DSA-QAG announces plans to close at end of the year following change to DSA
Wednesday 21 August 2019
Following recent news from Student Loans Company that it will shortly be running a tendering exercise for the supply of DSAs needs assessments for Student Finance England-funded students, DSA-QAG has announced plans to close down as of the end 2019 because the changes will mean it is no longer financially viable.
In response, the Department for Education has said:
“All providers should be clear that these changes do not affect the Quality Assurance Frameworks (QAFs) already in existence, and we expect all providers to adhere to the requirements of the frameworks appropriate to their business until further notice. Similarly, DSA QAG will be continuing their programme of audits, and we expect all providers to comply with these arrangements.”
Whilst this will spark speculation about how needs assessments for higher education students will be delivered, this is yet to be clarified. We will share information once this is available. Whatever the new approach may be, the British Dyslexia Association will campaign to ensure quality of service and availability of funding is maintained.
You can find DSA-QAG’s statement here, and Department for Education’s statement here.