Higher education in Northern Ireland - Trailblazers

Skill Northern Ireland
Information on Higher Education in
Northern Ireland
• You may photocopy this information booklet
• You may quote from this information booklet if you acknowledge
the source
• Skill Northern Ireland information booklets are available in
standard print, large print, Braille, tape and disk formats
• Every effort has been made to ensure accuracy. However, Skill
Northern Ireland cannot guarantee factual content
Skill Northern Ireland: National Bureau for Students with
Disabilities
Unit 2, Jennymount Court, North Derby Street, Belfast BT15 3HN
Telephone/ Minicom: 028 9028 7000
Fax: 028 9028 7002
Website: www.skillni.org.uk
E-mail: info@skillni.org.uk
Skill is a company limited by guarantee (2397897) and a registered
charity (801970) also registered in Scotland (SC039212)

Higher Education in Northern Ireland
Contents
1. Introduction 1
2. What is higher education? 2
3. Deciding where to study 4
4. Applying for a higher education course 7
5. Higher education providers in Northern Ireland 10
6. Disabled Students’ Allowance 14
7. Further sources of information 16
Page
1. Introduction
Going into higher education can be a very exciting experience.
Being fully prepared means that you can spend less time worrying
and more time studying and having fun.
This leaflet aims to provide information about higher education in
Northern Ireland. Many students begin higher education when they
are 17 or 18 years old, but it is becoming more and more common
for people to start courses of higher education at any age.
There are many issues that have to be considered. All students will
need to ask questions about what course to do, where the course is
available and what facilities are provided in colleges. In addition,
they should consider whether they want to study by attending a
university in campus, or whether supported distance learning would
be a better option for their circumstances. Disabled students will
probably have other questions too. For example, will the university
be able to provide learning materials in Braille? Will the lecture halls
be accessible to me as a wheelchair user? Will the college
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qualifications. It can also give you a chance to join in other activities,
develop new skills, gain new experiences and meet new people.
Where can I find information about courses?
Prospectuses
Directories
UK Course
Provider
Websites
These set out the courses available at
individual institutions. You can obtain these
free of charge by contacting the university or
college’s admissions service.
Careers libraries keep course directories, for
example, the ‘UCAS (Universities and Colleges
Admissions Service) Directory’ and ‘University
and College Entrance: The Official Guide’, also
published by UCAS. See Useful Publications
section at the end of the leaflet for further
details
CD-ROM database of HE courses in the UK
usually found in careers offices
The UCAS website (www.ucas.ac.uk) has a
search facility which allows you to access
information on higher education courses at
institutions around the country. You will also
find links to the homepages of the universities
or colleges themselves.
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3. Deciding where to study
Higher education courses are provided in Northern Ireland’s three
universities (Queen’s University Belfast, the University of Ulster and
the Open University.) Many of the further education colleges here
also offer higher education courses. This leaflet only provides
information on study in Northern Ireland.
You can apply to up to six institutions through UCAS. Note that the
Open University is different – you should apply directly to them. You
can still apply to other universities (such as Queens and Ulster)
through UCAS at the same time. You may be tempted to apply only
to institutions which have good provision for disabled students, or
one that is closest to you. But take care - choosing the right
institution and course for you as an individual is very important. A
good way to start is to write a list of the places that offer the courses
you want. Then think through the other issues that might be
important to you as a student. The following list includes possible
examples of some of these.
• Academic considerations:
Facilities and reputation of the college?
What subjects are taught?
Academic support such as a personal tutor?
Library facilities?
Careers service?
• Location:
Near home?
Away from home?
On campus?
Or by supported distance learning, studying at home?
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Campus or multi site?
In the city/ town or suburbs?
Near to transport, such as bus or train station or taxi service?
• Student community:
How many students are there? (Is the university small or
large?)
What age groups?
• Access:
To lecture theatres and teaching rooms?
To the library, the books, photocopier, etc?
To a parking space?
To the bar and canteen?
To sports facilities?
In other ways, such as induction loops, clear signs, good
lighting.
• Disability support:
Is there good, clear information available about how the
institution meets the needs of individual students with
disabilities?
Are there any particular facilities for disabled students? For
example, Braille embosser, dyslexia support tutor, sign
language interpreter, note-takers, campus minibus. If these are
not available, can they be arranged in time for the start of your
course? If you need medical treatment, is there a suitable
centre available locally or on campus?
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• Accommodation:
Private accommodation –
Cost?
Location?
Size/accessibility of rooms?
Safety?
On campus –
Cost?
Catered or self-catering?
Rooms for disabled students?
Lifts?
Laundry facilities?
Integrated with other students?
Will they install equipment or make adaptations?
Safety?
Fire procedures for disabled students?
Will they provide a room for your personal assistant if you have
one?
• Recreation and leisure:
Town facilities, shops, banks, cinema, theatre, sports, hobbies,
students’ union, societies, nightlife?
Accessibility of the local area? It is important to be able to
access the local area as well as the college, especially if you
are living away from home.
Part-time job opportunities?
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4. Applying for a higher education course
The application form
- Apply through the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service
(UCAS) for most first degrees, Diplomas of Higher Education,
Higher National Diplomas and some University Diplomas. You
can get forms from the careers services or directly from UCAS.
You can also apply online at www.ucas.ac.uk.
- Apply through the Nursing and Midwifery Admissions Service
(NMAS) for diplomas in nursing.
- Apply through the Social Work Admissions System (SWAS) for
diplomas in social work.
- Apply to the Open University directly, by application form, by
telephone or online.
- The details for all of these are at the end of this leaflet.
Giving information about your disability or impairment
Most application forms ask if you are disabled and ask you to give
details of individual needs. Many people worry that disclosing their
disability or impairment at this stage may open them to
discrimination. Some of the things you may want to consider are
listed below. (However, please note that, because the Open
University has an open entry policy, although the first three points
are particularly pertinent, many of the other issues are not relevant
in this context.
• Being fair to yourself: Telling the institution in advance can help
them to prepare and arrange support for you before the start of
your course. You do not want to spend the first week of term
setting up support when everyone else is going to parties and
making new friends!
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• Being fair to the college: Changes may need to be made or
staff may need training before you arrive. They need time for this.
• Explaining something: You may need to mention your disability
or impairment in order to explain something. For example your
disability may have affected your school career or you may have
done exams later than most other people.
• So that the information comes from you: Head teachers or
tutors from your previous school or college who are writing your
confidential reference may mention your disability if they think it is
significant.
• Discrimination: Unfortunately universities are still able to reject a
disabled person’s application for reasons of his or her disability.
As a failsafe, UCAS and other clearing houses allow you an extra
choice of college if you receive a rejection because of your
disability.
• It's the way you tell it
The decision about what to write is yours - you should put down
what you feel comfortable with. Beware of using terms that
admissions tutors will not understand. The institution is interested
in two things: how your disability or impairment may affect your
studies and what they need to know to give you the right support.
If you cannot fill in the form yourself
Ask someone to type or write your answers for you. Your referee
can explain the method used and the reasons for it in the
confidential report.
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Selection interviews
If you have an interview, let the institution know if you need any
particular arrangements. You may be asked about your disability, for
example, about adapting course material to suit your needs. Be
prepared to speak clearly and confidently about potential problems
and solutions.
Offers
Admissions tutors decide whether to offer you a place and the offer
will usually be a conditional offer. This means that your exam results
must meet the grade requirements of the course.
Rejections
Institutions rarely give reasons for a rejection. If you think you have
been rejected because of your disability, contact the institution to
find out. If they confirm that they have rejected you for reasons of
your disability, inform UCAS and they will give you another choice.
If you end up without a place
If you do not receive any offers or you do not achieve the exam
results you need, do not panic. Call the institution to see if they will
take you if you were close to the results you needed. Places on the
course could still be open. Otherwise, there are three further
options:
• Clearing From July to September, institutions can have another
look at applications. If you did not receive any offers, declined all
offers, were unsuccessful in getting the results needed or applied
after 30 June, you will automatically receive a Clearing entry form
with instruction details. If you have complicated care needs, this
option may be inappropriate for you. It is difficult to set up support
in the short time before the start of term.
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• Retaking If you are determined to take a particular course,
retaking examinations may allow you to reapply next year. It is
worthwhile asking individual institutions about their admissions
policies as better grades may be expected.
• Rethinking Think about alternative courses or a career path that
does not involve higher education. Talk over your options with a
careers adviser.
5. Higher education providers in Northern Ireland
Queen’s University Belfast
University Road
Belfast BT7 1NN
Tel: 028 9024 5133
Fax: 028 9024 7895
Website: www.qub.ac.uk
Disability Services Coordinator: Linda Maguire
Tel/ Minicom: 028 9033 5511
Fax: 028 9033 5378
E-mail: disability.office@qub.ac.uk
Queen’s welcomes and encourages applications from students with
disabilities. We will endeavour to ensure that all your individual
requirements are met to ensure your time at Queen’s is an
enjoyable and positive experience. The university has developed
the range of services available for students with disabilities.
Disability Services would be delighted to meet with prospective
students to discuss their individual requirements and the types of
support available, including the arrangement of note takers,
proofreaders, equipment etc. On confirmation of acceptance onto
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your course, staff can assist you with your application for Disabled
Students’ Allowances. The Disability Services staff would also be
happy to liase with relevant faculty staff to ensure that they are fully
aware of any support you may require. The age and design of some
of our buildings can cause difficulties with physical access. We
therefore recommend if you are a wheelchair user or have mobility
difficulties, that you contact Disability Services early in the year of
application to ensure that this can be addressed. Further details on
the range of services available can be obtained from the university’s
Guide for Students with Disabilities.
University of Ulster
The University of Ulster has five campuses: Belfast, Coleraine,
Portrush, Jordanstown and Magee. The accessibility of our
academic and support provision is constantly under review and
recent investments have added significantly to the provision of lifts
and other equipment. We encourage people with a disability,
medical condition, mental health difficulty or specific learning
difficulty eg. dyslexia to apply for places on our courses. The
University seeks to ensure inclusion in all its courses through
removing barriers to accessibility. This is achieved through flexible
teaching methods and the provision of facilities and services to
meet individual student need for equipment, personal assistance or
adaptations to the learning environment.
Prospective students are encouraged to contact the Disability
Advisers or University Psychologist at an early stage in their
application for an assessment of their support requirements. We
welcome general or specific enquiries at any time.
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Contact Details
Disability
Awareness
Officer
Disability
Advisers
University
Psychologist
Jennifer
Smyth
Norma
Conn
Liz
Donaghy
Joan
McQuoid
All Campuses Tel:028 90366699
email:ja.smyth@ulster.ac.uk
Jordanstown/Belfast
Coleraine/Magee/
Portrush
Tel:028 90366699
email:nc.conn@ulster.ac.uk
Tel: 028 7024105
email:l.donaghy@Ulster.ac.uk
All Campuses Tel: 028 90366336
email:jc.mcquoid@Ulster.ac.uk
Open University
40 University Road
Belfast BT7 1SU
Tel: 028 9024 5025
Fax: 028 9023 0565
Website: www.open.ac.uk
Disability Officer: Charlotte Russell
Tel/ fax: as above
E-mail: ireland@open.ac.uk
The OU's supported open learning system is ideal for many
disabled students. There are a wide variety of courses on offer: from
14-week introductory courses with targeted places, through to
named higher degrees. Services include alternative format course
materials (like spiral-bound and audio-recorded books and
transcripts of TV programmes); communication support (like sign
language interpreters and notetakers) at tutorials; free loan of
specialist equipment (like computers, radio aids and talking
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calculators); study guidance materials and support throughout your
course; facilities in examinations and at residential schools. If you
declare a disability, you will be sent information about the OU’s
services and will be asked to specify those that you require. The
Office for Students with Disabilities co-ordinates these services from
the OU’s headquarters in Milton Keynes, with members of the
Disability and Additional Requirements Team in your Regional
Centre providing local support and advice. These are based in
Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Cardiff, East Grinstead,
Edinburgh, Leeds, London, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne,
Nottingham and Oxford. Financial support to help with course fees
and study costs is available in certain circumstances. Disabled
Students’ Allowances are also available to OU students: the OU’s
DSA Office administers these.
Higher education provided in further education colleges
The further education colleges in Northern Ireland are listed below.
The Learning Support Co-ordinator in each college has
responsibility for students with disabilities. For more details on each
college, please request the Skill Northern Ireland information sheet
Information on Further Education in Northern Ireland. This is
available by telephoning 028 9028 7000 or on the website
www.skillni.org.uk.
Armagh College of Further Education – 028 3752 2205,
www.armaghcollege.ac.uk
Belfast Institute of Further and Higher Education – 028 9026 5265,
www.belfastinstitute.ac.uk
Castlereagh College – 028 9079 7144, www.castlereagh.ac.uk
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Causeway Institute of Further and Higher Education – 028 7035
4717, www.causeway.ac.uk
East Antrim Institute of Further and Higher Education- 028 9085
5000, www.eaifhe.ac.uk
East Down Institute of Further and Higher Education – 028 4461
5815, www.edifhe.ac.uk
East Tyrone College of Further and Higher Education – 028 8772
2323, www.etcfhe.ac.uk
Fermanagh College – 028 6632 2431, www.fermanaghcoll.ac.uk
Limavady College of Further and Higher Education – 028 7776
1001, www.limavady.ac.uk
Lisburn Institute of Further and Higher Education – 028 9267 7291,
www.liscol.ac.uk
Newry and Kilkeel Institute of Further and Higher Education – 028
3026 1071, www.nkifhe.ac.uk
North Down and Ards Institute of Further and Higher Education –
028 9127 6600, www.ndai.ac.uk
North East Institute of Further and Higher Education – 028 9446
3916, www.nei.ac.uk
North West Institute of Further and Higher Education – 028 7127
6000, www.nwifhe.ac.uk
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Omagh College – 028 8224 5433, www.omagh.ac.uk
Upper Bann Institute of Further and Higher Education – 028 3839
7700, www.ubifhe.ac.uk
6. Disabled Students’ Allowance
If you have a disability or specific learning difficulty and are in higher
education, you may be able to get extra funding from the Disabled
Students' Allowances (DSAs). These allowances are intended to
cover any extra costs or expenses you have while you are studying
that arise because of your disability. They are not intended to pay
for:
• disability-related costs that you would have whether you were a
student or not;
• study costs that every student might have.
There are four allowances to cover different areas of need:
• Specialist equipment allowance
• Non-medical helpers’ allowance
• General/other expenditure allowance
• Travel costs
DSAs are not paid in set amounts, but are needs based. You will
receive a grant to cover the cost of specific items of equipment,
specific human support costs, and so on. However, there are
maximum amounts for each allowance.
The DSAs are not means-tested, so you get them regardless of the
income of you and your family. There are no ‘previous study’
restrictions or age limits for DSA – you can apply if your course is
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eligible, and if you yourself are eligible for student support. This
means that you may be entitled to DSA as a full- or part-time
student on a higher education course (see Page 2) at a university
or further education college.
To apply for DSA as a student from Northern Ireland (even if you
intend to study elsewhere in the UK), you need to contact your local
Education and Library Board – see the Useful Contacts section of
this leaflet. More information on what the different allowances can
cover is available in Skill’s information sheet ‘Applying for
Disabled Students’ Allowance’, but bear in mind that the
application process is different in Northern Ireland.
For further help and advice on applying for Disabled Students’
Allowance, contact Skill Northern Ireland on 028 9028 7000 or
info@skillni.org.uk. Alternatively the Disability Officer or Learning
Support Co-ordinator at your university or college can help you to
apply.
7. Further sources of information
Useful Publications
There are many directories of higher education courses. They can
be found in careers and local libraries. Some of them are listed
below:
• UCAS Directory
Published by UCAS. Provides listings of courses at institutions
and information on filling in the application form.
• University and College Entrance: The Official Guide
Published by UCAS. More information about entry requirements,
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courses and institutions.
Skill publications
To order a publication, contact Skill in London on 020 7450 0620.
Alternatively you can fill out an order form on the website
www.skill.org.uk in the Information Services section, or ask the
Information Service to send you a publications order form.
Skill information leaflets
Skill produces a range of information leaflets, covering disability
issues in post-16 education, training and employment. The following
are particularly relevant to higher education, however they are not
specific to Northern Ireland in all aspects:
Funding in higher education
Applying for the Disabled Students’ Allowances
Personal assistance in higher education
Postgraduate funding
The Disability Discrimination Act 1995
How to make a complaint
Applying to trusts
Improving access to the physical environment
Examination arrangements
Income support
Housing benefit and council tax benefit
The needs of students with disabilities in further and higher
education
Studying and claiming benefits as incapable of work
Specialist equipment in education: sources of help and information
Organisations offering advice or services to disabled students
Community resources
Useful Contacts
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Skill NI Information Service
Tel: 028 9028 7000
Email: info@skillni.org.uk
Fax: 028 9028 7002
As well as the local information provided through our Northern
Ireland office (see front cover), Skill has an Information Service in
London.
Freephone: 0800 328 5050
E-mail: info@skill.org.uk
Website: www.skill.org.uk
Department for Employment and Learning
Adelaide House
39-49 Adelaide Street,
Belfast BT2 8FD
Tel: 028 9025 7777
Fax: 028 9025 7778
Website: www.delni.gov.uk
Education and Library Boards:
Belfast Education and Library Board
40 Academy Street
Belfast BT1 2NQ
Tel: 028 9056 4000
Fax: 028 9033 1714
Website: www.belb.org.uk
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North Eastern Education and Library Board
County Hall
182 Galgorm Road
Ballymena
Tel: 028 2563 6254
Website: www.neelb.org.uk
South Eastern Education and Library Board
Grahamsbridge road
Dundonald
Belfast BT16 2HS
Tel: 028 9056 6200
Fax: 028 9056 6266
Website: www.seelb.org.uk
Southern Education and Library Board
3 Charlemont Place
The Mall
Armagh
Tel: 028 3751 2200
Website: www.selb.org.uk
Western Education and Library Board
1 Hospital Road
Omagh BT79 0AW
Tel: 028 8241 1411
Fax: 028 8241 1400
Website: www.welbni.org
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NUS/USI (Union of Students in Ireland)
29 Bedford Street
Belfast BT2 7EJ
Tel: 028 9024 4641
Fax: 028 9043 9659
E-mail: info@nistudents.org
Website: www.nistudents.org
The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS)
Tel: 01242 222 444
Publications: 01242 227 788
Fax: 01242 544 942
E-mail: enq@ucas.ac.uk
Website: www.ucas.ac.uk
The central admissions system for higher education applications.
The Open University
40 University Road
Belfast BT7 1SU
Tel: 028 9024 5025
Fax: 028 9023 0565
Website: www.open.ac.uk
Nursing and Midwifery Admissions Service (NMAS)
Tel (general enquiries): 01242 544 949
Fax: 01242 263 555.
Website: www.nmas.ac.uk
The nursing and midwifery admissions service for England.
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Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety
Bursary Administration Unit
Central Services Agency
25 Adelaide Street
Belfast
BT2 8FH
Social Work Admissions System (SWAS)
Tel (general enquiries): 01242 544 600.
The admissions service for social work courses – some courses in
Northern Ireland recruit through SWAS, others through UCAS.
Further details on applying to do Social Work can be obtained from
the Northern Ireland Social Care Council
Tel: 028 9041 7600
Website: www.niscc.info
Central Applications Office (Republic of Ireland)
Tower House
Eglinton Street
Galway
Tel: 00353 9150 9800
Website: www.cao.ie
Updated October 2004
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