Finding out about student support services and disability access
- Find out about the student support services available at each uni and campus you are interested in going to. All unis offer some form of student support services, however the level, type and quality varies between unis and campuses. See FAQ Sheet 10: What facts should I check out about the course, campus and university features? to find a list of the student support services commonly found at unis.
- Look for details about each uni's student support services in more than one place. You will find this type of information via the Universities Admissions Centre, 'The Good University Guide' or directly from the uni. See FAQ Sheet 10: What facts should I check out about the course, campus and university features? for more specific hints on where to find this type of information.
- Think about what types of student support services you may need and those that you would find most useful.
- Think about your individual situation and the circumstances that are most likely to occur and how this will be likely to affect the types of student support services you might need to get through uni. Here are a few examples of the kind of things to take into account. If you:
- are relying on public transport to get to and from uni, it may be more important to you to have a post office, bank or newsagent on campus.
- have no ready access to a computer at home, computer support on campus may be very important to you.
- are likely to be on campus after dark a shuttle bus service may be very important to you.
- will be living away from home while at uni, a social club and/or sporting activities may be important to you.
- Consider how you could use student support services at uni to help accommodate your disability at uni.
- With each type of student support that you have learnt about and/or believe you will need, rank them in order of highest importance to you personally. Do a reality test of these priorities by talking with those around you who know best what supports you are most likely to need at uni.
- For more information about the types of disability support services usually available at unis and who to contact for more detail see 'Your disability at uni'..
- The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations has an excellent page on their website 'Going To Uni' that allows you to link directly to each uni's web-based description of their student support services. It also describes each uni and provides hyperlinks to key uni information for students.
- Finally, compare what is available at each uni you are interested in and likely to get a place at.