Policies and Equality Scheme

The University has a number of policies and statements relating to the provisions, services and facilities offered to disabled students. These policies and statements govern the way in which we work and the support that is available to students.

Disability Service – Statement of Service

The Disability Service as part of the University of South Wales (USW) Group is committed to mainstreaming equality and diversity throughout all its activities, as well as meeting the general and specific duties imposed on it through such legislation as the Equality Act 2010. This policy statement therefore builds upon the Group’s vision and strategic priorities.

If you decide to apply to the University, have declared on your application form that you have a specific need arising from an impairment or medical condition, and are considered to be suited academically for your chosen area of study, you will be contacted personally by a Disability Adviser, and invited to discuss your requirements. Often this can be done by e-mail or telephone, but in some cases you will be invited / recommended to attend a meeting at the University, which may involve members of your future academic school. The purpose of this meeting is to enable you to assess whether we are able to meet all of your needs; it is also intended to help you decide whether or not to accept a place at the University if offered.  Visits  are also recommended in order for you decide  whether this will be a suitable place for you to study, especially within the physical constraints imposed upon us by our Treforest campus location. 

The University seeks to ensure that all applications are dealt with in accordance with our Equality and Diversity Policy, the Equality Act 2010, and, in compliance with the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR); all information provided is therefore treated as confidential.

We will aim to ensure that, once accepted on to one of our schemes, you will be provided with the resources and facilities to take a full part in the educational and social life of the campus as far as possible comparable to that of non-disabled students.  The support you may require will therefore be identified and placed on an Individual Support Plan (ISP) which is then provided to you.  Part of the information will identify the support you require from your academic school and will be shared following your permission in an appropriate manner.  Our services are also monitored annually.

Sharon Jones, Director of Student Services has overall responsibility for all Student Services provisions, of which the Disability Service is a part.  

Sid Kennedy is manager of the Wellbeing and Disability Service, which includes Disability Advisers who are available to discuss your individual requirements and the University’s provisions.

You can contact an adviser via the following methods:

Email an Adviser: [email protected]

We aim to deliver professional, accessible and confidential support and advice to students who have specific support requirements arising from a disability or specific learning difficulty.

Disability Service Objectives:

  1. To effectively deliver a high-quality disability service to applicants and students registered with the Disability Service in line with best practice and the Equality Act;
  2. To provide disability-related advice and information to applicants and USW students regarding the disability-related support available at USW;
  3. To provide applicants and USW students with guidance on applying for relevant disability-related funding;
  4. To facilitate and support disabled applicants to attend interviews and Open Day visits.
  5. To provide USW students with access to comprehensive screening and diagnostic assessment services for dyslexia and other Specific Learning Difficulties;
  6. To negotiate Individual Support Plans and to provide an individually-tailored programme of support to every student registered with the Service;
  7. To quality assure the services delivered by the Disability Service, including providing students with the opportunity to feed into this review process;
  8. To proactively increase the knowledge and skills of University staff, students and external stakeholders through the delivery of disability-related awareness training, support and advice.

Policies

All of our policies are available from the links below. Please contact us if you would like a copy of any of our policies or statements in Welsh, large print or in Braille.