Student Support Unit

The Student Support Unit is a team of specialist Disability Advisors and administrators. We provide confidential information and advice to current and future students on disability-related study support and accessing disability-related funding.

We know that the word “disability” can mean different things to different people, and you may not have thought of yourself as being disabled before, but it is worth considering whether you might be entitled to support, especially if you’ve had support in the past, such as exam arrangements at school. 

The Equality Act identifies the following as examples of disability:

• Hearing impairment

• Visual impairment

• Physical/mobility disabilities

• Specific learning differences (SpLDs) such as dyslexia or dyspraxia

• Attention Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder or AD(H)D

• Autism Spectrum Conditions

• A mental health condition

• A long term medical condition such as chronic fatigue, asthma, epilepsy, diabetes, cancer and HIV.

 

 

This is by no means an exhaustive list, and if you are unsure about anything, please contact us with any question – we are here to help.  Either telephone 01273 877466 between 10am and 3pm each day, or book a telephone appointment with a Disability Advisor via your Sussex Direct Account by choosing SSU Appointments.  An Advisor will ring you at your chosen time, so please make sure your telephone number is correct on your Sussex Direct Account.  You can also email disabilitysupport@sussex.ac.uk. Please note these appointments do not run during vacation periods.

We understand this is a stressful time for us all, please be assured there will be someone available to answer questions. We thank you for your patience.

If you are experiencing confirmed symptoms of long covid, please do not hesitate to contact us. It is likely that we will be able to put reasonable adjustments in place to support you while you are recovering.  You may also find the following link helpful:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/coronavirus/post-covid-syndrome-long-covid/

Reasonable adjustments

If you’re a student, see information about reasonable adjustments on the Student Hub.

We also provide resources and guidance for university staff on reasonable adjustments and supporting students with disabilities.

Contact

We are based in the Student Life Centre

Ground Floor, Bramber House, Refectory Road, BN1 9QH 

E: disabilitysupport@sussex.ac.uk

T: 01273 877466 

A Guide to using Zoom

Crisis Support 

Information

General Extension Advice

If you are requesting an extension to coursework, please be advised that we require 15 working days before a submission deadline to submit an extension request. If you are requesting an extension with less than 15 days to the deadline, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to make the request or that your school will grant it.

Exceptional Extension Requests

If you are experiencing a sudden, unforeseen or temporary situation which is impacting on your academic progress , you may need to submit an Exceptional Circumstances Claim (ECC) instead.

Continuation of Housing

This year's process is now open, click here to find out more.

For useful resources, pages and FAQs to support you during this time please click here.

RA’s for exams and in-class assessments

We aim to process your RA’s within four weeks of receipt of consent and acceptable evidence. We ask for this time so that all carefully assessed adjustments are accurately noted and actioned. In order to receive support for your formal exams or in-class assessments, we must have received these documents at least four weeks prior to any deadlines. A1 & A2 exam support deadlines are published on this website in October and March respectively. Your School is responsible for arranging support in your in-class assessments, so please be aware that we must be able to make this information available to them well in advance.

The exam deadline for A2 is 12th April 2021

Useful links