Session Abstracts AC 2025

“I’m a burden to the University” – challenging the status quo in Higher Education to enable disabled employees to be seen, valued and thrive – through the RIDE Higher Framework

Though it is known that disabled students report a lower sense of belonging and are more likely to drop out of University than their non-disabled peers, what is the situation for staff, where there is less support? The disability pay gap and desire of the Government to increase the numbers of disabled people in work is readily reported, but how well represented and remunerated are disabled individuals in the Higher Education workforce? 

This session reflects on the findings of the first National Disabled Staff Survey, launched by RIDE Higher earlier this year, and offers candid insights into the lived experiences of disabled staff working in the sector. It considers what is needed to champion disabled employees such that their skills and abilities can be recognised, supported and developed, helping to close the employment gap and increase their representation within the sector. The role of RIDE Higher (part of the National Association of Disabled Staff Networks) as a catalyst for change is explored, in relation to the wider landscape, including Advance HE’s holistic EDI framework, Disabled Student Commitment and University Mental Health Charter. Take-home messages regarding how Universities can join a movement to improve their disability inclusion, are shared, alongside food for thought about what the priorities should be. 

Access and Participation for Disabled Students in English Higher Education: the Journey so Far and the Path Ahead

Suzanne will reflect on the outcomes and experiences of disabled students, drawing on research carried out by the Office for Students with the support and direction of our Disability in Higher Education Advisory Panel. She will also discuss the current range of frameworks for driving improvement for disabled students in England and will challenge us to consider the extent to which these are driving the improvements we want to see.

Access Insights

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An Investigation of Academics’ Experiences of Teaching Disabled Students in Higher Education

Key Words: Disabled Students, Higher Education, Academics, Reasonable Adjustments, Universal Design,
Inclusive Pedagogy, Phenomenology

This paper reports on a descriptive phenomenological exploration of academics’ experiences of
teaching disabled students in Higher Education, drawing on four semi-structured interviews with
academics that teach disabled undergraduate students, face-to-face, in one University in the SouthEast of England. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in May 2023, transcribed, and analysed
using modified Stevick-Colaizzi-Keen method (Moustakas, 1994).

Academics’ declared support for inclusion of disabled students in teaching and learning but held
reservations about the effectiveness of generic adjustments, and concerns of over-support.
Described approaches indicated individualist perspectives of disability, lack of awareness of
organisational procedures and legal compliance issues. Tensions between academics’ best intentions
and lack of knowledge are illustrated. Four themes and two subthemes were consistent across the
data: (1) Student Responsibility: Direct Disclosure, Subtheme (1a): Person-First Relationships; (2)
Reasonable Adjustments: Fit for Purpose?; (3) Over Support: Setting Students up to Fail, Subthemeubtheme (3a): Medical Perspectives and Non-Compliance Risk; (4) Training Needs.

This paper contributes to a growing body of literature from the academics’ perspective. It illustrates
the complex, interconnected nature of academics’ approaches to teaching disabled students, and
offers new insights into the impact of increasing numbers of disabled students with complex needs
within cohorts. Recommendations for training and future research are made, practice implications
are outlined.

Disabled Student Commitment Competence Standards Guidance

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Empowering Students with ADHD: A Collaborative Psychoeducational Approach

Keywords: Student Voice, Collaboration, Peer coaching, ADHD, Cross team collaboration, Strength based

This workshop presents the UWE Bristol ADHD Psychoeducational Group, which has been delivering face-to-face group intervention for three years. It is designed to support students in higher education who have been diagnosed/screened for ADHD. The programme aims to help students accept their diagnosis, value and utilise their strengths, reframe their experiences, and develop behaviours, strategies and adjustments through collaboration with peers and practitioners. By enhancing self-esteem and developing strategies for ADHD-related challenges, the programme has shown, through feedback, to improve executive functions such as time management, task initiation, self-esteem and emotional regulation. It also provides essential tools for academic and workplace success.

The programme is grounded in an equitable, strengths-based, collaborative approach, aiming to empower students through psychoeducational and peer support interventions. Delivered by a multi-disciplinary team of neurodiverse tutors, mentors and advisers. It addresses the growing demand for peer support among neurodiverse students. By fostering community and peer support, the programme helps students overcome physical and psychological barriers, including stigma and enhances their ability to manage ADHD symptoms effectively.

This workshop is designed to provide valuable insights and practical strategies for supporting students with ADHD in higher education. Participants will gain:

• Effective Support and coaching Strategies: practical techniques to help students manage ADHD symptoms and improve executive functions.
• Ways to foster a supportive community among students with ADHD.
• Knowledge of implementing equitable approaches to support neurodiverse students.
  Ways to communicate and recruit students to engage with this type of support.

Join us to explore this innovative way to support ADHD students, promote peer learning opportunities, and improve outcomes through a collaborative and inclusive approach.

Empowering Students, Scaling Support: A Coaching Based Model for More Effective Provision

Keywords: Adapting Study Skills Provision for Changing Needs, Improving Student Retention, Future-Focused Support Strategies, Group Coaching as Scalable Provision

With increasing demands on disability support services, there is a pressing need for scalable and sustainable interventions that improve student outcomes while optimising resources. Traditional study skills and strategy support in HE often follows a directive model, and while effective in some cases, this approach does not always maximise engagement or foster long-term independence. Many students, especially those with ADHD and dyspraxia, respond better to student-led, non-directive approaches that encourage self-regulation, problem-solving and autonomy, and when given the opportunity to develop these skills in a structured environment, they are more likely to take ownership of learning, build confidence and sustain academic progress.

Coaching is widely recognised as a powerful way to foster growth and independence, but its purely non-directive nature makes it unsuitable as a standalone approach for study skills support. However, when coaching techniques are strategically combined with the more directive elements of study skills provision, they can significantly improve student engagement, retention and learning. This session explores how disability advisers and institutional leaders can integrate coaching-based approaches into SpLD tutoring through the coaching-tutoring continuum, a framework developed through our work at PASSHE that enables tutors to adapt their approach fluidly, moving between directive teaching and non-directive coaching in response to student needs. Insights from our training initiatives show that tutors who incorporate coaching techniques report greater student engagement, increased confidence and a more dynamic, personalised approach to support, making coaching a valuable tool for both student success and the effectiveness of disability support services.

Beyond one-to-one support, coaching tools open the door to a scalable and cost-effective solution: group coaching. With increasing student numbers and stretched resources, one-to-one provision is not always viable, particularly for universities with many non-DSA-funded students. This session explores how group coaching could provide a financially sustainable alternative to one-to-one settings without compromising on effectiveness, allowing students to find practical solutions with each other’s support and challenge in a structured, facilitator-led format. Unlike traditional peer support or group teaching, group coaching provides a focused, collaborative space where students not only develop academic strategies but also gain valuable coaching skills themselves, enhancing their communication, critical thinking, emotional understanding and self-reflection.

By attending this session, participants will gain a clear understanding of coaching as a strategic tool in disability support, how it differs from the traditional directive approach, and why blending directive teaching with coaching techniques can lead to more effective and student-centred provision. They will explore the coaching-tutoring continuum and how training SpLD tutors in coaching skills can enhance engagement, foster autonomy and improve long-term outcomes. Participants will also consider how group coaching stands apart from other group-based interventions, ensuring a structured but student-driven space that promotes active participation and deeper learning. They will gain insight into different facilitation methods, contracting and boundary-setting, and the practical considerations needed to implement group coaching effectively in HE settings.

From Reasonable Adjustment to Inclusive Practice: The Undiscovered Country?

Keywords: Lecture capture, evidence-based practice, disabled students, learning experiences, academic outcomes

My doctoral research explored the impact of lecture recordings on the academic outcomes and experiences of disabled and non-disabled students at a higher education institution in the UK. Despite extensive literature on lecture recordings, few studies focus on disabled students. Set against increasing participation of disabled students and evolving inclusive pedagogy, and political conceptions of disability, my study employed an exploratory mixed-methods design, including quasi-experimental time-series analysis and quantitative and qualitative methods, to investigate the effects of lecture recordings on academic outcomes and learning experiences. Key findings reveal no significant impact on exam marks for both groups, but identified positive effects on classification for some disabled students. Both disabled and non-disabled students reported that access to recordings was beneficial for understanding, engagement, workload management, and well-being, with disabled students particularly benefiting in engagement and improvement in notetaking. The study underscores the need for evidence-based communication on effective use of recordings and highlights the importance of context in applying inclusive pedagogy, suggesting avenues for further research and practical implications for inclusive education.

Improving the New Student Experience Within the Context of Increased Service Demand

Keywords: Customer Service; Support Delivery; Scaling Services; Support Design; Disabled Student Commitment

In 2023-4, over 35% new students at the University of Brighton indicated they had a disability as part of their application and enrolment process, which is roughly double the sector average and that of our benchmark institutions. This has placed a significant challenge on our team of 8 Learning Support Coordinators in trying to ensure that support is implemented in a timely and effective manner for all students, particularly when budgets for additional staffing are limited. Our Student to Learning Support Coordinator ratio is approximately 1:745, but this also fails to recognise the greater complexity in terms of the types of support that students require.

The impacts of this are felt not only in terms of delays to students receiving their Learning Support Plans and worrying about their support arrangements, but also in terms of staff wellbeing when managing a demanding, and highly reactive, workload. Our ultimate aim is to be able to meet the objective 20 within the Disabled Student Commitment for student’s support to be available and set-up from day one of their course, but this is challenging within a context of limited resources, increasing student numbers and expectations.

In response, we are holding a Rapid Improvement Exercise project from February – April 2025 to review our ways of working and how we might work more proactively to set up new students’ support. We will be using a LEAN methodology, following the DMAIC process, to review our service structures and processes to see how things can be improved. The project will be informed by a team of 10 staff from within our service, plus other university stakeholders and facilitated by the university’s Executive Project Officer.

At the time of writing this session proposal, this project hasn’t started! Nevertheless, we would like to present our findings to others at the conference, to explain the process we followed and the outcomes of our analysis, and any resulting strategies, policies and processes that we have adopted. This can then form the basis of a wider discussion about how services can adapt to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse student population.

Journeys and Outcomes from Higher Education for Disabled Students and Graduates – Findings, Recommendations and Reflections on Two Research Projects

This session will focus on two pieces of AGCAS research. The first is the What Happens Next? publication, a unique report series spanning more than two decades which focuses on the outcomes for disabled graduates from higher education. Claire will explore the findings and recommendations from the most recent What Happens Next? report which evaluated HESA Graduate Outcomes survey data for graduates who left their courses in the 2021/22 academic year. Claire will also introduce a recent project on the career journeys of neurodivergent students in the chemical sciences, which used rich picture research in focus groups to capture students’ experience and support their reflection.  

Learnings from Student Applications and Our Evolving Response

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Models of Disability Services for Neurodivergent Students A Comparative Case Study in Higher Education

Keywords: Inclusive practices; neurodiversity; disability advisers; reasonable adjustments; student experience

This presentation will explore best practice in terms of the model for Disability/Neurodiversity Advisers at the University of Cambridge. There seems to be broad consensus over the general remit of disability services in UK Higher Education Institutions (informed by universities’ statutory duty under the Equality Act 2010). However, different models exist in terms of how the remit of the disability adviser within the disability service is enacted in practice, yet little research exists that explores traits of best practice (Madaus, et al, 2018; Borkin, 2023). This presentation will share the methodology and findings of a research project that was convened in 2024 to address this gap in research. Specifically, the project evaluated the three different models of Neurodiversity Advisory work that exist at the University of Cambridge with a view to identifying traits of best practice. This research builds upon research by Madaus et al.(2018), which highlighted the critical need for more rigorous investigation into disability support models and their effectiveness, and research by Borkin (2023) which identifies that the institutional positioning of the disability service within the HEI can materially influence the efficacy of the service and how it is perceived by the wider university.

This project took the form of a number of focus groups and semi-structured interviews with students using the disability service, academic staff, and disability advisers. The participants in this study identified various traits of best practice in each of the models, along with various challenges, and advocated for a complementary ‘hub-and-spoke’ model of advisory work that balanced local expertise with systemic oversight. The findings suggest that this ‘hub-and-spoke’ model most effectively provides comprehensive and equitable support for disabled students across the university and also promotes inclusive environments. Although this research focused on the disability service in a collegiate university, the findings, it is hoped, are applicable to disability services in all higher or further education institutions

New Technologies Panel Discussion

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One Year On From the EHRC Advice Note: What is Evidence For Anyway?

Keywords: Disability support, evidence requirements, university policy, ERHC advice, supporting information.

Traditionally, the University of Leeds required medical or diagnostic evidence, mirroring DSA evidence requirements, to put in place any disability support for students. Students were only offered a full support package of exam arrangements and teaching and learning adjustments, or required to provide additional evidence to access support.

Due to both internal and external factors, our approach to evidence went through a series of iterative changes. As a result we developed a tiered approach to university disability support, depending on the evidence provided.

Most recently the EHRC advice note required us to substantially rethink our approach to evidence. An acknowledgement that the evidence threshold for accessing DSA is too high and that universities must review their processes and requirements made us look again at our evidence requirements. The advice note statement that ‘evidence includes what a student does or says’ has shifted the emphasis from diagnostic and medical evidence to other forms of supporting information.

In recognition of this, we now call evidence supporting information and use a wider variety of documents and other information to make a judgement to confirm a disability. We offer more options for levels of support, and we are still in the process of providing guidance to staff in the wider university about how to respond if a student discloses to them that they are disabled or the member is staff is aware of a student that is struggling.

As a result of these changes, judgements regarding recommending support for students has become increasingly complex. During this session we will share our current processes and types of support offered depending on the supporting information we have. We will be open and honest about the challenges we face as a large institution, with inefficient systems and processes, to continue to improve the experience of disabled students.

Come to this interactive session, looking at anonymised case studies, to have the opportunity to discuss all things evidence in a safe and supportive environment. After a brief introduction to the approach adopted at the University of Leeds, the majority of the session will be spent discussing case studies in small groups. The aim is to support practitioners to develop their confidence in making decisions around ‘evidence’ following the EHRC advice note.

Parsley, Nametags, and Glitter: A Case for Wasting Money on Disability Support

Keywords: Transition into Higher Education, Autistic Students, Student Mental Health, Student Experience, University Mental Health Charter

York St John University runs an Early Start Programme which has historically been directed towards autistic students about to start at university. In recent years, we have opened this up to any student who feels it would be beneficial. This programme focuses on essential elements of transitional support, such as campus tours, study skills and early move into accommodation, all of which have a relatively minimal budgetary impact. However, we have also begun to add workshops which on the surface seem to be irrelevant – craft workshops, in this case sensory bottle making, coaster making, herb potting and mood boards. In a time where funding for university activities is minimal, budgeting for non-essential workshops seems like a waste of money. Despite this, we found that these were the most positively reviewed aspects of the week and caused the greatest increases in cohesion between students.

We were also able to use these workshops to introduce students to other members of support teams without feeling patronised or singled out for support, thereby helping to build a sense of belonging. When we surveyed at the beginning and end of the week, we found that students showed a significant increase on average in confidence that they would know who to go with if they had a problem. These workshops also tailored well with elements of the Mental Health Charter and improvements needed for disabled students in the Higher Education sector. The “Support” domain of the UMHC is covered through linking students with internal and external support services, “Learn” is covered through the introductions to academics and workshops around study skills, and “Live” is covered through social events and the early move into accommodation. Improved sense of belonging links to improved student retention, particularly for students who struggle with the transition to university,.

Our budget now forms a part of the overall central transition and induction budget, recognising that the transition events run as part of Early Start form as essential a part of the university student experience as Welcome Week. Traditional welcome weeks have long included ‘non-essential’ events such as music, food and nights out – we recognise that welcome events tailored towards disabled students do not just have to be focused on life skills and support, but can also be fun.

Redefining Assessment Practices: The Role of Alternative Assessment Methods in Fostering Inclusion in Higher Education Through an EDI Lens

Keywords: Alternative method of Assessment, Inclusive Learning, Mental Health, Intersectionality, Leadership, Equality, Diversity And Inclusion (EDI) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

The session aims to explore some of the challenges associated with the assessments and tensions that Higher Education (HE) disability practitioners contend with in our day-to-day roles in developing and maintaining student-centred and reasonable adjustments in an increasingly data-driven environment. It analyses alternative assessment methods’ role in enriching the student’s learning experience, granting them autonomy and choice to achieve their academic potential and support positive mental health.
Our educational policies may prioritise inclusivity and equity, but these objectives are often challenging to fulfil due to the universities’ resistance to transformation and neoliberalism ideology (Morley,2023), making educational access a persistent challenge for HE leadership (Hall,2021) and broadening the gap in educational inequities. We observed that some assessments, in particular timed exams, are primarily used as metrics to reflect university rankings. It was reported in the literature that assessment culture and rankings have both become dominant in HE and new public management neoliberal thinking (Soysal et al.,2022).

Neoliberalism is a principle that dictates and defines our daily lives. It is a model that promotes a financial and political philosophy that highlights free-market theories, privatisation, and competition (Balan,2023). A closer examination reveals that operating in this system is one of the biggest challenges we face in our practice.

We operate in this climate, where we are constantly seeking to balance the needs of disabled students against academic and wider institutional demands. Whilst the idea of adaptive assessments is not wholly incompatible with this, the overarching research questions to be explored in the session cover the following three challenges:
Challenge 1 – When does a reasonable adjustment become a demand? Does it need to be reasonable for both the students and the institution? Why should the students’ phenomenological experience and intersectionality, notably those with disabilities, be considered when designing assessments?
Challenge 2 – Does the adjustment support the transition into work? Many of the assessments we use have their roots in the workplace. However, do we need to rethink this? How many of us write 3000-word reports or have to complete a presentation?
Challenge 3 – How do we get educators and leadership on board? Maintaining academic integrity and competency standards is often a key criticism against adapting assessments. However, even a conversation on the process of adaption makes us critically reflect on the purpose of the assessment. It can also highlight that the adaption is often using existing assessment modes, so if a presentation or exam is okay for module (a) why not (b)?

HE will need to balance stakeholders’ needs and expectations such as educators, students and performance-driven frameworks. Further, address the above challenges, with reference to the Bristol University vs Abrahart case and lessons learnt (EHR,2024) which is noteworthy for educators to recognise when designing the assessments using Universal Design for Learning (UDL).

Re-imagining Disability Support: Pathways to Inclusive Excellence at Lancaster University

Keywords: Disabled Student Commitment, Reasonable Adjustments

The Disability and Inclusive Practice Service team has developed a comprehensive change programme to transform how Lancaster University supports disabled students. This programme aims to foster a more inclusive university culture, implement key recommendations from the Disabled Student Commitment, and strengthen our support systems. In this presentation, we’ll take you behind the scenes of this transformative journey, sharing both our triumphs and challenges with complete transparency. We’ll explore how we’ve turned ambitious goals into tangible changes, celebrate the meaningful progress we’ve achieved, and candidly discuss the obstacles we’ve faced along the way. Most importantly, we’ll outline our continuing mission to create lasting, positive change for our disabled student community.

STAART & Evenbreak – Supporting Disabled Students from Outreach Through to Employment

Keywords: Disabled student journey, partnership working, disabled people-led organisations (DPLOs), disability inclusive recruiters, sharing a disability

STAART is an outreach activity which provides impartial information, advice and guidance for disabled people considering university located at the University of Greenwich. Evenbreak is global disability job board who connect inclusive employers with disabled candidates. STAART & Evenbreak are both disabled people-led organisations (DPLOs) who have formed a partnership to facilitate a holistic disabled student journey from outreach through to employment. Evenbreak attend open days; employability and careers fairs; and share available vacancies, information on access to work and supported employment with our disabled students and graduates. One of the (many) advantages for our disabled graduates is the dilemma of sharing their disability with future employers is negated.

Supporting Disabled Applicants Through Their UCAS Journey

Each year, the number of applicants sharing a disability via UCAS rises. Find out more about what the data tells us about these students, including patterns in their application behaviours, the intersectional challenges they face, and the ways in which we can support them more effectively. In this session we will also outline new and upcoming UCAS developments and the resources we have available to ease the journey to higher education for disabled students.

The Inclusive Doctorate

Keywords: Access, Progression, Assessment, Next steps

The LSBU and OU project aims to contribute to developing a modern understanding of neurodivergent students’ access to doctoral level study (including barriers and enablers ) It will consider, through an intersectional lens, the successful participation of neurodivergent PGR’s in their studies from pre entry to post exit.

The contribution builds on a previous project led by Professor Nicola Martin and Dr Nick Chown which resulted in a landmark paper (Chown et al., 2016) that has for many years been the national standard for inclusive practice and reasonable adjustments for autistic PGR students.

The session will provide research informed background and practical advice relevant to practitioners tasked with supporting, supervising and examining neurodivergent doctoral students.

It will be organised as a workshop to enable sharing of ideas which will ultimately inform updated guidance. Martin, N. (2020) in Practical Scholarship: Optimising Beneficial Research Collaborations Between Autistic Scholars, Professional Services Staff and ‘Typical Academics’ in UK Universities, emphasises the importance of involving Professional Services staff as well as students and academics in research which informs student experience..

The OU/LSBU project will be informed by PARC principles for research based on nothing about us without us (Milton et al 2019),

The OU aspect of the project focusses on access to and participation in, doctoral studies, the LSBU project focuses on examination and outcomes for doctoral students. The aim is to produce best practice guidelines to inform recruitment, support and examination of neurodivergent PGRs.

This is an opportunity to inform the debate.

Chown, N., Beardon, L., Martin, N. and Ellis, S., 2016. Examining intellectual prowess, not social difference: Removing barriers from the doctoral viva for autistic candidates. Journal of Inclusive Practice in Further and Higher Education, 6(1), pp.22-38.

Martin, N. (2020). Practical Scholarship: Optimising Beneficial Research Collaborations Between Autistic Scholars, Professional Services Staff and ‘Typical Academics’ in UK Universities. in: Chown, N. (ed.) Neurodiversity: A New Critical Paradigm Routledge.

Milton, D, Ridout, S, Kourti, M, Loomes, G and Martin, N (2019). A critical reflection on the development of the Participatory Autism Research Collective (PARC). Tizard Learning Disability Review. https://doi.org/10.1108/TLDR-09-2018-0029

Transforming Student Finance Services – DSA 

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