Hi everyone and welcome to today’s blog. Today we have a guest blog from Ellen Gibbins, part of the Wellbeing Services team. She has some really useful advice for you whilst you’re getting ready to apply for accommodation if you need specific adjustments due to a disability of health condition.
Arranging Accommodation Adjustments
Moving into new accommodation can be one of the most exciting and nerve-wracking parts of coming to university, and whilst everyone has different priorities for where they live, the most important thing is to make sure that your accommodation is right for you. This is particularly important if you have specific requirements due to a disability or health condition. If so, the best way to communicate your needs to the University is to fill out Wellbeing Services’ Prospective Student online form as soon as you can.
The Prospective Student online form allows you to give the University details of the support you may require while you study here, which includes accommodation adjustments as well as things like exam adjustments and teaching arrangements. When you fill out the form, you will be asked to give details of any adjustments you may need, and to provide supporting medical evidence. It is important to note that we will need your medical evidence to specifically state the type of adjustments you need, as well as stating a diagnosis; for example, this may be to be placed in a quiet residence or to have a fridge in your room if you have to take refrigerated medication regularly.
Once we have received your submission we will be in touch with you to discuss your support. If appropriate, our advisors will then email the Accommodation team in support of your requirements, but rest assured that details of your health condition or disability won’t be shared. Our advisors will confirm with you if they have supported your accommodation requirements, usually via email.
You will then need to apply separately for your accommodation when the applications open from 09:00 on Monday 6 April 2020; the guarantee deadline for applications is Wednesday 31 July 2020. There is a tick box that you should tick when you apply to show that you have been in touch with Wellbeing Services about your requirements. 
In most cases the Accommodation team will then get in contact at the end of August when they start to send out accommodation offers. They will only get in touch with you earlier than this if they need to confirm any details of your application.
Please be aware that if your needs mean you may require changes to a room’s structure, such as having a hoist installed, it is best to get in touch with us as early as possible in order to ensure that we have enough time to discuss requirements with you and to make the necessary arrangements.
Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions – we will be very happy to help.
Checklist
- Fill out the Prospective Student online form as soon as you can, attaching relevant medical evidence that contains specific recommendations for your support
- Keep an eye on your emails and action any subsequent contact from Wellbeing Services
- Apply for accommodation when the applications open on Monday 6 April
Thanks for reading today’s blog! And we want to thank Ellen for her great tips. If you have any questions about applying for accommodation with the support of Wellbeing Services you can find all their contact details on their webpage. We also have additional information about accessible rooms on our Accommodation webpage.
We will be back next week with more information to help you make the right choices before applications open in April. Additionally, those of you that will be coming to our Offer holder visit day on Saturday we really look forward to meeting you!
Accommodation Shannon