Students with Disabilities

Disabled Students Officer:

Hi I’m May the Disability Officer at NUASU! I work with the Students Union, university and other student officers to represent, support and campaign on behalf of Students with all kinds of disabilities here at Norwich University. I am a disabled student predominantly known for wearing yellow! I am a positive and confident speaker and I want to raise and speak on topics which are so important to disabled Norwich students creating open communication! Being disabled and a student can be tiring and I want to help! Listening to student voices and bringing important information to feed back to the university! I would love to see a growth in disabled individuals getting involved in collaborative campaigns and creativity together! Creating positive awareness campaigns through our individual practices and working on making invisible issues more visible!

As a student officer, I sit on the Students’ Union Steering Committee and work alongside the SU President to ensure the interests, ideas and feedback of Women+ Students are heard and acted on. Here are some of the things you can contact me about:

· Campaigns, projects or initiatives – if you have an idea, we want to hear it!

· Feedback, complaints or concerns relating to your experience of studying at NUA or living in Norwich.

· Representation of Disabled students at SU, University and National level.

If you would like to get in touch, please contact me via:

su.disabledstudents@norwichuni.ac.uk.

Interested in this role?

Our Liberation officers are elected annually in the summer term and start their role from September. You can view the role description here. If you think you would be a great Disabilities officer, nominate yourself when elections open!

Support at Norwich University:

NUA aims to be an inclusive and supportive campus. However, we know sometimes things can go wrong on and off campus. If you would like to speak to the SU, please contact the Disabled Students Officer su.disabledstudents@norwichuni.ac.uk or studentsunion@norwichuni.ac.uk.

You can also pop in to the SU Lounge, located in the basement of St Andrews House during normal office hours for a confidential chat. There is an accessible lift down to the basement level through the brown doors to the left of St Andrews House main entrance.

During your studies, Student Support are available to help with a wide range of issues that might affect you.

Student Support are located on Floor 2 of Francis House. You can make appointments to see Student Support at the Student Enquiries office in St Georges or at Francis House Reception, by phone (on 01603 610561) or by email (support@norwichuni.ac.uk.)

The bookable appointments run from 10 – 4pm Monday to Friday with a drop-in facility between 9am - 12pm on Monday & Wednesday mornings and between 1pm-4pm on Friday afternoons. These operate on a first come, first served basis in Francis House. Evening drop-in's also run throughout the term; one in St George's and one in Boardman House. Details of all the drop-ins can be found on the NUA intranet.

Academic Support:

Academic Support works closely with the course teams and other areas of the Academic Registry to offer guidance on how our regulations can support you. We can help with:

claiming extenuating circumstances
applying for intermission, which means taking an approved break from your studies
and making an appeal or a complaint.

Dyslexia Support:

If you think you may have dyslexia then you can book a screening if you are in Year 0, 1 or 2 of your course by contacting 01603 610561 or emailing reception@norwichuni.ac.uk. You will need to collect screening paperwork to complete from Francis House Reception.

If you are a postgraduate student, please make contact as soon as possible by emailing dyslexia.support@norwichuni.ac.uk as NUA may be able to screen you for Dyslexia if you are in the early stages of your course. If you are an undergraduate Year 3 student, please contact us on dyslexia.support@norwichuni.ac.uk to discuss your situation.

If the screening suggests that you have Dyslexia, we recommend you have a full diagnostic assessment and the Student Support Team will refer you on for this. NUA can help with some or all of the costs , depending on your financial situation. Students who are eligible for the bursary will receive a full contribution. Students who are not eligible for the bursary will receive a partial contribution, and will need to pay £100 towards the cost of the assessment.

External support providers:

Equal Lives - disability rights organisation based in Norfolk and Suffolk. We exist to support people of any age who face disabling barriers.

BUILD charity - Social, leisure and learning opportunities for people with disabilities.
SCOPE - disability equality charity in England and Wales providing support and campaigns to ensure a fairer society.

Activism and Campaigns:

NUASU is committed to ensuring all students have fair access and opportunities, and campaigning on issues that disproportionally affect disabled students. Here are some campaign areas that we are continuously lobbying on:

Access to Mental Health Support:

Students all too often have pressures coming at them from all angles which may trigger mental ill-health, and the support services are either oversubscribed or just not there.

Gender Neutral Toilet campaign:

We are continuously talking to the university and working with them to come up with better solutions for gender neutral toilets which does not limit access for disabled students.

Sunflower Lanyard Scheme:

For years now the SU has been lobbying the University to adopt the sunflower lanyard scheme, ensuring students with hidden disabilities are not left behind and that access needs can be met. Since September 2023, free sunflower lanyards have been distributed by Student Support and the SU, and are recognised across the institution. If you are interested in a sunflower lanyard, please reach out to Student Support or the Students' Union and you will be able to collect one for free (subject to availability).