Student Education Service
Disabled Students’ Assessment and Support
Information for International Students
Please read the following information carefully. We have further information
regarding the various types of support available to disabled students. Please
contact the Disability Team to discuss what support may be available for you,
contact details can be found below.
Applying to the University of Leeds
The University welcomes applications from disabled international students and we
encourage you to declare your disability and your support needs as soon as possible.
Telling us about your disability will not affect your selection as a student, but will enable us
to assess your needs, plan your stay at the University and inform you to what extent we
can meet your requirements.
When you are thinking about the support you will require, please think carefully about the
informal help that you currently get from family and friends, and include this on the form.
In the UK, friends on your course and your housemates may help you with support if
asked, but if this becomes regular, the expectation is usually that disabled students will
employ a personal assistant and not rely on regular disability support from friends. The
more information you give to the Disability Team, the better we will be able to assist you,
as we will have a clearer idea of your support requirements.
Confidentiality
In order to help to put the right support in place for you the Disability Team may need to
discuss your disability related requirements with other people and organisations, on a
limited basis. If you do not wish the Disability Team to disclose your disability related
information, you must inform the Disability Team of this immediately. The leaflet ‘How the
Disability Team may use your information’ explains this in more detail and is available on
our website: www.equality.leeds.ac.uk/for-students/disabled-student-assessments/howthe-disability-team-will-use-your-information.
Services for Students
Below are some of the services the Disability Team can supply, if appropriate. These are
offered at no cost or at a minimal cost:

An assessment of academic support needs

Disabled students’ early induction programme

Handouts and lecture presentations in advance if available.

Access to campus-based computers with assistive technology (including, text-tospeech, mind-mapping and magnification software)

Equipment loan, if available

Adapted accommodation, if available (at normal rental rates)

Modified examination arrangements where appropriate

Extended library loans

Information and support from the Disability Team staff
Other services have a cost associated with them, and it is likely that the full cost will be
charged to you, these services include:

One-to-one learning support

Transcription for visually impaired students

Personal assistance

Sign Language interpreters

Note-takers

Readers
These services/people are often called ‘non-medical helpers’.
The Disability Team will discuss the cost of these services with your sponsors.
If you do not have a sponsor, or other source of financial support you are advised to talk to
the Disability Team about financial assistance towards these academic, disability-related
costs. However, please note that any alternative sources of funding are likely to be limited.
Support with Day to Day Living
The University of Leeds does not provide support with daily living tasks, therefore you will
need to think carefully about any non-academic, disability-related support requirements
you may have, for example assistance with shopping, cooking, cleaning, laundry or
personal care. The University may be able to give information about agencies which
provide care assistants, but you need to be aware that you will probably have to meet the
costs of this type of support yourself, as this is non-academic support and government
welfare benefits are not available to international students. Support with day-to-day living
can be very expensive, so this is an extra cost for which you must budget. You are
advised to discuss this in depth with your sponsors and with the Disability Team prior to
your application, as this type of support needs to be planned and resourced well in
advance.
Other Sources of Financial Assistance
For information regarding other sources of financial assistance for international students,
the following websites will give more detailed advice

The British Council www.britishcouncil.org

The Chevening Scholarship Fund www.chevening.org

The Council for International Education www.ukcosa.org.uk

International Scholarships and courses www.acu.ac.uk/focus-areas/scholarships
As a guideline for you and your sponsors to work out the amount of disability related
financial assistance you may require, the government allowances for undergraduate UK
disabled students are detailed below. (If a student has high support needs the sums below
are often inadequate)
Circa £5,000 for equipment per course;
Circa £20,000 for non-medical helpers per year;
Circa £1,700 general allowance;
Daily living support costs can range from £10 per hour to over £20 per hour.
Please note that whilst disabled UK students are eligible for grants and benefits from the
UK government towards their disability related costs, these grants are NOT available to
disabled international students*. You are therefore advised that you need to identify
sufficient funding for your disability related support prior to coming to Leeds.
*EU students who have been resident in the UK for 3 years, and international students
with indefinite leave to remain in the UK, are advised to check the eligibility criteria for UK
Disabled Students Allowances. Check with your local authority or see this webpage:
www.gov.uk/disabled-students-allowances-dsas
University of Leeds Service Charges for 2014/15
Here is information on this year’s support costs. Please note that there may be an increase
for the next academic year.

Non-medical helper rates
Personal assistance
£30.68 per hour
Note-taker
£31.19 per hour
Specialist mentor
£46.22 per hour
Disability Strategy Tutor
£71.84 per hour
Sign Language Interpreter
£121.14 per half day

Transcription charges
Costs are calculated on the number of words in the original document where 400 words
equate to an A4 print page. For each 400 words, the charge is £6 for transcription to
Braille, large print, audio or e-text. Tactile diagrams are charged at £12 per item.
Campus Accessibility
There is a network of accessible routes around the campus. A campus access map giving
details of these routes, lifts, parking spaces and toilets, etc is available via the web site at
www.leeds.ac.uk/campusmap. The majority of buildings, including all key academic and
support service providers are accessible to wheelchair users. If there is any teaching
space that is not accessible, flexible timetabling is used to ensure that lectures and
classes are held in alternative accessible venues. The majority of the central teaching
spaces have induction loop or infra red systems for hearing impaired students. The main
routes around campus have a talking sign post system in operation to assist blind and
visually impaired students. A Deaf Alerter system linked to the fire alarm system is also in
operation.
If you have any specific access requirements please include these on the self-assessment
form. The Disability Team will then liaise with your department and the Estates Service,
regarding any adaptations that may be required to buildings and routes etc.
Medical Care
International students may qualify for NHS treatment if they are on a university course that
lasts longer than six months. Students on shorter courses, unless there is a reciprocal
healthcare agreement with their own country, will be seen as private patients and a fee will
be charged. Further information and a list of fees are available from Leeds Student
Medical Practice. They have translations of key Practice documents in the following
languages: Chinese, Japanese, Greek, Arabic, and Spanish. The practice is accessible to
disabled people.
For more information contact the following Services:
Disability Team
Ground Floor, Chemistry West Block, Leeds, LS2 9JT, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)113 343 3927, Fax: +44 (0)113 343 3944, Minicom: +44 (0)113 343 2616
Email: disability@leeds.ac.uk, web: www.equality.leeds.ac.uk
UoL Disability Team
www.twitter.com/UoLDisability
International Student Office
University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 113 343 3930, Fax: +44 (0) 113 343 3932
Email: Pre-arrival: internationalwelcome@leeds.ac.uk, web: www.leeds.ac.uk/international
Leeds Student Medical Practice
4 Blenheim Court, Blenheim Walk, Leeds, LS2 9AE, United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0)113 295 4488, Web: www.leeds.ac.uk/lsmp
If you require a copy of this letter or any of the supplied leaflets in an alternative
format (for example, braille, large print, e text or audio), please email
disability@leeds.ac.uk or telephone +44 (0)113 343 3927