Accessibility Planning for Higher Education Campuses in India: A Contextual Approach to Universal Design.

Personalized learning has the potential to transfer the focus of higher education from teacher-centered to learner-centered environments. The purpose of this integrative literature review was to provide an overview of personalized learning theory, learning technology that supports the personalization of higher education, current practices, as well as case studies of implementing technology models to support personalized learning. The review results revealed the following: three technological models that support personalized learning within blended learning environments in higher education, an increase in personalized learning implementation in higher education with the support of the referenced technology models and platforms, and a lack of data-driven and independent research studies that investigate the effectiveness and impact of the personalized learning and technology models on student learning. The article informs educators and higher education administrators of the emerging models, platforms, and related opportunities to implement personalized learning in higher education settings. The review discusses the barriers, challenges, and theoretical and practical implications of implementing a personalized learning approach in higher education. Finally, recommendations for future research are discussed.

This article dealing with the theoretical background of the environmental approach in higher education is grounded on the idea of the methodological approach as the conceptual basis of educational activity that defines its strategy and tactics, regulates its tools, resources, and has a two-tier structure that includes methodological and technological levels. The analysis of the basic concepts of the approach — environment, learning environment, educational environment of higher education — is done. The structure and functions of the educational environment of higher education are found. It is concluded that the environmental approach in higher education is a system of controlling subject’s actions within the educational environment of a higher educational institution aimed at acquiring characteristics of such an environment that would allow implementing the polystructural educational function successfully. The author considers the educational environment not only the condition but also the factor of formation and development of a future specialist’s competence.

The landmark UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the first time explicitly makes reference to the inclusion of the needs and capacities of all persons, on equal grounds, in the planning of our built environment and services (Goal 11) and in our quality educational systems (Goal 4). Accessibility and inclusion of all people in vulnerable situations, including people with disabilities, provides a strong benchmark for sustainability. Accessibility and Inclusion in higher education are the topic of an increasing number of studies, however, there is no existing common set of multidomain indicators for Inclusion available to the multiple stakeholders involved in higher education. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap. With a Universal Design approach and the common language of the ICF we aim to provide a multi-dimensional assessment and planning tool to quantitatively and qualitatively measure Inclusion of environments and services in Higher Education.

Differentiation strategies face higher uncertainty and dynamism because of design and functionality of their service in higher education. This is closely related with contextual knowledge and neoliberal approach. Researchers provide the contextual knowledge of neoliberal approach in Pakistan and state of social justice regarding higher education in the country. Neoliberal approach in education has been identified as a new trend in developing countries. Business approach in education has started treating education as a commodity and students as a costumer. Knowledge-based economy is one of the strongest factors influencing the neoliberal approach in higher education. There are certain circumstances for adaptation of this approach in higher education; however, the intellectual community needs to be aware of the pros of this approach. Humanitarian approach need to be taken care of by the government bodies in higher education. Ethical and leadership programs based on agile management may be helpful for faculty members to reduce social injustice through their teaching approach.

Online learning has become an increasingly dominant teaching approach in Higher Education, especially during and even after the Covid-19 pandemic, more students with diverse backgrounds are expected to attend online learning, there has been an urgency for ensuring online learning resources accessibility. Video as media resources have been commonly used in all classes for different purposes. Captioning and transcriptions are the two main methods to ensure students’ equitable access to video resources, while not all universities are able to caption all their video resources. With the consideration of the recent advancement of Artificial Intelligence, this paper discusses potential solutions for the challenges on ensuring video resources accessibility based on experiences from a small and private Hispanic-Serving (teaching) university, we hope to provide some insights to address the online learning resources accessibility and further contribute to equitable access among students in Higher Education.

This study explores the impact of educational information systems on enhancing learning accessibility in higher education, as digital tools increasingly become integral to academic support, and student engagement. The main objective is to assess how these systems improve access to learning resources and facilitate communication, particularly for students from diverse backgrounds and with varying educational needs. Using a mixed-methods approach, this research combines quantitative analysis of accessibility metrics with qualitative insights from surveys and interviews with students and faculty across different higher education institutions. The findings show that educational information systems significantly enhance learning accessibility by providing flexible access to resources, facilitating real-time feedback, and supporting personalized learning paths. These systems also improve student engagement by enabling convenient access to materials and fostering a collaborative learning environment that accommodates different learning styles. However, the study identifies several barriers, including gaps in digital literacy, usability challenges, and unequal access to the necessary infrastructure, which can limit the effectiveness of these systems in reaching all students equally. Additionally, concerns around data privacy and system complexity are noted as areas needing attention to build user trust and ensure smoother system integration. The study concludes that while educational information systems hold great promise for improving accessibility and inclusivity in higher education, addressing these barriers through targeted training, digital equity initiatives, and robust data protection policies is essential for maximizing their potential. These insights offer valuable guidance for educational institutions aiming to create more inclusive learning environments through strategic integration of educational information systems.

Higher education is growing most rapidly in the Asia-Pacific region, and policy makers are facing the task of balancing quality and quantity. This book will help readers understand the current situati

<p>O estudo irá discorrer sobre o estudante com deficiência no ensino superior, a partir da análise de documentos oficiais e de ações de acessibilidade arquitetônica, pedagógica e atitudinal, compreendidas como meio para o ingresso e permanência neste nível de ensino. Os objetivos expressam-se em analisar políticas institucionais no tocante a acessibilidade no ensino superior, bem como verificar e refletir sobre ações acessíveis para estudantes com deficiência neste nível de ensino. O referencial teórico está fundamentado em políticas educacionais e contribuições de autores que discutem a acessibilidade no ensino superior. Metodologicamente, o estudo apresenta um caráter qualitativo, através da pesquisa exploratória, com a revisão de literatura. Quanto aos resultados, observou-se que a acessibilidade no ensino superior permanece no campo teórico, o que inviabiliza que políticas institucionais se concretizem. Em suma, o momento é de ressignificar ações que possibilite discussões e, sobretudo a efetividade de políticas dentro das instituições, em vista de desconstruir barreiras arquitetônicas, pedagógicas e atitudinais para pensar em um ambiente acadêmico que vivencia valores e princípios inclusivos.</p>

We present a pilot study on three Italian Universities using a multi-domain set of indicators for Inclusion. The indicators are expressed in the coding system of the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health - ICF - (World Health Organization, 2001). We selected three medium-sized Italian Universities: Brescia, Trieste and Venice. We combined a student-centered Universal Design philosophy for the built environment and Universal Design for Learning for the instructional environment. We identified four ICF Environmental Chapters (E1, E3, E4 and E5) and made them specific to the Academic context. Within the four Environmental Chapters targeting the physical, instructional, cultural, communicative, social and recreational domains we developed a 35-item checklist to fill out. The indicators were qualitative, quantitative or a mixture of the two. The three Universities shared the same instruments. Our main finding is that, although accommodations for students with disabilities exist as mandated by Italian law, the prevailing implementation is an individual accommodation based approach, rather than a universal design approach for the benefit to the greatest extent of the student population.

Higher education, unbundling, and the end of the university as we know it

Universal design and inclusive education aroused as paradigms based on egalitarianism in the twentieth century. The countries are responsible to update the approaches on their own education policy including inclusive education. Updates on education policy become a problem to articulate spatial requirements of inclusive schools according to them. In this sense, universal design gives an opportunity to find effective and practical spatial solutions for problems of inclusive education environment through creating an interdisciplinary ground in design process. The aim of the study is to find out the effects of the inclusive educational policy of Turkey on the design of inclusive school environments under the umbrella of both universal design and inclusive education. In this scope, the laws, regulations, legislations, regarding the inclusive education in Turkey within the international discourse are reviewed. SERÇEV (Children with Cerebral Palsy Association) inclusive schools, which are Gökkuşağı Primary School and SERÇEV Accessible Vocational and Technical Anatolian High School, are examined in the scope of universal design. These inclusive schools are chosen as the case studies to examine the spatial reflection of the current policies in inclusive school environment. The methodology of the study includes commentary of on-site observations on spatial requirements regarding universal design approach and interviews from site visits. The study contributes to determine the design approaches of inclusive school environment in the case of SERÇEV inclusive schools in Turkey.

This article documents the Critical Friends Group (CFG) process five university colleagues used to blend the theoretical frameworks of Universal Design for Learning (Rose & Meyer, 2002) and Interactive Phase Theory (McIntosh, 1990) as tools to increase equity and access in our classrooms. Using the CFG reflective approach, the faculty collaboratively reviewed their syllabi and implemented innovations in their classroom practice. This article presents a theory of action that emerged as well as nine tensions related to teaching and participation in a learning community. Implications for equity and access in higher education and future inquiry are presented.

The article is devoted to the analysis and development of methodological recommendations for the successful implementation of the competence-based approach in the higher education system of Ukraine. The authors describe the main aspects of the competency-based approach, its advantages, features of implementation, as well as possible obstacles and challenges that may arise during its implementation. The article discusses the key principles of the competency-based approach, such as the active role of the learner, focus on competence development, integrated, individualised learning and assessment of acquired skills. Methodological advice is provided on the organisation of the educational process, the choice of methods and techniques, as well as the assessment of learning outcomes. It is established that the transition to learning with a focus on key competencies is an important step in preparing students for life in the modern information and globalised world, where the ability to adapt, analyse and solve problems is critical. 'Based on the author's analysis, recommendations for the practical application of the competence-based approach in the educational process of higher education institutions in Ukraine are given. The study is an important source of information for teachers, educators, researchers, administrators of educational institutions and other participants in the educational process who are interested in modernising and improving the quality of higher education in Ukraine through the implementation of a competency-based approach. The practical value of this study lies in the possibility of practical application of its results to form an objective view of the implementation of the competence approach in modern higher education.

Visually impaired person has a difficulty in identifying the product function and usability. There is a need to integrate haptic exploratory procedure (HEP) of visually impaired person with universal design principle (UDP) in order to construct structural design approach. The purpose of this study is to construct theoretical framework for universal design approach considering haptic exploratory procedure (HEP). This study uses literature on visually impaired person haptic exploratory procedure (HEP) in order to identify the object properties translated by visually impaired person. Then, it uses literature of universal design to identify universal design approach in concept design process. Then, approach of TRIZ is explored in proposing systematic approach. Finally, the results are expected to lead towards model of theoretical framework of universal design approach using TRIZ and HEP. It can provide a helpful foundation for structuring the experiences to develop further the knowledge and understanding of objects for universal design. This theoretical framework contributes in designing structural UDP approach with consideration of visually impaired person HEP. It improves product usability in designing a universal design for visually impaired person.

This chapter focuses on disability access in higher education and the role that Universal Design has played in improving meaningful participation and inclusion of students with disabilities. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of several frameworks of Universal Design that are specific to the context of instruction and learning, as well as the scholarship and theory related to implementation of these frameworks in postsecondary classroom environments. Scholarship on how current Universal Design frameworks might be expanded to address a broader set of access and equity issues, as well as the limitation of the current research about its application and effectiveness are also discussed. The chapter closes with a synthesis of opportunities and future directions for research, scholarship, and practice related to the development and implementation of Universal Design frameworks in higher education.