, as it usually identifies what should be funded by DSA and what is for the institution.

3. If the university refuses a reasonable adjustment, put your request in writing, ask for reasons, and use the institution’s formal complaints procedure.

4. If the internal complaint is not resolved, a student at a qualifying provider can usually escalate to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, which handles student complaints against providers in England and Wales.

5. Disability discrimination or failure to make reasonable adjustments can also potentially be pursued as a claim under the Equality Act 2010 in the County Court, though that is a last resort and carries cost, delay and litigation risk, so the internal and OIA routes are normally sensible first.

Key missing facts

The precise answer for your situation depends on where you are domiciled (which determines whether it is Student Finance England or Student Finance Wales), the type of provider and course, the specific support you need, and what your DSA needs assessment says. If you can identify the particular adjustment or support in dispute, it is usually possible to say with more confidence whether it falls to the university as a reasonable adjustment or to DSA as individually assessed additional support.