What are my legal rights at university and college?
Colleges and Further Education Institutions are often referred to as ‘Further Education’ (FE); Universities are often referred to as ‘Higher Education’ (HE).
Under the Equality Act (2010) all education providers are required to ensure that the access requirements of a person with a disability are met. Publicity information and education materials should be available in a range of accessible formats (large print, Braille, etc) so you can request them in your preferred format. They have an 'anticipatory' duty under the legislation and therefore should be able to provide materials in an appropriate format without difficulty.
Look into what the colleges and universities you are thinking of applying for can provide in terms of other accessibility facilities, such as:
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computers with screen reading and/or magnification software
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accessible university campus and buildings and resources
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accessible versions of course materials
Contact your University's Disability Support Office to discuss local arrangements.
Thomas Pocklington Trust supports Further and Higher Education students with vision impairment, including working with FE and HE providers to ensure support is in place:
RNIB produced a toolkit on ‘Challenging discrimination by a further or higher education provider’ available on:
For more information see What is the Equality Act?
RNIB Specialist Advice Service Advisors can give further information on this topic
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