Student Support Documents (SSDs)

You'll get a Student Support Document (SSD) from the Accessibility and Disability Resource Centre (ADRC) if you tell us about your disability or long term medical condition, and you require support or access arrangements.

What the SSD includes

  • Information about the disability or impairment. 
  • The effects this may have on study. 
  • Recommendations for access arrangements. 
  • Contact details for the Disability Adviser. 
  • A list of people allowed to see the document.

How we create the SSD

Once you tell us about your disability and provide evidence of your diagnosis advisers at the Accessibility and Disability Resource Centre will:

  • contact you to discuss your disability or impairment
  • create an SSD document with detailed recommendations of support that's specific to you. This is also based on your disability and the course you’re studying
  • share the SSD with you, so you can review it
  • liaise with your College, faculty or department if necessary, and with your permission
  • update the SSD if there are any changes in circumstances or recommendations, for example if you move from one level of study to another or change course

What Faculties, departments and Colleges are responsible for

Recommendations in the SSD ensure disabled students can access studies. They also ensure students are not at a disadvantage compared to non-disabled students.

Teachers and staff should speak to the student if something isn't clear in the SSD. The student understands best how their disability or impairment affects their studies.

Faculty and department responsibilities:

  • adjustments to departmental teaching
  • departmental library provision
  • necessary changes to the physical environment

College responsibilities:

  • adjustments to College teaching, such as supervisions
  • College library support
  • adjustments to accommodation
  • applying for exam access arrangements
  • catering and dietary requirements

The relevant Tutor or Director of Studies is responsible for making sure Departments and Colleges have put the reasonable adjustments in place.

How to access the SSD

Students

We'll share the SSD with you to review, before we send it on to anyone else. You can access your SSD on CamSIS.

Teachers and staff

SSDs are available on the student's CamSIS record. You'll receive an email if you have access to a student's SSD.

If you have access to the SSD on CamSIS, you can share it with other staff who need to see it but do not have access to CamSIS. This might include supervisors, lecturers and lab staff. You're responsible for deciding which version to send.

You can download and share the:

  • full document, which may contain sensitive personal information. This is for staff who are directly responsible for teaching the student
  • short document, which is a summary of the recommendations only

If you're the main contact you'll get an email if the SSD is updated or changed.

Find out more about viewing the SSD as a member of staff on Moodle (sign in required).