Students with disabilities and additional needs
Higher Education
Thank you for choosing University College Birmingham for your studies
University College Birmingham prides itself on providing a fully inclusive environment for its students.
Sharing information about a disability or additional need is a positive step, with a number of benefits, and University College Birmingham is committed to providing a ‘safe space’ where students can do this.
Here you can access information that may be useful to you as a new student at University College Birmingham, including videos related to key support services, links and downloads.
- Find your way around campus
- Introduction to Disability and Neurodiversity Support (DNS)
- Safeguarding, Health and wellbeing, Accommodation
- Guild of Students
- Disabled Students' Allowance
- Accessible learning from our DICE team
- Centre for Academic Skills and English (CASE)
- Downloads and additional information
Useful contacts
- Disability and Neurodiversity Support
dnsupport@ucb.ac.uk - General queries
student_services@ucb.ac.uk - Financial support
financialsupport@ucb.ac.uk - HIRED
hired@ucb.ac.uk - Guild of Students
guildinfo@ucb.ac.uk - DICE
dice@ucb.ac.uk - Library / CASE
library@ucb.ac.uk
Find your way around campus
Familiarise yourself with our campus and facilities by going on our virtual tours.
Disability and Neurodiversity Support (DNS)
Hear some of our higher education students talk about their experiences of studying at University College Birmingham, the benefits of disclosing a support need and the support we offer.
Our Disability and Neurodiversity Support team is here to advise and provide assistance throughout your studies. Find out how we can support you by clicking the button below. You can also view more information on our Disability and Neurodiversity Support portal.
Student services
Safeguarding and Health and wellbeing
University College Birmingham is firmly committed to keeping students safe. Watch this video to find out how we achieve this, as well as information about our Student Engagement Team and Mentoring, Health and wellbeing service and our on-site nurse.
Watch video
Student Accommodation - The Maltings
If you're planning on staying in student accommdation during your studies, why not take a look at our guided tour of The Maltings to get a real feel for wht it's like to live here. You can also view a room tour from former-student Rocio.
We may also be able to provide specialised accommodation, catering for students with mobility, hearing or visual needs.
Watch video
Your Student Guild
The Guild of Students is an independent charity that works with University College Birmingham students to help anyone studying here achieve their potential. The Guild runs a range of events and activities alongside representing students’ views.
To find out more, visit ucbguild.co.uk or follow @ucbguildofstudents on Instagram. You can reach The Guild anytime by emailing: guildinfo@ucb.ac.uk.
Watch videoDisabled Students’ Allowance (DSA)
If you are a student with a disability, Disabled Students' Allowance is there to help with any extra essential costs you may have as a result of your disability.
As a higher education student, you should explore whether you are eligible for Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA). As this process can take time, it is recommended that you apply as early as possible.
More information:
Accessible online learning
DICE (Digital Innovation for Creativity in Education) is University College Birmingham's digital learning team and our aim is to develop and support the use of innovative and accessible online learning technologies to enhance the teaching experience for all our students.
Centre for Academic Skills and English (CASE)
The CASE team is responsible for wider academic support, including 1:1 appointments with academic development tutors, year-round workshops and in-class sessions.
Downloads and additional information
This booklet contains all the relevant information about this service. It also contains information about assistive technology.
This policy explains our processes around Learner Support Plans for HE students, and the possible reasonable adjustments that you could receive for written coursework and other assessments.
Diversity and Ability has a comprehensive guide on assistive technology, most of which is free to use. It's easy-to-use resource can be filtered by need. Ability Net also offers a similar resource, but also provides more guidance on how to configure devices to your personal specifications.
Grammarly is proofreading software. All University College Birmingham students can set up Grammarly Premium accounts for free. This is a three-step process:
- Visit Grammarly
- Provide your name, your @student.ucb.ac.uk email and set up a password
- Check your inbox for the email and click on the activation link
We also have a small number of Sonocent Glean note-taking software accounts available for our students. Please contact dnsupport@ucb.ac.uk for more information regarding accounts. For more information on Glean and demos, click here.
Additional funding
We know that university can be an expensive time for all students. Please find further information below about additional sources of funding and support:
Discover more
Financial support
While studying, it is important to manage your finances and access any help to which you are entitled. Our staff are here to give you the support and advice you need.
Read more
Helping you get hired
Hired is our dedicated careers, employability and placements service for students and alumni at University College Birmingham.
Read more
Library services
Our library facilities offer thousands of print and digital resources, while our qualified library professionals and research specialists can help you find what you need.
Read more