Universal Design in Higher Education – Licence to Learn Erasmus Project

Project Title

Universal Design in Higher Education – Licence to Learn

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2014

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Access for disadvantaged; Inclusion – equity; Disabilities – special needs

Project Summary

The concept of universal design (UD) represents an excellent framework to ensure inclusion for students with disabilities in higher education. The project, through its work packages, aimed to demonstrate how universal design for learning (UDL) can be the best solution to develop an inclusive learning environment, and a higher quality of learning to the benefit of all students. The UDLL project aimed to include students with disabilities in Higher Education through implementing general principles of Universal Design (UD) and practical solutions from the pedagogical concept of Universal Design of Learning (UDL).
The project aimed to fulfill measures and strategies set in the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), which states that the member states shall ensure an inclusive education system at all levels, and also goals set in the “social dimension” in the Bologna process about removing inequalities in higher education.
The aims and objectives were to be delivered through the development of understanding of the inclusive learning environment by project partners and stakeholders with particular input from the four identified key stakeholder groups:
• the student/learner
• the academic staff
• the higher education policy makers and
• the student support Offices (disability services)

The project aimed to uniquely use the voice of the learner to set the stage prior to consulting the other stakeholders.

The Erasmus+ application stated that the main objective for the UDLL project was
‘to develop a European pathway for the three participating countries on Universal Design of Learning (UDL) and to promote its potential to create quality education for diverse group of learners. UDL must be placed strategically and be considered as a quality perspective in higher education.’
This would address challenges according to disabilities and other under- represented groups in Higher Education and become an inspiration for the next communique about the social dimension in the Bologna process.
The UDLL project had three project partners:
1. NTNU – Universell, Norway – Coordinating partner. Universell is a section in the Division of Student and Academic affairs at NTNU, and works at a national level in Norway with inclusion and universal design in Higher Education. The head of Universell, Kjetil Knarlag, was the UDLL Project Manager.
2. Ahead, an NGO and Irish national organization, whose mission is to promote full access to and full participation in higher education by students with disabilities.
3. Support Centre for Inclusive Higher Education (SIHO) at Hogeschool West-Vlaanderen (HOWEST) a higher education institution in Flanders, Belgium. SIHO has the role as the coordinator of these question in Higher Education Institutions in Flanders.

The project had two intellectual outputs:
O1: A Best Practice Guideline about Universal Design for Learning (UDL)
O2: A self-assessment toolkit to address challenges they meet in their learning environment

Universell was responsible for producing Output 1 – Best practice guidelines about universal design and universal design for learning from four perspectives
1. The learner/student
2. Academic staff
3. Management and leadership
4. Student support services

Through the Best Practice Guidelines, academic staff get theoretical and practical tools to address diversity issues in class through a new and innovative way of teaching, the student support offices are given tools and methods to be open and inclusive for all students and to be the ambassador for implementing UDL in the HE, and the policy makers learn how to include all learners in the overall learning environment.
To share knowledge, develop thinking and reflect on the impact of universal design in particular areas, four focus group meetings were organised, involving three participants from each country in each category.
The best practice guidelines can be downloaded from the project website: http://www.udll.eu for free use.

Ahead coordinated the implementation of O2. This output provides guidance for disabled students through the potential for universally designed solutions to meet challenges they may face, and provide information for all students about these topics. The Toolkit is online and on the following website: https://studenttoolkit.eu

SIHO was responsible for arranging the final event, a dissemination conference in Ghent at the end of the project in June 2016. The conference was attended by more than 170 participants from 12 different nations, including participants from the three UDLL partner countries.
There has been great interest of the project outcomes. The guidelines and the toolkit has been disseminated at the EAIE conference in September 2016, the UD2016 conference in York, and at a national conference of disability officers in Sweden, and at national conferences in the partner countries. Several other countries are requesting information from the project.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 138000 Eur

Project Coordinator

NORGES TEKNISK-NATURVITENSKAPELIGE UNIVERSITET NTNU & Country: NO

Project Partners

• Association for Higher Education Access and Disability
• HOGESCHOOL WEST-VLAANDEREN HOWEST