ABOUT ACCESS INSIGHTS
We believe in the power of disability wisdom to better society.
Why is Access Insights needed?
Access Insights is brought to you by Disabled Students UK
The last five years have seen a sharp increase in disabled students, with 18% of home students now declaring a disability, a trend that will only continue as we live with the consequences of the pandemic. The same period has also seen an increase in reports of HE inaccessibility. The latest Annual Disabled Student Survey found that only 35% of disabled students have the support they need to access education on equal terms. Disabled students are now finding their voice and are raising it to ask for equal access to education.
Without evaluating disabled students' access, regulators struggle to suggest and enforce solutions. Access Insights is the first attempt to structurally address this by evaluating accessibility in the sector over a longer period.
Access Insights provides a picture of accessibility within each provider. This open access snapshot will allow universities to hold themselves to account both to their students and to their regulators.
In addition to accountability, tools are needed. Access Insights will evaluate a number of positive practices and their association with student outcomes, allowing concrete steps to be taken toward an accessible higher education sector. Universities that become Access insights members will additionally receive a number of premium features such as a yearly institution-specific report with step by step recommendations.
Next, you can learn more about Access Insights membership and how your organisation and benefit from joining on our Services page.
The project is based on three factors:
- There is currently a lack of data on accessibility in the sector. We cannot fix an issue that we do not understand.
- Disabled students have invaluable knowledge about what works and does not work in accessibility. We see this every day in our work
- The most efficient solutions to inaccessibility are structural. Having information about structural issues and solutions allows universities to address accessibility strategically rather than as an add-on.
