Needs Assessors

About Arden University

Arden University is a UK-wide institution offering a range of undergraduate and postgraduate programmes through online distance learning and blended learning which combines online learning with a minimum of 2 days a week at the student’s selected UK campus. You can find a list of current campuses and their addresses below.

  

For information on all the courses offered at the University visit our courses page. Distance learners can study asynchronously (at their own pace) with scheduled deadlines and blended learners attend a combination of live online and campus sessions.

Please note that the core competencies and learning outcomes of a course cannot be adjusted. Some programmes leading to professional qualifications include externally assessed examinations, where requirements and reasonable adjustments are determined by the relevant professional or awarding body.

Any course that is not specifically a distance-learning programme has an in-person attendance requirement.

To discuss whether a specific adjustment/type of support can be implemented on a particular programme, contact us at wellbeing@arden.ac.uk

All Arden students have access to iLearn, our virtual learning environment, where learning materials, recorded lectures, discussion forums, and assessment information are hosted. There are built-in accessibility tools in iLearn available to everyone. Students can also download Microsoft Office 365 once they have received their student email address at https://www.office.com.

The Arden Library Portal offers access to an extensive digital library containing thousands of eBooks, journals, databases and academic resources for all students. As a fully digital library, the portal offers a range of built-in tools and features to enhance accessibility. You can find out more about our library services and accessibility tools below:

Accessibility Tools & Learning Success Hub

The wellbeing team are also able to refer disabled students for specific additional library support throughout their course; including RNIB book share and SensusAccess

Lecture capture is not currently available at Arden university. However, the university does have some licences for the CaptionEd software available. Caption.Ed can record the audio or video of a session, generate a transcript, and take notes. Further details can be found by contacting Wellbeing Services: wellbeing@arden.ac.uk.

Arden students can apply for the DSA £200 Laptop contribution through Blackbullion once they are a registered student in receipt of their DSA2.

Arden does not currently have any in-house NMHs but we are partners with a range of approved suppliers to provide interim band four support or university funded bands 1-3 support.

Arden’s current approved NMH suppliers are: Optimum Student Support, Cosmic People, Barry Bennett and Terptree. Please check if a student is already accessing interim or University funded support with any of our suppliers.

If NMH support is identified in the needs assessment which falls outside current DSA provisions, assessors are asked to outline the difficulties that the student is likely to face and outline any specific details relating to why DSA-funded support will not be sufficient.

The university is able to provide interim travel support to campus, this is on a case by case basis, a student must meet with a disability adviser to discuss this further.

Learning hub

Learning Success Hub

All Arden University students can access the Learning Success Hub which includes:

  • Academic Skills
    Support with writing, structuring assignments, referencing, and research.
  • Academic Skills (STEM)
    Specialist guidance on statistics, computing, and programming.
     This support is available online only.
  • Academic English
    Individual help for students whose first language is not English, including support with writing, presentation practice, and pronunciation.

The Learning Success Hub offers workshops, one to one support, and drop ins both online and on selected campuses. Students are expected to book these independently.

Creating equality

Accessibility and Assessment Adjustments

Arden provides a range of reasonable adjustments, including:

  • Extra time in timed assessments
  • Pre-approved short-term extensions (7 days)
  • Alternative assessment formats (where appropriate)
  • Captioned or transcribed teaching materials (where available)
  • Ergonomic Equipment for campus use only (where appropriate)
  • Adjustments to teaching
Three students collaborating

Accessing the Wellbeing Service and a Support Plan

How and when we contact prospective students

Applicants who share their disability on the applicant portal will be emailed general information about how to access the wellbeing service and the types of support available to them throughout their studies.

Please encourage any student who hasn’t shared that they’re disabled on their University application - or who has not yet accessed the wellbeing service - to do so by taking the steps outlined in the next section.

Natalia

How students access the wellbeing service and disability support

Applicants or students can contact us at any point during their Arden journey.

Those who do not have an Arden student account (applicants) can email wellbeing@arden.ac.uk and a member of the wellbeing team will offer advice and guidance over email or a direct booking link if appropriate.

Those who already have their Arden student account can complete our support request form which can be found on the wellbeing portal. This will result in a booking link to the relevant staff member.

Each disabled student is offered a tailored Support Plan, which enables reasonable adjustments to be shared with all relevant teams who will work with the student or teams who are implementing the adjustments.

Contact information

Wellbeing Services – Disability & Accessibility; Mental Health & Wellbeing

Contact: wellbeing@arden.ac.uk

Campus addresses

Birmingham campus

Birmingham campus
156 Great Charles Street Queensway,
Birmingham,
B3 3HN

Holborn campus

Holborn campus
Buchanan House,
24-30 Holborn,
London
EC1N 2HS

Ealing campus

Ealing campus
Santon House,
53-55 Uxbridge Road,
Ealing,
W5 5SA

Stratford campus

Stratford campus
3 Westfield Ave,
Stratford Cross,
London,
E20 1HZ

Nottingham campus

Nottingham campus
Building D,
Castle Meadow Campus,
Castle Meadow Road,
Nottingham,
NG2 1AB

Manchester campus

Manchester campus
2 Hardman Street,
Manchester,
M3 3HF

Leeds campus

Leeds campus
7 Park Square,
Park Square East,
Leeds,
LS 12LW

Newcastle campus (opening Feb 2026)

Newcastle campus
The Spark,
Draymans Way,
Newcastle Helix,
Newcastle upon Tyne,
NE4 5DE

Submitting Needs Assessment Reports

Reports should be submitted electronically to: wellbeing@arden.ac.uk

Please include:

  • Student’s full name and Arden student ID
  • Course title and mode of study (Distance / Blended)
  • Recommended support, including justification and funding source
  • Itemised costs (hardware, software, NMH hours, etc.)
  • Date of assessment and assessor contact details

Assessors are encouraged to:Assessors are encouraged to:

  • Describe the functional impact of the student’s disability on their study.
  • Relate recommendations directly to Arden’s distance / blended delivery model.
  • Identify whether recommended items are essential or supplementary given existing university provision.
  • Provide a clear rationale for each recommendation, including alternatives considered.