Disability Resource Centre (DRC)

Admissions, interviews and registration

This section is a practical guide on how to welcome, encourage and facilitate the admission of disabled students by providing the support they need in interviews. Please also read the general guidance on meeting people and working with their assistants. All the principles will also apply to interviewing candidates for paid posts.

If you have particular concerns about an applicant who may require considerable reasonable adjustments either at interview or as a future student please do not hesitate to get in touch with the DRC, (3)32301.

General

It is worth asking all candidates if there is anything they would like to tell the interviewers about any impairment and consequent support needs. When arranging interviews, ask them if they have any particular access requirements, which could include interpretation as well as physical access. Please remember that disabled people are still a minority in higher education, and their own knowledge that they may have to overcome barriers may make them more nervous. They may be concerned, mistakenly, that disclosure of impairment may make it less likely that they will be offered a place. Don't forget that they will be the experts in their own needs, and that they will be experienced in overcoming barriers in whatever subject they have applied for.

The University's undergraduate prospectus states:

Students with a disability who are interested in Cambridge courses should be assured that the nature of the University, with its collegiate structure, means that they can thrive here. The University has a policy to initiate access projects for departments expecting a disabled student and colleges try, if at all practicable, to make appropriate arrangements…

Unseen impairment or illness

This might mean that a candidate cannot attend for interview on a particular day, so please be flexible with interview dates. Even then, the candidate may attend on what is for them a bad day, when they underperform. You can trust them to be knowledgeable on their own impairment and how it has affected them. The question on support needs would provide an opportunity to disclose their impairment or illness.

Candidates with Specific Learning Difficulties (SpLD)

Candidates with SpLD often receive special arrangements for public exams, such as GCSEs and A levels. If a candidate is required to sit an exam as part of the interview process, his/her exam arrangements should be replicated. If the interview includes commenting on and discussing written material, the candidate should be given the passage to read in advance with additional time as above. Using a sans serif font with a minimum point size of 12 is recommended for all written materials. Versions should be available on cream paper. Occasionally candidates with SpLD can experience word retrieval difficulties when speaking when they are nervous or anxious. Please bear this in mind when interviewing.

Candidates with visual impairment

People with visual impairment are likely to need information about their interview in a format such as computer disk, large print, email, or Braille. Where it is usual practice to give a written test, consult the candidate in advance to ascertain their preferred format. The candidate may wish to dictate his/her answers. The candidate may need to be met and guided to the interview room, and please remember that he/she may have difficulty making eye contact. Introduce yourself and anybody else present when you meet them, and say a clear 'good-bye' so that they know when you are leaving them. You may have to accommodate a guide dog.

The admissions tutor had a very positive and realistic attitude to my disability, which is quite unusual. For instance, when I met him, not only did he show me around the labs, he made sure it was possible for me to get into his office without anyone else's help.

Hopkins, C and Jones, A. V. Able Scientist, Technologist; Disabled Person, 1999

Deaf candidates and those with hearing impairment

Please read the notes on lip-reading. A Deaf person may regard British Sign Language, with it's own grammatical structure, as his/her first language, so please consider their ability to read English in light of this. Support for an interviewee with hearing impairment may be technological (e.g. a hearing loop) or personal (e.g. an interpreter). Address questions to the candidate and not the interpreter, and also remember that interpretation will mean the interview needs extra time.

Candidates with mobility impairments

A candidate whose mobility is impaired, and who may be a wheelchair user, will need flat and spacious access to the interview building and room, and access to a suitable toilet. The shorter the distances people have to move, the better. Some candidates may need longer breaks. Some may also have speech impairments (they may need an interpreter), or impairments affecting face muscles that make it harder to maintain eye contact or control facial expression.

Candidates with Asperger Syndrome

People with Asperger Syndrome, a form of Autism, may have difficulty with social skills such as conversation, eye contact and body language, so please make allowances for this and put them at ease. For more information and further resources click here.

Enrolling/Registering for a course

I'm afraid I'm one of those students who was so afraid of being rejected at interview that, when I was asked if there's anything special I need for my disability, I said: ‘That's OK, I'll manage.’

Standing in a queue to fill in a form to enrol or register can be difficult for any disabled people. You may be able to offer online or telephone enrolment instead. If enrolment in person is essential, please ensure that the venue is accessible, that people can sit down when queuing, and that help to fill in forms is available.