Practical Assistant

Practical Assistant support is not usually provided through the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA). Practical Assistant support is recommended by your Disability Advisor and funded by the University of Derby. 

Contact your Disability Advisor for Disability Support. 

If you have been recommended Practical Assistant support, please contact the Student Support team on nmh@derby.ac.uk. 

If you require Practical Assistant support for your first day at university, please ensure you meet your Disability Advisor prior to starting university. Your Disability Advisor will put in a recommendation for Practical Assistant support. 

Please email the Student Support team on nmh@derby.ac.uk to share your timetable to allow us to organise your support as early as possible. 

1.  Please contact the Student Support team on nmh@derby.ac.uk to be allocated a Practical Assistant, either by the University of Derby, Cosmic People or Randstad.  
2. One of the team will get in touch to ask you some follow up questions about your support preferences. 
3. You will be provided with the name and photograph of your Practical Assistant.

In the first instance, please speak to your Practical Assistant to discuss the meeting location, route to your academic sessions and where you would like to sit in the classroom or lecture theatre. Your feedback is important to ensure the support is right for you. 

The Student Support team will contact you in your first and second semester to ensure your support is satisfactory. However, please do not hesitate to contact the Student Support team throughout the semester if you need any further support or make any changes.

Support sessions provided by the University of Derby are recorded using a platform called Connect. You will receive a weekly email to your Unimail account from Connect asking you to confirm whether your session took place or not. This allows the Student Support team to keep track of how many hours of support you have used. 

If you do not confirm your support, we will ask your Practical Assistant to confirm your sessions on a paper timesheet. 

To confirm that your sessions either took place or not, please log on to your Connect platform. 

No, the University of Derby will fund a Practical Assistant, if recommended by your Disability Advisor. The only responsibility you have is to confirm your sessions using the Connect system. 

Please email the Student Support team on nmh@derby.ac.uk who will send you a link to reset your password on Connect.  

Contact the Student Support team at the University of Derby on nmh@derby.ac.uk or 07860097674 (text only)

If you support has been provided by Cosmic People contact them on support@cosmic.co.uk or 01283716333 

If you support has been provided by Randstad contact them on StudentSupportCentral@randstad.co.uk or 01612478800

Please note your Practical Assistant will claim for a booked session even if it lasts for a shorter time and any session that is cancelled with less than 24 hours' notice. 

If you run out of your University funded hours, you can discuss your ongoing support needs with your Disability Advisor. Your Disability Advisor can process a request for additional funded hours. 

Please contact the Student Support team on nmh@derby.ac.uk if you need to check how many hours you have used in the academic year.

Please contact the Student Support team if you need to make a change to your Practical Assistant support. Be as open and honest as you possibly can to ensure we get the support right for you. 

Please note that support may need to continue with your current Practical Assistant for a short period whilst we find a replacement.