How Edge Hill became a leading university for accessible student experiences
As Head of Learning Support at Edge Hill University, Andrew Billington (pictured) is responsible for leading on provisions for students with Specific Learning Differences (SpLD) such as Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Dyscalculia and ADHD.
Andrew and colleagues wanted to better understand the current digital accessibility landscape and gain insight to develop and improve student experiences. To do this, Andrew sought out AbilityNet's services.
How the accessibility journey began
"We were fortunate to have the opportunity to attend AbilityNet's TechShare Pro conference at Google in 2019 and hearing from such inspiring colleagues across such varied sectors was a spark for us to try and progress this activity more systematically at the University," says Andrew.
Back in 2019, a primary driver for the university to develop its accessibility approach was a changing legislative landscape, including the Public Sector Bodies Accessibility Regulations (PSBAR). Andrew was also keen to ensure collaboration across departments, so Learning Services and IT Services worked closely together to approach accessibility through the lived experience of its students.
Andrew's team started a Staff Accessibility Network to provide a space for staff to share good practice and learn together about accessibility. This acted as a catalyst to engage colleagues across the university in its digital accessibility journey. (The network now has a large and varied membership with contributions from across different university departments.)
"Seeing the commitment and dedication of colleagues collaborating to build our provisions in recent years has been an inspiration and the project has had a positive impact on our students’ experiences," says Andrew.
Higher Education Accessibility Maturity Model
Andrew was aware of AbilityNet and McNaught Consultancy's Higher Education Digital Accessibility Maturity Model (HEMM) and how it could gauge the university's level of digital accessibility maturity.
He noted that "we really wanted to ensure that we delivered this project in a way that maximised the impact of AbilityNet's expertise, guidance and support in our accessibility journey, and we found that this approach worked well."
The Maturity Model includes a series of statements to meet standards needed on a five-point scale between 'not in place' and 'fully implemented'. Having reviewed all areas the Model provides an overall maturity score between unbadged, bronze, silver and gold.
The Maturity Model helped Andrew's team to structure its efforts and resources, along with the specialist expertise and advice from AbilityNet, which empowered colleagues in the university to collaborate effectively.
"This activity was so well structured and underpinned by excellent relationships that really helped to engage colleagues to progress activities collectively," Andrew continues.
Going for Gold
As a result of all of the positive activity invested towards developing accessibility, Edge Hill University recently achieved its "Gold Badge" in the HEMM.
Amy Low, CEO at AbilityNet commented on Edge Hill's achievements:
“Andrew and the team at Edge Hill have worked so hard and our team, together with Alistair McNaught, really valued the opportunity to support them through it. Higher Education is such a complex space for accessibility and the team there pulled together brilliantly to achieve this outcome."
Andrew highlights that the project has delivered meaningful improvements to Edge Hill's students' digital accessibility experiences, including introducing accessibility statements and disabled user engagement in digital projects.
"Through this work we feel we have an excellent foundation to continue to build our provisions in the future," says Andrew. "AbilityNet has been integral to our journey from the very start, and we have used its excellent resources and training to inform and guide our journey."
Continuing accessibility progress
The university's Accessibility Working Group and wider university community is working together to plan the next phases of accessibility work, including the Disabled Student Commitment, a set of aspirations developed with students which will help to further develop Edge Hill's provisions for disabled students.
"We are particularly looking forward to building on the excellent student voice work we undertook with AbilityNet and working in closer partnership with our students to continue to develop our service and provisions," says Andrew, who says he has learned that, for successfully integrating digital accessibility, preparation is key.
"On reflection the preparatory work we undertook prior to starting to work formally with AbilityNet was the foundation of the steady and sustainable progress in the project," says Andrew.
"The overall experience of working with AbilityNet was supportive, collaborative and empowering."
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If you're unsure where your institution is with digital accessibility maturity, AbilityNet's HE Maturity Model is a great place to start. The process will help you to create a roadmap for digital accessibility, throughout your organisation.
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