The Office for Students (OfS) has shared points for institutions to consider when reviewing the ways they support students with disabilities and improve their experiences of higher education.
The considerations are included in a new insight brief that sets out a range of evidence about the experiences of disabled students in higher education, which are persistently reported as poorer than those of their non-disabled peers.
This includes the views shared by final-year undergraduates as part of the National Student Survey (NSS), new polling, and statistics on the completion, progression, and attainment rates of disabled students.
It also summarises the findings from workshops the OfS held with representatives from universities and colleges about their experiences of implementing reasonable adjustments for disabled students.
Based on these insights, the OfS is encouraging universities and colleges to consider:
- What the law says about reasonable adjustments in higher education.
- Whether they are listening to and working with disabled students to improve their experiences and communicating with them effectively about reasonable adjustments and support.
- How disabled students may be affected by risks to equality of opportunity as set out in the OfS Equality of Opportunity Risk Register.
- The ways they are using staff training, data, and evaluation to plan and deliver effective support for disabled students that is personalised and responds to individual needs.
- Whether teaching and assessments are accessible for disabled students while maintaining their rigour and credibility.
The insight brief draws upon the work of the OfS’s Disability in Higher Education Advisory Panel, which was established in April 2024 to provide the OfS with expert advice on enhancing disabled students’ experiences in higher education and recommendations on how institutions can better support their educational experience.
Suzanne Carrie, Head of Student Equality and Welfare at the OfS and deputy chair of the Disability in Higher Education Advisory Panel said:
‘Every student should expect a high quality higher education experience that has a positive impact on their lives and career. For disabled students, that expectation is not always met.
‘Today’s insight brief underlines the need for universities and colleges to renew their efforts to address the inequalities between disabled and non-disabled students that continue to persist.
‘Many institutions are already driving forward important work to bridge the gap, and we welcome the positive steps they have made towards ensuring students have an equitable experience.
‘All universities and colleges should reflect on the insights and points for consideration listed in this brief as they review their support for disabled students and work to ensure they gain the same fulfilment and value from higher education as their non-disabled peers.’
Notes
- The Office for Students is the independent regulator for higher education in England. We are shortly due to launch a new strategy for 2025 to 2030, which seeks to ensure that students from all backgrounds benefit from high quality higher education, delivered by a diverse, sustainable sector that continues to improve.