Academic Disadvantage:

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The bigger picture:

Approximately 16 percent of students gaining a place at the University of Melbourne have indicated academic disadvantage through the Access Melbourne scheme.  Most of these students will not experience academic disadvantage while studying at university. However in some cases, the circumstances which led to a recognition of academic disadvantage upon entry to the University continue to disadvantage a student through out their academic career.   Some students only first experience academic disadvantage part way through their degree programs.  Therefore in all likelihood, at some point you will be teaching students whose circumstances create academic disadvantage.

What is academic disadvantage?

The University of Melbourne recognises that academic disadvantage occurs when a person’s circumstances or attributes substantially impact on their academic performance and participation.

For students whose circumstance is considered short term (e.g illness, bereavement, change in accommodation), the University provides flexibility through standard extensions and Special Consideration.  However for a significant number of students, their circumstance or attribute is likely to affect them over numerous semesters throughout their candidature.  For these students, the University has the Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage (SEAD) policy which provides a consistent framework for the University to substantiate disadvantage and to identify and implement reasonable adjustments.

The University through the Disability Discrimination Act, Disability Standards for Education, Equal Opportunity Act and now the University of Melbourne  SEAD policy is obliged not to discriminate against these students, either directly or indirectly. Therefore, from time to time, lecturers and tutors are required to make accommodations for these students to ensure that the experience of disadvantage is not compounded and is, where possible, mitigated.

Issues you may encounter:

Students may experience academic disadvantage due to:

• Disability or chronic medical condition (including mental health conditions)
• Disadvantaged socio-economic circumstances
• Rural or isolated background
• Previous status as a refugee or current holder of a Humanitarian Visa.
• Recognition as an Indigenous Australian
• Personal difficulties, including intensive carer responsibilities

Attendance, time management, confidence, completion of assessment tasks and participation needs are examples of the issues students can have difficulty managing.

Your role:

As a subject tutor you play a vital role in ensuring the university meets its legal obligations to the student whilst maintaining the academic integrity of your subject.  As a subject tutor you are often an accessible and approachable person for students to disclose their issues and needs to.  While you are often the first point of contact, you are not alone, as the University has a range of services and strategies to help you meet these obligations. For the most part you will be expected to refer students to appropriate services, adopt recommendations (where appropriate) from a student’s Disability or Disadvantage Impact Statement (DIS) and adopt inclusive teaching practices in the classroom.

 Broaching the subject and respecting privacy:

Often the earlier a student feels comfortable in seeking help the more easily the student’s disadvantage can be managed. You can create an environment where a student can feel comfortable seeking help no matter what their concern. It can be helpful to begin the semester by announcing in the first class a statement such as:

“ If there is any student who is likely to experience any difficulties with this subject, or has any concerns in the future due to personal reasons, then I encourage them to make a time to meet with either myself or <insert name> who is the Student Equity Officer in <insert Student Centre> early in semester so we can discuss these issues .”

Confidentiality is often a large concern to students, so adding that the discussion will be confidential is also useful.  All staff should be aware of the University’s Privacy Policy and how this applies to verbal and written communication.

Boundaries:

 Just because a student discloses issues to you does not mean you are expected to know how to solve each problem, but you are expected to know how to appropriately refer to the various services available to assist students on campus.  At other times you may be concerned about a student due to sustained absences, a change in behaviour or a decrease in engagement or performance.  You can seek advice from any of the service areas and maintain confidentiality by treating the student’s circumstances as hypothetical - that is, you do not need to identify the student, but can discuss the student’s predicament in a general manner.  For advice and support you can contact any appropriate service or your Student Equity Officer (SEO).

A full listing of University services and relevant policies can be found at www.services.unimelb.edu.au/

Disability and Disadvantage Impact Statements (DIS):

Disability or Disadvantage Impact Statements are documents prepared by the student with relevant University staff to provide a snapshot of the tasks students are likely to experience difficulty with and importantly to provide a list of reasonable adjustments to ameliorate disadvantage.  Many of the suggestions are easily implemented and are standard adjustments available within the University environment.  It is important to note that this list of reasonable adjustments are an indicative list of adjustments and if you feel recommendations are inappropriate for the class or assessment you teach then you do not have to implement them.  It is however important that you discuss the issues with the nominated staff member on the form.
Disability Impact Statements are prepared by the Disability Liaison Unit (DLU) and Disadvantage Impact Statements are prepared by Student Equity Officers.

Inclusive Teaching Practices:

When teaching a group of students it is important to note that each student is different and will have differing backgrounds, preferred learning styles etc. This may include students with disabilities and other forms of academic disadvantage. Inclusive practices in the tutorial involves adopting strategies that would benefit a range of students including students with disabilities. Often this is largely intuitive.  The Staff Handbook on the Disability Liaison Unit webpage (www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability) has information and resources regarding inclusive teaching practices – refer to the Teaching and Learning section.

Where to get further information:

Disability Liaison Unit:  www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability or ph: 8344 7068
Student Equity Officers: For a listing of current SEO's visit http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/disability/fdco/contact.html
Student Services: www.services.unimelb.edu.au

Students Experiencing Academic Disadvantage Policy: http://www.services.unimelb.edu.au/policy/disadvantage/index.html
Special Consideration Policy: https://sis.unimelb.edu.au/cgi-bin/special-consideration.pl
University Privacy Policy: http://www.unimelb.edu.au/unisec/privacy/index.html

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