Support for disabled students

Welcoming disabled international students

Kaplan promotes equality in education

Individuals with a disability may feel concerned about applying to our courses because of how they feel they will be perceived in the application process.

However, you can rest assured that telling us about your disability or health problem will not affect your visa application.

What do we mean by ‘disability’ in the UK?

At Nottingham Trent International College we recognise that every student will have their own views about what the term ‘disability’ means.

Your ideas may have been formed by the attitudes of others and your own experiences, and will be different for each person according to where they are from.

We appreciate that there is no absolute international definition of ‘disability’. The law in the UK defines a disabled person as someone who has a physical or mental impairment which has a substantial, long term and adverse effect on his or her ability to carry out normal day-to-day activities. Your disability might include such things as mobility, speech, hearing, vision, memory and learning.

At NTIC you can rest assured that you will have a fulfilling social and academic experience, because the law in the UK is clear that people should not be discriminated against on the basis of their disability, should not be treated any worse than non-disabled people and that reasonable support must be provided. Our students’ needs are at the very heart of what we do.

Getting support

We encourage you to provide information about your disability, difficulties or health concerns during the application and registration process. If you have a disability that is unseen (such as dyslexia) you will need to provide some evidence of this.

The evidence should be recent and written in English and be from a doctor or medical professional. The sooner we are informed of your situation, the quicker we can assess and consider the support that we can offer to assist your individual needs.

We will make all the reasonable adjustments possible to support you throughout your time at College, to help you to make a smooth transition to Nottingham Trent University.

Your accommodation

As a disabled student, you can apply for a room that meets your individual requirements, for example providing wheel-chair accessibility, or accommodation equipped for those with hearing impairments.

How is additional support paid for?

We want to ensure that you are not in any way disadvantaged by your disability or specific learning difficulty when you study with us in the UK. As a fair and ethical provider, all the reasonable adjustments that you require will be covered by your tuition fees. If you need specialist equipment or personal support, we would advise that you investigate the following options before you come to the College:

  • The Education Department in your home country may have grants available – check what support they may be able to provide.
  • If you have a sponsor, they may be able to offer you additional funds to cover disability-related expenses. It’s always important to ask for this information.

Be informed – resources for international students

There are other resources that international students may not be aware of that may be of help. These include non-government organisations such as charitable trusts, which may be able to offer you financial assistance during your studies in the UK.

Further guidance and information about sources of funding for international disabled students are produced by:

Please contact us if you have any more questions about the disability support we can offer at the College.