Leaving Uni Guide for disabled students
This guide provides you with information to equip you with confidence as you transition into graduate life.
Is it time to say goodbye?
You’ve submitted your final assignment and sat the last exam and suddenly you’ve finished university and your graduation is approaching. The last few years have gone by in a flash. We know that the thought of this can be very overwhelming.
The aim of this guide is to provide you with further information to equip you with confidence as you transition into graduate life.
Finding a job
This is something you’ve probably been thinking about a lot in your last year of studies.
You may be wanting to look for work which is related to your degree, or you may decide that you want to change paths completely and go down a different route. Either of these is fine. There is no expectation that you must fall into a certain career or industry on completing your degree.
Try and think outside of your comfort zone too – you may find that there are a number of highly paid jobs out there that don’t require a specific degree but just require the individual to be educated to a degree level.
There is further support available at the university via our Career Studio where you can access one-to-one support from the Career Coaches and have access to the Career Studio resources as you prepare to graduate and once you have graduated. Whatever stage you are at, the Career Studio is there to help you find work, navigate getting into the workplace and any other career support you may need.
Further information can be found via the Student Futures Portal where you can access a dedicated page and have access to specialist resources.
In addition to this, via the Career Studio pages on the Student Futures Portal, there are several resources which are useful for students with disability-focused career queries.
Students can also access the Resource Library on the Student Futures Portal, where you can explore more resources, whether disability related or for other career topics.
We’re confident that our incredible students will be able to secure jobs soon after leaving university, not only due to the real-world experience and industry connections they gain on their course, but also due to our Student Futures offering. This includes our professional mentoring programme and support to develop your career roadmap.
However, if you haven’t managed to secure paid experience 6 months after you’ve graduated, we’re still here to support you. If you contact the Career Studio, a Career Coach will work with you to identify your motivations, explore options and support you into work or further study.
If you are unable to secure work or further study after working with a Career Coach consistently for 6 months, we will offer you a paid internship (minimum 4 weeks in duration, 22 hours per week) to enhance your career prospects further.
Support in the workplace
You may be wondering what support you can access in the workplace which will be like the support you have accessed for your studies, particularly if you have accessed support through Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) such as specialist software and equipment. When employed, if you have a disability or a mental health condition or chronic medical condition, you can apply for Government Support known as Access to Work.
Access to Work will assess what reasonable adjustments the workplace has put in place and then make recommendations in addition to this. You or your employer will then be provided with a grant to pay for the support. Reasonable adjustments in the workplace should apply from recruitment.
Start your own business
Many students will leave their studies either inspired by their course or other factors, to start their own business. It can be tricky to know where to start. The government website has some good advice and information with regards to setting up a business.
The good news is that you can still obtain support from Access to Work if you are self-employed.
Enrol on a postgraduate course
It may be that you’re not quite ready to leave university or you want to continue studying to gain a higher qualification.
There are a range of postgraduate courses here at University of Gloucestershire that you could consider enrolling on to. The university also holds postgraduate open events throughout the year which you may find of interest to attend. Find out more information about Postgraduate open events.
If you do decide to enrol on a postgraduate course please speak to the Disability Support Team so that we can ensure your support is carried over and advise you on accessing Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) again.
Taking a gap year
After working hard on your course for a few years, sometimes you just need to have a break from studying and working to give yourself time to relax before heading on to your next adventure, whether that’s finding a graduate job or returning to education.
A number of students will take gap years between leaving school and starting university and it is also ok to do this after leaving university.
If this is what you are planning to do, however, it is a good idea to think about what you are going to be spending your time doing in that gap year. Will you travel, find a job to bring in some income, do some volunteering, etc?
It’s important not to lose focus of what you want to do when your gap year ends. It may be that you don’t know which is ok but maybe spend the time looking into and thinking of different avenues that appeal to you.
Other things to consider
You may not have decided on what you’re going to do next and that is fine. This is another big step in your life which is going to take some time to navigate and adjust to.
While you are figuring out your next move, you may also want to start giving some thought to the following areas. These could help you with your decision making.
Where are you going to live?
You may have been living in student halls or private rental accommodation throughout your studies, or you might have chosen to stay at home.
Now that you’re graduating from your undergraduate studies, this may be something that you need to consider again.
If you’re planning on enrolling on a postgraduate course with us, you may be able to live in halls of residence again, as long as you are still a full-time student and apply on time. You can speak with our Accommodation Team for more information on this, by emailing [email protected] or visiting our Accommodation pages.
You may decide that you wish to live in private accommodation. If this is your preferred option, you will need to give yourself plenty of time to secure the right accommodation for you, taking into account any needs you may have and whether this is possible in private accommodation.
The Accommodation Team have an Approved Housing List of private landlords. However, not all will be able to make adaptions to their properties, depending on the level needed so it is important to take this into consideration. It is worth speaking with the Disability Team and the Housing Support Team jointly to discuss this option further.
If you are remaining in studies with University of Gloucestershire, then these conversations can be had with the Disability Support Team and Accommodation Team. Please note that if personal care is required, this still needs to be organised through social services.
Further information can be found via the NHS Social Care and Support Guide.
Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA)
When you finish your studies, your DSA will cease. This means that you will no longer receive any of the non-medical helper support such as specialist study skills support and mentoring. If you were in receipt of general allowance for consumables such as printing costs this will no longer be available to you, and if you had a taxi or travel allowance this will also end.
However, the good news is that if you were provided with specific equipment by DSA this will now be yours.
DSA is a non-repayable grant, so you don’t have to repay any of the costs for the support that you received through DSA.
Finances
When you complete your studies, you may need to start repaying your tuition fee loans, maintenance loans and postgraduate loans (if applicable).
You do not need to pay back other student finance such as Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) or other grants or bursaries. When you start repaying your loans, how much you pay will all depend on which repayment plan you are on. To check which repayment plan you are on, visit your online student finance account. Your repayment plan depends on which funding body you applied to, ie Student Finance England, when you started your course, and the type of course you are studying, ie undergraduate or postgraduate.
You will only start repaying your loan when you are earning over the threshold amount for your repayment plan.
The earliest you will start repaying your loan is the April after you leave your course. Your employer will deduct the repayments via your National Insurance Contributions on behalf of HMRC, so you don’t need to do anything. Your repayments will automatically stop if you stop working or your income goes below the threshold.
Whatever you choose to do next, we wish you every success in your next adventure.
It has been a pleasure to support you through your studies.
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