Reasonable adjustments for disability at university

Yes, in many situations you can require this kind of support, but the legal basis and the practical routes differ, so it is worth understanding how they fit together.

The legal foundation

Universities and other higher education providers in England and Wales are bound by the Equality Act 2010. If you are a disabled person within the meaning of the Act, which includes deaf and hard of hearing people, people with dyslexia or other specific learning difficulties, and people with a wide range of physical and mental impairments, the provider owes you a duty to make reasonable adjustments.

The duty has three limbs under sections 20 and 21 and Schedule 13. The provider must take reasonable steps to avoid substantial disadvantage caused by a provision, criterion or practice; by a physical feature; and, importantly for your question, by the absence of an auxiliary aid. The auxiliary aid limb expressly covers communication support. The statutory and official guidance examples of auxiliary aids include a British Sign Language interpreter, a lip-speaker, a deafblind communicator, a note-taker, and equipment. So the very support you mention is precisely what this part of the law is designed to deliver.

A key feature of the duty on universities is that it is anticipatory. Unlike an employer, a university is expected to think ahead about the needs of disabled students generally and to have arrangements in place, not simply to react once you ask. You should not have to wait for a barrier to arise before support is considered.

The duty cannot be passed to you financially. Under the Act a provider is not permitted to require the disabled person to pay for the reasonable adjustment.

What “reasonable” means in practice

You cannot demand a specific named form of support in every case as an absolute right. The obligation is to avoid the substantial disadvantage by reasonable steps. If, for example, you need BSL because it is your first or preferred language and lip-reading or captioning would not give you meaningful access, a qualified BSL/English interpreter is likely to be the reasonable adjustment. If your needs could be met equally well by electronic note-taking, live captioning or lecture recordings, the provider may be entitled to choose the effective option that is more practicable, rather than the exact one you prefer.

Relevant factors include how effective the step would be in removing the disadvantage, how practicable it is, the size and resources of the provider, and the availability of other support. Universities are substantial institutions, so cost arguments rarely justify leaving a disabled student without any effective communication support. The Office of the Independent Adjudicator’s Good Practice Framework and the Equality and Human Rights Commission technical guidance both treat interpreters and note-takers as standard examples of adjustments providers are expected to arrange.

Disabled Students’ Allowances

Communication support often overlaps with Disabled Students’ Allowances (DSA) from Student Finance England for eligible students. DSA can fund non-medical helpers such as note-takers, specialist mentors and communication support workers, as well as equipment and software. You would normally have a needs assessment that recommends specific support.

DSA and the Equality Act duty are separate but connected. A university cannot lawfully refuse to make a reasonable adjustment simply by telling you to fund it yourself through DSA, and the reasonable adjustment duty still applies to things DSA does not cover. In practice institutions and Student Finance England are expected to work together, but the ultimate legal responsibility for anticipatory reasonable adjustments in teaching, assessment and university services rests with the provider.

Where the support applies

The duty is broad. It covers lectures, seminars, tutorials, laboratory and practical sessions, examinations and other assessments, placements arranged through the course, meetings with tutors and support staff, disciplinary or fitness-to-practise hearings, and access to student services and university events. A scribe or extra time in exams, a note-taker in lectures, and an interpreter for teaching and meetings are all recognised examples in different contexts.

Facts that affect the outcome

Several things would sharpen the answer for your situation. Whether you meet the Equality Act definition of disability matters, though for deafness and most established impairments this is usually straightforward. Your preferred and effective means of communication matters, because that shapes what is reasonable. Your funding eligibility for DSA matters, as home students and some others qualify while the position for certain international students differs, in which case the reasonable adjustment duty becomes even more central. The specific setting also matters, since support needs in a clinical placement or a viva may differ from a standard lecture.

Practical steps

1. Register with the university’s disability or student support service and provide any medical or diagnostic evidence you have. Early registration triggers the process and helps establish a record.

2. Apply for DSA if you are eligible, and attend the needs assessment. Ask for the assessment report to specify the communication support you need, for example a qualified BSL interpreter, electronic note-taker or scribe.

3. Put your request in writing to the disability service, describing the disadvantage you face without the support and the support you consider necessary. Ask for a written support plan or learning support agreement setting out what will be provided, by whom, and for which activities.

4. Ask specifically about exams and assessments in good time, because arrangements such as a scribe, a reader, extra time or an interpreter usually need to be confirmed well before the assessment period.

5. Keep a clear record of requests, responses, dates and any occasions where promised support did not turn up, as this evidence is valuable if you later need to complain.

If support is refused or fails

If the university refuses appropriate support, offers something that does not actually remove the disadvantage, or repeatedly fails to provide agreed support, start with the internal complaints procedure. Frame it clearly as a failure to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010 and refer to the specific activities affected and the harm caused.

If the internal process does not resolve it, and once you have a Completion of Procedures letter, you can take the complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, which handles student complaints against providers and can recommend remedies.

Separately, a failure to make reasonable adjustments can be pursued as disability discrimination in the County Court under the Equality Act services and public functions provisions, generally within six months of the act complained of. Court action carries cost, delay and litigation risk, so it is usually a last resort after the internal and OIA routes, but the possibility of a claim often focuses an institution’s attention. You can also seek advice and support from your students’ union, and from disability organisations, when preparing a complaint.

Summary

You have a strong legal footing. BSL interpretation, note-taking, scribing and other communication support are exactly the kinds of auxiliary aids the reasonable adjustment duty is meant to provide, the duty is anticipatory, and the university cannot make you pay for it. Whether you can insist on one particular form of support depends on what is genuinely needed to remove your disadvantage and what is reasonable and effective. The most productive path is to register early, use DSA where eligible, secure a written support plan, and escalate through the complaints procedure and the OIA if the provision falls short.