Disability Support at National College of Ireland

As part of its commitment to providing equal opportunities for all students, NCI offers a number of supports for students with disabilities.

Disability Officer, Karen Mooney, advising NCI student.

Student Support and Welfare Manager, Karen Mooney, advising NCI student.

National College of Ireland is committed to providing equal access to education and equal opportunities for students with disabilities. We believe the most important first step is to make sure that you can access supports in an open relaxed, friendly and confidential way. It is very important that students disclose a disability early in the academic year to ensure that necessary supports are provided. By delaying disclosure of a disability, students may be missing out on essential supports which can help with everything from participation in lectures right through to sitting exams.

We provide a number of useful services including the following listed below:

Educational needs assessment

The Disability Officer will work to address the specific support needs of students, prospective students with disabilities. This includes arranging supports including learning support, sign language interpreters, library supports, personal assistants etc.
The Disability Officer will apply for funded supports through the ESF fund for students with disabilities on behalf of the student.
Liaise with a number of departments across the college to make sure that your specific support requirements are met, for example, Academic Departments; Exams Office; Admissions Office; Library; and IT Department.

Assistive technology

Assistive Technology plays an important role in reducing the impact of disability on the academic success of students. The key role of the Assistive Technology Officer is to provide training, back up and support for students with disabilities.

Assistive Technology is any device, piece of equipment, or software that can help reduce the negative impact of a disability on a student’s academic success. Some examples of assistive technology include voice recognition software, large print display software, screen reader software, and modified keyboards, mouse etc.

Learning support

A one-to-one learning support service is provided to students with disabilities. The purpose of this service is to assist with the management and planning of academic work. You can get help with structure and presentation of assignments and support with referencing Learning support is not a tutoring service and does not assist with any issues relating to content.

NCI also runs a drop in Learning Support Service that is available to all students this is currently run online. For further information, see the Student Support Moodle page.

Library support

The key role of the Library is to support students to use all aspects of the library resources to maximise your academic success. Students with certain disabilities (e.g. hearing impaired, visually impaired, mobility difficulty, specific learning difficulty) may require specific additional supports to facilitate equal access to the same resources as other students. This is determined during your Educational Needs Assessment with the Disability Officer. Some of the supports available include:

Extended library loans
Access to electronic books
Access to electronic readers
Adapted furniture

Support for autistic students

NCI is a designated autism-friendly campus and continues to work with autism advocacy group, AsIAm in this respect. Learn more about the college's Autism-Friendly Initiative, and services available, including a sensory room built especially for autistic students and staff.