Well I've done it!

[LollipopViolet]

The VIP media student (Visually Impaired Person rather than celebrity lol) has passed her first year of university!

I'm elated, I found out last week and then went to Alton Towers with my 2 closest friends, which rounded off the day nicely.

I'm worried about finding a work experience placement, and about next year though. I want to try having a little bit of in-lecture support, but all my lecturers are big on independence, which I understand, but I just struggled so much with note taking and keeping them organised and legible....hmmm, might need to talk to DSA people when that rolls round again.

But YAY! I passed Level 1!

Congratulations Lollipop!!

Big congratulations from me!!!

raises glass

congratulations

Well done, Lollipop!

Well done you!

Well done - thats fantastic!

well done xx

lollipop, have they not supplied you with a digital voice recorder for lectures/ seminars? that way you can note take or replay at your leisure?
well done for passing your first year anyway!

that is brilliant

well done

They have provided me with one, unfortunately I have no idea how to use it so it will only record 90 seconds

Well done

Well done, you!!! But the uni should have helped you more with note taking. You may want to use the magic words QAA when you talk to them - or suggest that finding better ways of helping you with the note-taking would definitely count as 'enhancement' from a QAA point of view

What does QAA mean?

Quality Assurance Agency (you can google them), a higher education body which monitors the quality of teaching and students' experience (forgive the jargon). One area that is particularly under the spotlight is provisions for students with SEN. Every so many years all unis have to undergo a QAA inspection. In between inspections most unis do internal reviews as well, so pretty much every uni department/faculty will have a QAA officer that has to make sure the school is ready for review/inspection.
If there is any paper trail or e-mail correspondence showing that your needs have not been adequately addressed, or if when the inspectors come and meet the students you were to say something, they'd seriously have to do something about it. Plus, now they have to show not just that they maintain quality, but they do things to enhance quality. One area of enhancement could be provisions for students with SEN, so it would be in their interest to do more than they do, because it could enable them to tick that 'enhancement' box.
If you want to follow this up at your place, you could talk to tutor/QAA officer/SEN officer and even come up with some idea that they could invest in (sorry long)

Well done you!

For next year - I note that your lecturers are big on independence but they are also under a duty to make sure that reasonable adjustments are made to enable you to participate fully, as I'm sure you're aware and that doesn't just mean bunging you a piece of kit without training etc!! You stand firm and make sure you get all the adjustments you are entitled to

Meantime, have a fab summer!

that's really funny, lollipop. go and see your tutor and tell her you're really embarassed, but you need some support to get the darn thing to work properly... i bet they'll just laugh and tell you off for not mentioning it before - that way you get to retain your independence which they cherish so much on your behalf! some of our students give the vr to the tutor at the beginning of the lesson and it stands on the lectern/ desk so nothing is missed. that way they record it... you just have to work out how to play it back lol...

It makes me lol because I'm a media production student who can make £3000 worth of camera do what I want and when, but I'm flummoxed by a tiny voice recorder lol!

it took me ages to work mine, but i only use it for interviews and transcription lol. once you've got the hang of it, it'll be dead easy. they always print the instructions in micro print though - go back to learning support and 'fess up. they will help! (before september lol)
enjoy summer!