DARE – Disability Access Route to Education
DARE/ HEAR students coming to college in the academic year 2022/2023.
Welcome to TUS Athlone. The Access and Disability Office staff will support you throughout your time with TUS Athlone. It may not be the usual academic year and so we want to assure you we are here to support you every step of the way.
Please check your emails! We will be in touch via your personal email within a number of days of you accepting your college offer. This email will introduce to you the person who will be supporting you and also outline a host of supports that can assist you as you enter your first year of college.
Please Note: After this initial email, all other communication will be through your student email account.
HEAR Students
Each HEAR student will have a support staff member appointed to them. This person will be your contact person for the year and will make contact with you by phone during your second week in college. You can let us know how you are getting on; any challenges you may have encountered; what supports you may need and where we can assist. We have a lot of supports we can connect you to that can help you along the way.
DARE Students
Each DARE student is encouraged to link in with us as soon as they have accepted their course so that the process of registering for Disability supports can begin. We conduct individual Needs Assessment with students to determine their support requirements. A member of the support team will phone you during your second week to arrange an appointment if we have not heard from you by then. This person will be your contact person for the academic year if you need further advice or support
The Disability Access Route to Education (DARE) is a third level alternative admissions scheme for school-leavers whose disabilities have had a negative impact on their second level education. DARE offers reduced points places to school leavers who as a result of having a disability have experienced additional educational challenges in second level education. DARE has been set up by a number of colleges and universities as evidence shows that disability can have a negative impact on how well a student does at school and whether they go on to college. DARE is for school leavers with a disability under the age of 23 as of 1 January 2022, who have been educationally impacted as a result of their disability. Applicants to DARE can present with an Irish Leaving Certificate, A-Levels and other EU qualifications.
To be eligible for DARE you must meet both the DARE evidence of disability criteria and DARE educational impact criteria.
For more information please see the link below Disability Access Route to Education (DARE)
You can also email DARE queries to DARE.midlands@tus.ie. If you are made DARE eligible you may be offered a place in TUS Athlone campus on reduced points (10%) provided that you have met the minimum entry requirements and any specific subject requirements for your chosen course.
Types of Disability considered by DARE:
- Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
- Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
- Blind/Vision Impaired.
- Deaf/Hard of Hearing.
- Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD) - Dyspraxia.
- Mental Health Difficulty.
- Neurological Conditions (including Epilepsy & Brain Injury)
- Physical Disability.
- Significant Ongoing Illness.
- Specific Learning Difficulty (including Dyslexia & Dyscalculia).
- Speech and Language Communication Disorder