Agenda and Papers - University of Edinburgh

3. Remit for the CoA post
3.1 Purpose
The CoA is the individual in each school who, with the delegated authority of the
Head of School, receives the Learning Profiles for disabled students from the Student
Disability Service, ensures that the necessary steps are taken to develop these into
Adjustment Schedules, and then ensures that these are forwarded to all relevant
academic staff, with due consideration of confidentiality requirements.
3.2 Specific tasks
The CoA should:
• ensure that disabled prospective students have a specified point of contact
within the School to discuss how their requirements can be met.
• ensure that lists of ‘conditional firm’ and ‘unconditional firm’ offers from the
College Admissions Office are reviewed when received by the School.
o This is to make sure that disabled students are identified at the earliest
opportunity, allowing support to be put in place as appropriate.
• receive Learning Profiles from the Student Disability Service.
• decide on the adjustments that can be made to the student’s courses and learning
environment, in accordance with the recommendations made on the Learning
Profile, and then produce an Adjustment Schedule. This may entail:
o consultation with the CAL, Programme Directors, Course Organisers,
Board of Examiners and other staff within the School/College as
required.
o seeking Senatus Undergraduate or Postgraduate Studies Committee’s
agreement to any substantial changes required in the assessment
process.
o discussion with the student, Student Disability Service, Programme
Director, and other staff members as required, in cases where there are
anticipated difficulties in implementation of the recommended
adjustment. When necessary, a revised Adjustment Schedule should be
agreed upon and produced. Where agreement cannot be reached, the
matter should be referred to the College Head of
Undergraduate/Postgraduate Studies, as appropriate.
• The CAL should make clear to course organisers that receipt of the Adjustment
Schedule is effectively a 'signing off' process on behalf of the Head of School.
That is, if the Schedule is received by them and not queried, this confirms to the
Student Disability Service and the student that the course organisers believe that
it will be possible to implement the adjustments, and that this can be done
without compromising the standards of the course. Consultation with other
members of staff is of central importance here, and responsibility lies with staff
members to contact the CoA at the earliest opportunity, if they have concerns
with the Adjustment Schedule and its implementation. That said, monitoring of
implementation will be necessary as it may be that the student's circumstances
change or, in light of experience, the decided adjustments do not seem
satisfactory.
• liaise with the CAL, as required, to ensure that there is oversight of the
implementation of Adjustment Schedules within the School.
o This may be achieved, for example, through monitoring of course
feedback forms, or annual student meetings with their Director of
Studies.
• ensure that disabled students with an Adjustment Schedule have a specified
School-level point of contact to discuss any concerns (either the CoA or the
CAL).
• engage in activities at College and University-level which are designed to
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