Access Insights Membership
Access Insights uses disabled-led expertise to increase accessibility in Higher Education. We offer membership and services to empower Higher Education institutions to increase accessiblity for their disabled students.
What is Access Insights Membership?
As the number of disabled students increases, institutions are faced with questions of how to meet their needs and reduce the legal and reputational risk associated with inaccessibility.
As demonstrated in research conducted by Disabled Students UK, the pandemic has shown us a way forward. Universal measures implemented for all have increased accessibility for disabled students and a number of other marginalised groups. Many institutions are now considering how they can maintain the progress made and continue to improve accessibility.The Access Insights Project allows universities and student unions to benefit from the insight of disabled students, enabling universities to improve accessibility in a proactive and cost-effective manner.
Access Insights will aim to evaluate all universities, members as well as non-members. For those who are interested, we offer universities and student unions Access Insights membership. Members who become part of the project send a clear message to their disabled students that they value their voice and are investing in their access.
Our membership packages, outlined below, enable instituions to effectively tackle inaccessibility.
Reports
We provide tailored reports based on the institution specific findings of the Annual Disabled Student Survey.
Human stories
Members get access to informative blogs, workshops and videos from lived-experience experts.
Consulting
In some packages, members can benefit from consulting hours based on their the insitution-specific data.
Training
Members can take advantage of discounts on DSUK training and events.
Advantages of Access Insights Membership
By becoming a member universities gain premium insight and signal their commitment to improving the disabled student experience.
Prioritising accessibility in HE is crucial to challenge the status quo of disabled students not having the same educational, self-development, and career opportunities. Better accessibility also benefits HEPs in many ways. It allows the institution to gain academic contributions from an underutilised population, avoid reputational and financial damages from complaints, and rise on university rankings as the experience and performance of nearly one in five students improve.
DSUK embodies a new model of disabled students as experts and creators of change rather than recipients of charity. Disabled students have invaluable knowledge about what works and does not work when it comes to accessibility. We see this every day in our work, and we want the whole HE sector to benefit from this insight through the Access Insights Project.
DSUK’s 2022 report found that the second most common lesson disabled students want universities to learn from the pandemic was to consult them more. Students who had been proactively consulted about accessibility during the pandemic were 3 times more likely to have the support they needed and more than 3 times less likely to consider leaving.
Access Insight membership allows the HEP to address inaccessibility more effectively. The authentic advice and evidence-based recommendations we offer lead to more cost-effective interventions. This will also improve staff morale and productivity, as they can be more confident and proactive in their accessibility measures rather than having to rectify issues in an ad-hoc manner.
Members can proudly display the Access Insights membership logo on their website, sending a clear message to current and prospective their disabled students that they value their voice and are investing in their access.
Which membership is right for my institution?
Disabled Students UK offer Higher Education institutions three levels of membership outlined below. To stay up to date with DSUK, join our mailing list for free sector and DSUK updates. All packages are billed anually.GOLD
- Monthly Brief
- Data Dive from Annual Disabled Student Survey
- 25% Discount on DSUK Events
- Membership Badge
PLATINUM
- Everything in GOLD +
- Institution Specific Annual Report
- 20% Discount Consulting, Training and Speaking
- 50% Discount on Events
DIAMOND
- Everything in PLATINUM +
- Annual Premium report into your institution
- 15 hours bespoke consulting
- Co-creation of video on work to support disabled students
- Free access to all DSUK events
*Memberships billed annually.
*Institutions with less than 15,000 students are eligible for membership discount. Please get in touch for more details
*Memberships do not include VAT.
Compare Access Insights Membership
| FEATURES | GOLD | PLATINUM | DIAMOND |
|---|---|---|---|
| MONTHLY BRIEF | ☑️ | ☑️ | ☑️ |
| EXCLUSIVE DATA DIVE | ☑️ | ☑️ | ☑️ |
| 25% DISCOUNT ON EVENTS | ☑️ | ☑️ | ☑️ |
| MEMBERSHIP COMMITMENT BADGE | ☑️ | ☑️ | ☑️ |
| ANNUAL REPORT | ☑️ | ☑️ | |
| 20% DISCOUNT ON CONSULTING TRAINING & SPEAKING | ☑️ | ☑️ | |
| 50% DISCOUNT ON EVENTS | ☑️ | ☑️ | |
| ANNUAL PREMIUM REPORT INTO INSTITUTION | ☑️ | ||
| 15H CONSULTING | ☑️ | ||
| CO-CREATION OF VIDEO ON WORK TO SUPPORT DISABLED STUDENTS | ☑️ | ||
| 75% DISCOUNT ON EVENTS | ☑️ |
Sign-up for Access Insights Membership
To sign-up for membership please reach out to us by email at accessinsights@disabledstudents.co.uk specifying which tier you are interested in.
Feedback from our collaborators
"The structure of the report and discussions with the Access Insights team has helped us identify themes to articulate where we are in terms of our service and inclusive practice for disabled students. It’s been encouraging to see where we are doing well and identify areas that need further development using the traffic light rating towards the 2033 goal. We’re keen to use the report to help shape policy and practice as well as find methods of reporting and support from our senior management team."
Disabled Students UK is a pioneering student led movement for positive change and the equitable inclusion of disabled students. Their services to the UK HE sector, research and practice, bring key student voices into the policy and delivery realm of Education in Universities, where they collaborate with leaders and practitioners. Their work is essential for student representation and the sustainability of the HE sector.
We also offer a variety of bespoke services for institutions
Training
We are able to deliver training on a variety of topics such as an ableism 101 workshop, the relationship between disability law and the student experience, disability history and the support and engagement of disabled students at university.
Research
Research is one of our biggest strengths. Our report on the COVID-19 impact on disabled students was widely distributed in the sector and has been highlighted in parliamentary contexts and included in publications by various commissions.
Public speaking
We have extensive experience speaking at events and conferences, working with organisations and bodies like Westminster Insight, NADP, WonkHE, Disability Rights Advice TV and the International Network of Inclusive Practice.
Public Speaking
We have extensive experience speaking at events and conferences, working with organisations and bodies like Westminster Insight, NADP, WonkHE, Disability Rights Advice TV and the International Network of Inclusive Practice. We ensure that the disabled student perspective is represented at events concerning areas that impact disabled students and can speak on a variety of topics such as individual experiences, university/SU structures and our research. Here is a presentation we created for a conference on Mental health in Higher Education in April 2021
Research Services
Research is one of our biggest strengths. Our report on the COVID-19 impact on disabled students was widely distributed in the sector and has been highlighted in parliamentary contexts and included in publications by various commissions. Our evidence-based approach has attracted significant interest from key stakeholders, resulting in invitations to collaborate with the Disabled Students’ Commission and present at the APPG for Disability. For clients, we are able to provide premium access to our research conclusions and lend our expertise to research projects, both for accessibility consultants and university-based researchers.
Training
We are able to deliver training on a variety of topics such as an ableism 101 workshop, the relationship between disability law and the student experience, disability history and the support and engagement of disabled students at university. Each training session can be tailored to the individual needs of your university or Students’ Union.
As an example, we are delivering a session within the NUS Lead & Change 2021 programme on how to support disabled students and how to tackle some of the key issues from the perspective of incoming sabbatical officers.
Enquire about our services
If you'd like to get in touch regarding any of our services or if you'd like to discuss a potential project, you can email us at accessinsights@disabledstudents.co.uk.