Draft disability equality scheme 2009-2012
The aim of the Disability Equality Scheme, published three years ago, was to develop a disability strategy for staff and students that would promote confidence and openness in this challenging area of equality and to consolidate the University’s achievements to date.
The University’s Strategic Plan 2008 – 2018 states that one of its aims is to promote policies of fairness, equality and diversity in order to ensure equal opportunities for all and that enhancing the student/staff experience is one of its priorities. Allied to this is the importance of promoting an inclusive culture that ensures the diverse range of students has access to the University and is able to fully participate in the student experience. This sets out a clear agenda for disability equality within the University and helps set priorities for the updated Disability Equality Scheme.
A review of the University’s Disability Action Plan shows that the University has made much progress in promoting disability equality. The University has raised awareness about disability throughout the last three years by rolling out disability awareness training to staff and students in the form of disability road shows. In addition to this all of the University’s key central services published their own disability action plans detailing how individual departments intended to promote equality and positive attitudes towards disability.
In relation to students with disabilities, in the last three years, the University has brought in a new information system, commonly referred to as EDif, which allows details of academic arrangements to be securely and efficiently communicated between the University’s Disability Team and academic departments. In conjunction with the introduction of EDif, the Disability team also conducted a review of the Disability Co-ordinators role. This review helped to enhance the role within the academic departments as well as providing ongoing training (including training on how to use EDif) and regular meetings between Disability Co-ordinators.
As a result of the Disability Action Plan, students, prospective and applicants can now access up to date information online about the support provided by the Disability Team. Students are also given the opportunity to provide feedback on this support in an online survey which is published on annual basis. The survey asks students to provide feedback on issues relating to the Disability Team, the quality of support received within their academic schools as well as wider University support. This feedback is then used to form the strategy for improving and changing the services provided for students with a disability.
The Disability Action Plan has also led the University to carry out two key reviews. First, a review of University Committees was conducted to ensure that disability equality was incorporated in the agendas of all University Committees. Second, a review of examination provision for students with disabilities is now carried out after each exam diet in January and May which has led to improvements being made in how exams are arranged and delivered to students with disabilities. These reviews have become an integral and established part of the work conducted by the Disability Team.
A confidential and anonymous staff disability questionnaire was sent to all staff to ascertain the true spread of disability amongst University staff. Whilst the response rate was only around 1.6% of the total staff population, the comments were taken on board and as a result, a Staff Disability Guide has been produced and will be published by the end of 2009. The aim of this guide is to raise awareness amongst staff as to what support and help is available to them if they have a disability or if they become disabled. This will hopefully raise confidence levels in staff in future and when the next questionnaire is issued, further information will be obtained that will enable the University to provide training, support and reasonable adjustments where they are most needed.
In terms of baseline data, 2.2% of the University staff population at October 2009 have declared a disability. In the HESA data for the Academic year 2006/7, 8.82% of University of St Andrews students declared a disability.
Whilst the Disability Action Plan has allowed the University to remove barriers and therefore enable more students and staff to fulfil their potential it is important to identify those action points that will need further work in the University’s next Disability Equality Scheme. It is important that the University now looks towards the next three years by publishing an action plan that not only consolidates the work the University has completed but it look at ways in which it can continue to promote disability equality across the institution.