Knowledge Centre

Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) for vision impairment

If you have vision impairment, your college or university has a duty to support you and reduce the barriers you face in learning and studying. This could include extra time to complete your exams, specialist equipment tailored to your needs, or an educational support worker to assist with your studies.

If you are studying at Higher National Certificate (HNC) level or above, you may also be eligible for additional funding to support your learning. This funding is known as the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA).

DSA is:

• Not income-based: Your financial situation or savings do not affect your eligibility.
• Non-repayable: You do not need to pay it back.
• Unrelated to other funding: It does not impact any benefits or other student funding you receive.

DSA is provided by the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) for those ordinarily resident in Scotland.

 

DSA support for vision impairment

DSA is divided into several parts to cater to different needs:

 

Equipment, software, and accessories allowance

• DSA provides funding for assistive technology tailored to visual impairments, such as screen readers (e.g., JAWS or NVDA), magnification software, Braille displays, or other specialist devices.
• It also covers laptops, printers, or scanners with accessibility features.
• The maximum equipment allowance is £5,160 for the entire duration of your course (not annually).

 

Non-Medical Personal Help (NMPH) allowance

• Covers the cost of educational support services like note-takers, scribes, or study skills tutors trained to assist visually impaired students.
• The maximum allowance for non-medical personal help is £20,520 per year (pro-rata for part-time study).

 

Consumable items allowance

• Provides funding for items such as Braille paper, tactile diagrams, Livescribe paper, and ink cartridges.
• The annual maximum consumable items allowance is £1,725 (pro-rata for part-time study).

 

Travel costs

• If your vision impairment prevents you from using public transport, DSA can help with additional travel expenses. For example, taxi fares or mileage may be covered if public transport is inaccessible.

 

How to apply

If you are applying for DSA for the first time, starting early is essential. The application and support arrangements may take several months to process, so don’t wait until your course begins to apply.

 

Application timeline:

• Applications open around the end of April each year.
• Some colleges and universities may allow you to apply before your offer is confirmed, so contact your institution early to discuss this.