Delivering Enhanced Support to Students

Guidance for Student Advisors/UoE staff to provide enhanced support to those students who have that provision as part of their Schedule of Adjustments

The ‘Enhanced Support’ adjustment is in place to highlight a student who may need more nuanced or individualised support from a Student Adviser due to a disability or condition.

If a School decides the enhanced support will be provided by someone other than the Student Advisor, they should provide the name of the individual to the Disability & Learning Support Service (DLSS) at disability.service@ed.ac.uk.

In addition to usual roles and responsibilities, the Student Adviser will:

• Arrange an initial meeting to discuss the individual student’s needs.  At this meeting the SA may wish to focus on:

  • Key areas of support the student feels they may require due to their disability or condition.
  • Key times the student feels they may need enhanced support, e.g. close to assessment deadlines/exams; at transition points such as starting a new semester.
  • Determine how regularly SA/student need to meet, e.g. once per month, 2 weeks before coursework deadlines.  It is important to remain aware of boundaries and not overcommit SA time.
  • Determine how best to contact the student, e.g. email, phone, Teams.
• Ascertain how the student is managing coursework and deadlines, and offer help to keep on track with their studies.
• Act as a key contact between the DLSS and the student, liaising with DLSS surrounding any concerns or issues regarding learning adjustments or disability.

Examples of enhanced support may include:

• Giving some assistance with organisational skills and deadline reminders.
• Offering practical help with understanding course requirements and university routines.
• Helping the student to manage anxieties in relation to workload.

For further advice and guidance, please contact DLSS on disability.service@ed.ac.uk and we’d be happy to help you.