Should I "complain" about college interview not taking into account disabilitie

nonstudent

Due to the fact I failed both interviews due to my disability affecting how I come accross at interviews such as social anxiety, I am autisic and get confused easily

I did have one 2 months ago and was rejected as they assumed I wasnt interested enough in the subject(it was televison production and I mentioned I prefer less cgi on a production and old fashioned methods but I realised modern methods were the future and admitted it was less time consuming to do and for greater benefit.

I can understand that one getting misunderstood but the one today was bad, first of all I had bad allergies today so could barely speak and as spaced out which I mentioned at the interview, but they turned me down because they said I wasnt enthusiastic about the course(that was because I was ill!) and that because I mentioned I did not plan to make a career of the subject and wanted the course as a stepping stone into any form of work(not just media) they even said at the interview "oh why are you even applying then" They are punishing me for telling them I dont plan to make a career even though I have passion for the subject, they also did not take into account I am autistic and struggle to get my words across(which is why I wanted to do the course to improve things like that)

Well the responses will probably say its their choice but it seems unfair that they reject people on the basis they dont want a career out of the subject as that will exclude all mature students

I know the person who interviewed me as I did a course 5 years ago and lets just say they have a reputation of being rude and nasty to people and get loads of complaints(which get brushed under the carpet as they are section leader) and speaks down to almost everyone to the point the lower staff dislike her.

And when I say complain its more I want to ge them aware of certain disabilities, there was 1 girl there who had someone type for her which I am meant to get, and looked after her again what I meant to get and the interviewers treated her really kindly but someone with a less noticable disability gets nothing.

nannytone_2

is it possible that the course is fully subscribed?
in which case it would make sense to offer the places to people that want to use it to further their career prospects.

nonstudent

Yes its a popular course but I applied at midnight the literal minute it opened for applications, have experience in the field such as published works, spent a year at uni where I got distinctions and someone who did get a place had zero experience and told me in private they didnt want a career out of it too(but told the lecturers they did)

I feel like me being honest in saying I was too old to go back to university in the field meant they rejected me because of that as well(so not just the disability but it comes back to how I come across at interview due to it that meant I said something like that)

[Deleted User]

If you didnt ask for reasonable adjustments for interview its a bit late to try and claim them.

billywilly

nonstudent wrote: »

Yes its a popular course but I applied at midnight the literal minute it opened for applications, have experience in the field such as published works, spent a year at uni where I got distinctions and someone who did get a place had zero experience and told me in private they didnt want a career out of it too(but told the lecturers they did)

I feel like me being honest in saying I was too old to go back to university in the field meant they rejected me because of that as well(so not just the disability but it comes back to how I come across at interview due to it that meant I said something like that)

You are assuming that they discriminated against you. Can you actually prove it?
Much the same as some directors of companies that I know would not employ a young woman simply because of the problems that arise should she get pregnant. Proving discrimination in that case is also very hard.

No one in their right mind would stand up and say - yes we discriminate against the disabled and young women.

nonstudent

I think the "discrimination" is more ignorance than anything.

I think they were not made fully aware of my disabilities or the impact they have, so they indirectly discriminated.

And yes its tricky the email just said "unsucessful" but they told me over phone about the reasons.

lrb_2

Well, you have to take into account that education is sadly a business.
Teachers and course leaders get a lot of pressure to keep the numbers up, and attendance and retention rates are very important.

As a course leader if I had to choose between someone who wanted to pursue a career on the subject and someone who didn't, I would definitely choose the first one.

When I was a lecturer we had a six weeks' period at the beginning of the course when we were pressured to get rid of students who were not that enthusiastic and could affect the retention rates ( drop outs affect the budget, teaching hours, lecturers' salaries... etc).

I don't mean to be rude but from your post I wouldn't have given you a place either. I would have been concerned that you might change your mind mid-course and affect my numbers. I don't think your disability had a play on it.


And no one is too old to go to uni, I'm 34 and I'm going back to uni this September. When I went for the interview I was the youngest by far!:eek: :rotfl:

[Deleted User]

nonstudent wrote: »

I think the "discrimination" is more ignorance than anything.

I think they were not made fully aware of my disabilities or the impact they have, so they indirectly discriminated.

And yes its tricky the email just said "unsucessful" but they told me over phone about the reasons.

Did you tell them about your conditions? If not who else do you think should have?

They can't discriminate when they dont know you have a disability.

nonstudent

lrb wrote: »

Well, you have to take into account that education is sadly a business.
Teachers and course leaders get a lot of pressure to keep the numbers up, and attendance and retention rates are very important.

As a course leader if I had to choose between someone who wanted to pursue a career on the subject and someone who didn't, I would definitely choose the first one.

When I was a lecturer we had a six weeks' period at the beginning of the course when we were pressured to get rid of students who were not that enthusiastic and could affect the retention rates ( drop outs affect the budget, teaching hours, lecturers' salaries... etc).

I don't mean to be rude but from your post I wouldn't have given you a place either. I would have been concerned that you might change your mind mid-course and affect my numbers. I don't think your disability had a play on it.


And no-one is too old to go to uni, I'm 34 and I'm going back to uni this September. When I went for the interview I was the youngest by far!:eek: :rotfl:

Funnily enough it was their own advisors who told me when I had a disability appointment that at my age the course should be done for passion rather than going to uni.

I dont mind going back to uni myself in fact I wanted to but thought it would be straight in the deep end and rather brush up my skills first.

Also I am not saying I wouldnt change my mind I planned to do the course and a few months down the line decide if its worth the risk to go to uni(but to be fair I didnt say that) And I felt if I did the course the skills would be transferrable if say I wanted to change to a different course if I went to uni.

But I didnt get that far really.