For 19-year-old Sam Wood, a third year criminology student at Edge Hill University in Liverpool, technology is an essential part of his degree.
“I use lots of different software which is really crucial for me being able to access my lectures and degree content in the same way as my peers,” says Sam, who is visually impaired. One of the types of software I use reads academic literature for me, another is mind-mapping, which breaks down text and helps plan essays… I would not be able to keep up in lectures without the software.”
Sam is able to access this life-changing technology via a grant called the Disabled Students Allowance that helps students with additional costs they may face in higher education because of their disability. In 2023-24 more than 88,000 students benefited, at a cost of £203 million.
But in June, the Department for Education announced it is looking to cut support for specialist software except in “exceptional circumstances” – because advances in technology mean there are now free, mass-market tools available.
Campaigners say that directly contradicts the Burnham government’s plan to focus on supporting young people Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET), – given that young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) are already 80 per cent more likely to be NEET, according to the recent report led by former Health Secretary Alan Milburn.
Sam, who is Edge Hill’s disabled students officer, says without access to the software, his dream of doing a Masters in criminology could be over. “I would like to do a Masters but DSA would be crucial to doing that,” he says. He also finds the mixed messages around AI confusing. “As students we are told not to use AI, but now you have other people telling you that you have to,” Sam says. “It is all messy and unclear. Navigating university as a disabled student is already challenging.”
The DfE says that under the new proposals, those with “exceptional circumstances” will still receive funded software through DSA, but the The British Assistive Technology Association (BATA) says new FOIs made by the association reveal the ‘safety net’ mechanism has so far not approved a single student since being introduced.
“These newly uncovered FOI responses raise serious concerns about proposed changes to disabled student support that lack robust technical or clinical evidence,” Nicole Michael, Vice Chair of BATA, says. “Generic, off-the-shelf software simply cannot replace the tailored assistive technology many students rely on to complete their degrees.
“Furthermore, placing reliance on an ‘exceptional circumstances’ process that has not approved a single applicant in 16 months creates unnecessary uncertainty and risks leaving universities to plug the gaps. We hope the Prime Minister and Education Secretary will take this opportunity to pause these proposals and work with sector experts to ensure disabled students continue to receive the dedicated support they need.”
A Department for Education spokesperson said: “We have consulted on changes to the Disabled Students’ Allowance as many supported tools are now freely available, but funded software will remain available where free alternatives do not meet students’ needs.
“No decisions have been made on the DSA. We are currently reviewing consultation responses and will provide an update in due course. More widely, we’re making sure someone’s background isn’t a barrier to attending university which is why we’re reintroducing maintenance grants from September 2028, and increasing maximum loans for living costs from next month.”
Sussex University student, Lydia Petch, 26, is neurodivergent, and has physical and cognitive disabilities that mean she uses a wheelchair and a cane. She is just starting her third year studying criminology with psychology. I have to spend a lot of time in the hospital, which means I’m away from university,” Lydia says. “Software allows me to produce notes at the same level whilst I’m in hospital as if I was sitting in the lecture. This is very important to me, I don’t want to miss content, as it makes assessments so much harder.
“Navigating the intense workload of my degree alongside deep neuro-diversity and severe anxiety is already a constant, exhausting battle. The Disabled Students’ Allowance funds a specialised software that makes this degree possible. For example, the Text to Speech software takes notes during lectures and summarises the notes in a way which is much easier for me to digest. The software Helper maps out, plans and format my essays. I use Brain in Hand which helps structures my day and aids time management, it is a lifeline.
“These tools are not luxuries – they are the only reason I can keep up in lectures, finish my essential reading and write comprehensive coursework. I would like to pursue a postgraduate degree, but if I don’t have the support in place, will it be possible for me? I’m having to reevaluate my whole future and my whole life plan.
“Added to which, I am fiercely against AI. AI has a negative impact on disabled people and the environment. Suggesting the use of AI to disabled people who are aware of these risks is insulting.”
In Blackpool, Clair Welsh is talking us through the assistive technology she uses to study for her History degree. “The package of software is absolutely fantastic,” the 50-year-old Open University student tells us. “One allows me to break down the tasks into smaller tasks, another records lectures… I didn’t realise until I started using the software that I actually had a problem with white backgrounds and texts, so using the Read and Write software has helped me explore my autism a little bit better.
“That software allows me to change the background and text colour – and TalkType allows me to dictate. That has been a life-changer.” For Clair, like Sam and Lydia, cuts to support would mean abandoning plans for a Masters. “I just wouldn’t have gone to university if I didn’t have the DSA support,” she says. “I have a well-being mentor I see weekly and I have a study skills mentor, who I also see weekly, as part of my DSA package. Without that, it would get too much.”
Despite working as an early years practitioner in a nursery to help fund her degree, Clair says she couldn’t afford the assistive tech herself. “This is a huge funding cut,” she says. “What I don’t understand is why they want to deprive people of the chance to follow their own path? Everyone should be able to access university education whatever their disability. I’m almost at the end of my unit and I’ve been getting really good grades – the software is supporting me to do that.”
Lydia says the cuts to DSA will be devastating for disabled students. “Higher education just won’t be accessible to disabled people anymore,” she warns. “Disabled people already feel excluded from so many areas of life. I would like to see more disabled people in higher education spaces but if this happens, we are going to see less of that.”