Oxford escapes scrutiny over deaf student refusal

Oxford University has escaped detailed scrutiny of its decision
to reject a deaf student by just three weeks, according to the
Disability Rights Commission, writes Katie
Leason.

The student, Anastasia Fedotova, gained six As, but failed to
gain a place at Brasenose College, part of Oxford university. She
has since been offered a place to study mathematics at Imperial
College.

Bob Niven, chief executive of the Disability Rights Commission,
said the university should examine whether its admissions or
interview processes hindered her application, and warned that from
next month the DRC will be able to take cases on behalf of such
students to examine whether discrimination has taken place.

“New laws from 1 September will ensure that disabled students
and pupils are not discriminated in the admissions process, and
that any interview situations take account of someone’s disability,
and ensure that a disabled candidate has a fair interview, just as
a non-disabled candidate would,” he said.

Oxford University insisted that candidates who declare that they
have special requirements are given adequate provision to ensure
they can demonstrate their full potential during the selection
process.

“We are committed to providing equality of opportunity for all
our students, and give clear guidelines and training to admissions
tutors that are designed to ensure that no candidate is
disadvantaged due to disability,” explained a spokesperson.

Last year 11 of the 16,500 students at the university were deaf
and 530 had a disability.