Our blog this week is a guest blog written by Ellen Gibbins of the Wellbeing Services Team. She is looking into applying for accommodation if you require adjustments in your room for medical reasons. Further information and advice about this can be found on our website.
Wellbeing Services: Arranging Accommodation Adjustments
Moving to university can be exciting, scary, stressful, exhilarating, or most likely a bit of everything! It is important that your accommodation is the right fit for you, and this is even more important if you have a disability or health condition that means you have specific accommodation requirements. 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 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 10:00am on Monday 9 April 2018; the guarantee deadline for applications is Tuesday 31 July 2018. 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 are complex and you require extensive changes to a room, 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 make the necessary arrangements.
There are a lot of things to consider when you move to university and accommodation is one of the most important, so please get in touch with 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 9 April
Many thanks for this Ellen and don’t forget if you have any queries about applying for accommodation with the support of our Wellbeing Services, they can be contacted between 9:00am-5:00pm Monday to Friday. Check their website for the best team to contact about your requirements.
Accommodation Catherine