What is the Educational Needs Assessment?

The Educational Needs Assessment is an important part of the process of claiming Disabled Students Allowance and getting support at university. This activity will explain what the Educational Needs Assessment is, how it works and how to prepare for your appointment.

Background

At NCI We believe the most important first step is to make sure that you can access supports in an open relaxed, friendly and confidential way. The Educational Needs Assessment is an important part of this. It is a structured but informal chat with a member of our LDSS team. They will discuss any supports or accommodations you might need and listen to any concerns you might have.

It is very important that students disclose a disability early in the academic year to ensure that necessary supports are provided. By delaying disclosure of a disability, students may be missing out on essential supports which can help with everything from participation in lectures right through to sitting exams.

Based on your Educational Needs Assessment a Disability Officer will work to address your specific support needs. This can include any number of things such as learning support, sign language interpreters, library supports, personal assistants or any assistive technology you might require.

A Disability Officer will apply for funded supports through the ESF fund for students with disabilities on behalf of the student. The Educational Needs Assessment is also very useful because, based on it, the Disability Support Officer can work with a number of departments across the college to make sure that your specific support requirements are met, for example, Academic Departments; Exams Office; Admissions Office; Library; and the IT Department.

The Educational Needs Assessment can be very helpful to you in your learning journey. It can help you with because it gives you a chance to talk to someone in depth about things like:

  • the positive and negative aspects of studying in the past
  • any worries you might have about college
  • what you’re excited about and think you will do well at
  • what you think might help you achieve that success

It can be a great opportunity to access and find out the supports available. Many students at NCI are very pleased to learn of the range of supports they can access to help them succeed.

Get in touch with our Disability Officer Karen Mooney who will be able to advise you on the supports available for students at NCI:

Email: karen.mooney@ncirl.ie
Phone: (01) 6599 269

What to do next?

Book an appointment with the needs assessment team and prepare for the assessment