'I'll be forced to quit university if crucial disabled support is replaced with AI'

For 19-year-old Sam Wood, a third year criminology student at Edge Hill University in Liverpool, technology is an essential part of his degree.

“I use lots of different software which is really crucial for me being able to access my lectures and degree content in the same way as my peers,” says Sam, who is visually impaired. One of the types of software I use reads academic literature for me, another is mind-mapping, which breaks down text and helps plan essays… I would not be able to keep up in lectures without the software.”

Sam is able to access this life-changing technology via a grant called the Disabled Students Allowance that helps students with additional costs they may face in higher education because of their disability . In 2023-24 more than 88,000 students benefited, at a cost of £203 million.

But in June, the Department for Education announced it is looking to cut support for specialist software except in “exceptional circumstances” – because advances in technology mean there are now free, mass-market tools available.

Campaigners say that directly contradicts the Burnham government’s plan to focus on supporting young people Not in Education, Employment, or Training (NEET), – given that young people with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) are already 80 per cent more likely to be NEET, according to the recent report led by former Health Secretary Alan Milburn.

Sam, who is Edge Hill’s disabled students officer, says without access to the software, his dream of doing a Masters in criminology could be over. “I would like to do a Masters but DSA would be crucial to doing that,” he says. He also finds the mixed messages around AI confusing. “As students we are told not to use AI, but now you have other people telling you that you have to,” Sam says. “It is all messy and unclear. Navigating university as a disabled student is already challenging.”

The DfE says that under the new proposals, those with “exceptional circumstances” will still receive funded software through DSA, but the The British Assistive Technology Association (BATA) says new FOIs made by the association reveal the ‘safety net’ mechanism has so far not approved a single student since being introduced.

"These newly uncovered FOI responses raise serious concerns about proposed changes to disabled student support that lack robust technical or clinical evidence,” Nicole Michael, Vice Chair of BATA, says. "Generic, off-the-shelf software simply cannot replace the tailored assistive technology many students rely on to complete their degrees.

“Furthermore, placing reliance on an 'exceptional circumstances' process that has not approved a single applicant in 16 months creates unnecessary uncertainty and risks leaving universities to plug the gaps.