University by University Comparison
Are you considering which university to choose?
We know that accessibility varies widely from institution to institution so we asked disabled students about their experience. On this page can compare the experience of survey respondents from your institution, with the UK-wide results and our 2033 goals.
Below you can see a snapshot of how the 11 institutions with the most respondents performed in our Annual Disabled Student Survey 2023. First we take a look at what we consider one of the most important questions in the survey – whether students feel they have enough support. After this we look at one key question concerning each of the 6 Principles of The Disabled Student Experience.
As we move closer to 2033 we want to see these tables turn green – so that no matter which university you attend you will have the same opportunities as a non-disabled student. Our goal is to include every Higher Education Provider in this mapping but we can only do that if we get enough respondents from each institution. Sign up now to be notified when it’s time to spread the 2024 survey.
The tables use the following colour code:
Would you like to see your university’s full results?
This comparison is a snapshot of the Annual Disabled Student Survey results. Encourage your university to become an Access Insights Member to receive a full institution-specific report. Access Insights Membership has been recommended by the Disabled Students Commission as part of the 2023 Disabled Students’ Commitment.
Summary Question
Proportion of disabled students who feel that they have the support and adjustments they need to be able to access their studies on equal terms with non-disabled peers
| 2033 goal | 75% agree |
| University of Leicester | 49% agree (29% disagree) |
| Bath Spa University | 49% agree (35% disagree) |
| Heriot-Watt University | 46% agree (41% disagree) |
| University of Manchester | 43% agree (44% disagree) |
| University of Exeter ☆ | 40% agree (40% disagree) |
| Canterbury Christ Church University | 35% agree (45% disagree) |
| UK wide | 35% agreed (49% disagreed) |
| Oxford University | 33% agree (54% disagree) |
| Cambridge University | 32% agree (49% disagree) |
| University College London ☆ | 29% agree (62% disagree) |
| University of Plymouth | 30% agree (46% disagree) |
| Royal Holloway | 30% agree (46% disagree) |
✩ Universities with this star are members of the Access Insights project, meaning that they are investing in understanding the situation so that they can improve the experience for their disabled students.
Principle 1: Universal Design
Proportion of disabled students who had a majority of their lectures recorded in the last year
| 2033 goal | 80% |
| University of Exeter | 91% |
| University of Leicester | 82% |
| University of Plymouth | 71% |
| Cambridge University | 71% |
| University of Manchester | 70% |
| UK wide | 61% |
| Canterbury Christ Church University | 60% |
| Bath Spa University | 54% |
| Oxford University | 50% |
| Royal Holloway | 45% |
| University College London | 42% |
| Heriot-Watt University | 33% |
Principle 2: An Inclusive Culture
Proportion of disabled students who have been made to feel unwelcome at the university by staff members due to their disability
| 2033 goal | 5% yes |
| University of Leicester | 9% yes |
| Heriot-Watt University | 15% yes |
| Bath Spa University | 16% yes |
| Royal Holloway | 19% yes |
| University of Exeter | 20% yes |
| University College London | 25% yes |
| University of Plymouth | 22% yes |
| Canterbury Christ Church University | 26% yes |
| UK wide | 26% yes |
| Oxford University | 27% yes |
| University of Manchester | 31% yes |
| Cambridge University | 31% yes |
Principle 3: A Barrier-free Path to Support
Proportion of disabled students who have been provided with enough information about different adjustments that could help them
| 2033 goal | 75% yes |
| Bath Spa University | 57% yes |
| Heriot-Watt University | 53% yes |
| University of Leicester | 51% yes |
| Cambridge University | 49% yes |
| University of Manchester | 48% yes |
| Royal Holloway | 46% yes |
| UK wide | 45% yes |
| University of Exeter | 44% yes |
| Canterbury Christ Church University | 42% yes |
| Oxford University | 41% yes |
| University of Plymouth | 39% yes |
| University College London | 38% yes |
Principle 4: Sufficient Adjustments
Proportion of disabled students who report that all of the adjustments that the university has agreed for them have been provided
| 2033 goal | 80% |
| University of Leicester | 57% |
| Royal Holloway | 50% |
| University of Manchester | 48% |
| University of Plymouth | 45% |
| University of Exeter | 40% |
| Oxford University | 38% |
| Cambridge University | 36% |
| Canterbury Christ Church University | 36% |
| Heriot-Watt University | 36% |
| UK wide | 36% |
| Bath Spa University | 32% |
| University College London | 29% |
Principle 5: Somewhere to Turn
Proportion of disabled students who feel that there is a person or system within the university that they could turn to who would be able to effectively address access barriers they may face
| 2033 goal | 75% agree |
| University of Leicester | 75% agree (11% disagree) |
| Cambridge University | 66% agree (14% disagree) |
| Royal Holloway | 64% agree (13% disagree) |
| Heriot-Watt University | 61% agree (17% disagree) |
| Bath Spa University | 61% agree (10% disagree) |
| UK wide | 59% agree (17% disagree) |
| University of Plymouth | 58% agree (17% disagree) |
| University of Exeter | 57% agree (18% disagree) |
| University of Manchester | 57% agree (18% disagree) |
| University College London | 55% agree (20% disagree) |
| Oxford University | 52% agree (23% disagree) |
| Canterbury Christ Church University | 47% agree (24% disagree) |
Principle 6: Equal Opportunities
Proportion of disabled students who feel part of a community at this university
| 2033 goal | 65% agree |
| Cambridge University | 58% agree (22% disagree) |
| Oxford University | 57% agree (20% disagree) |
| Bath Spa University | 45% agree (24% disagree) |
| University of Exeter | 43% agree (37% disagree) |
| Royal Holloway | 43% agree (38% disagree) |
| University of Plymouth | 42% agree (36% disagree) |
| UK wide | 42% agree (34% disagree) |
| University of Leicester | 41% agree (34% disagree) |
| Canterbury Christ Church University | 40% agree (33% disagree) |
| University of Manchester | 40% agree (40% disagree) |
| University College London | 39% agree (41% disagree) |
| Heriot-Watt University | 39% agree (43% disagree) |
Dissemination and sample sizes
We want to thank the Disability Services departments at the following institutions for showing their commitment to improving the experience for disabled students in the UK by sharing our survey with their students: Bath Spa University, Leicester University, Heriot-Watt University, Cambridge University, London South Bank University, Canterbury Christ Church University, Edinburgh Napier University, University of Manchester, Royal Holloway University of London.
Those who filled out the Annual Disabled Student Survey are only a sample of disabled students at the university. For any survey filled out by a sample of a population, there is a level of uncertainty regarding what the population as a whole would respond to the same questions. Based on HESA’s estimates of how many disabled students there are within each university, we can be 90% confident that the values for each university reported above are at most 6-12 percentage points away from the values we would find if the whole disabled student population at that university had completed our survey.
Sample sizes:
- Cambridge University = 138
- University of Manchester = 102
- Oxford University = 86
- University College London ☆ = 80
- University of Exeter ☆ = 79
- Canterbury Christ Church University = 70
- University of Plymouth = 64
- University of Leicester = 56
- Bath Spa University = 49
- Royal Holloway = 47
- Heriot-Watt University = 46