AHEAD: Better Options
The Better Options Fair takes place in The Astra Hall in UCD, Belfield on 10th December 2009 at 11.00 am. Organised by UCD Disability Support Service together with AHEAD to provide students with a disability or specific learning difficulty with the information they need to make informed choices about their third level options.
Over 2,000 students with a disability or specific learning difficulty entered higher education in 2009 and over 12,000 students received accommodations in state examinations. Yet, students with a disability are still under-represented in higher education. The Higher Education Authority recognises this and is determined to double the number of students with a physical or sensory disability by 2013.
Better Options is an opportunity for guidance counsellors, teachers, parents and students with a disability to get information about the disability services and supports available to them in higher education. It will give them the opportunity to ask questions as well as hear from staff and other students about what they can expect and what works in higher education for students with a disability.
This event will provide information on how to apply to college under the DARE scheme, a supplementary entry scheme for students with a disability or specific learning difficulty which operates in eleven higher education institutions. This scheme recognizes the impact of disability on educational attainment and progression and offers on average 5% of first year places on a reduced point basis across all academic areas. Students who secure one of these places will be offered a range of academic and personal supports while at college.
Higher education institutions are committed to widening participation and are introducing a culture of more flexible teaching and learning to ensure that all students are included in day to day learning activities. The benefits to the sector are clear; education will be richer by tapping into a more diverse pool of talent that brings different mindsets and intelligences to the academic table. Students with disabilities are graduating and going on to careers in all professions and are succeeding at the same rate as other students.
The ASTRA HALL,
The Student Centre UCD
Belfield
Thursday 10th December 2009
Time: 11am to 3pm
For further information contact:
Ann Heelan, Executive Director, AHEAD.
Tel: 01 716 4396
Or
Tina Lowe, Disability Officer, UCD.
Tel: 01 716 7564