HEFCE : Publications : 1996 : M 23/96 - Access to Higher Education: Students with Learning Difficulties and Disabilities

HEFCE

Access to Higher Education: Students with Learning Difficulties and Disabilities

Ref M 23/96

August 1996

The electronic version of this document contains the contents list, executive summary and general text only it does not contain the individual project summaries. The complete printed document is available from the HEFCE, price £7.00.

Executive Summary
Introduction
Background: The Special Initiatives: 1993-94 and 1994-95
Achievements: Collaboration; Dissemination
Success Factors: Institutional Commitment; Effective Organisation; Staff Matters; Recruitment and Learner Support; Information Technology; Hearing Impairment; Monitoring; Summary
Project Summaries 1994 - 95
Additional Contacts
Project Summaries 1993 - 94

Executive Summary

1. This report disseminates the outcomes of the Council's two special initiatives to widen access to HE for students with disabilities. It gives examples of good practice in providing such students with an appropriate higher education experience.

2. The report is of particular interest to staff responsible for student support services (including welfare and careers); teaching and learning support; libraries; estates; information technology; quality assurance; widening participation and disability issues.

Main Aims

3. The central purposes of the initiatives were to:

help institutions to improve physical access for students with disabilities, and access to teaching and learning support, leisure, and advisory services
pump-prime new projects in centres of excellence and experience
stimulate imaginative approaches to the needs of students with a wide range of disabilities.

4. Further aims were to disseminate project outcomes and encourage collaboration between projects with similar interests. Both activities were successfully undertaken by Skill: National Bureau for Students with Disabilities. This avoided duplication, and enabled institutions to benefit from others' experiences.

Achievements

5. The main achievements were:

raising the profile of support for disability within institutions, and increasing awareness among staff, especially central services staff, of the needs of students with disabilities
improving access to the curriculum for particular groups of students with disabilities, by co-ordinating internal support services and making it easier for students to find support
increasing and sharing information, resources and advice for students with disabilities and staff across the whole sector
developing new electronic sources of advice as projects set up newsgroups and bulletin boards on the Internet and their own World Wide Web pages.

6. Most institutions felt that the improvements in their provision would attract more students with disabilities into the system in future.

Success Factors

7. The 1994-95 projects identified common factors which contributed to their success.

a. Institutional commitment and active support by senior management were critical. Project outcomes were most successfully embedded where there was a 'whole institution' approach to policy and practice, and every activity was considered in the context of its effect on students with disabilities.

b. Strategic planning, based on research and consultation with users, was vital to keep projects focused. An ideal starting point was an audit of existing provision for disabled students by an external professional body (such as the RNIB or RNID). This was also an effective way to raise the project's credibility and profile.

c. Staff development was helped by collaborative working, since institutions not funded under the special initiatives could learn from those that were. However, there is scope for improvement in both training specialist support staff and general awareness-raising programmes.

d. Learner support could be improved by simple changes such as more visual aids; clearer course notes and diagrams; and special lighting for students with visual impairments. Many institutions are now providing for a wide range of 'different' needs, and as a result the quality of learning and social support for all students has improved.

e. Successful embedding of the project, once it was no longer funded by the HEFCE, depended on:

active and committed support by senior managers involved in policy making
willingness, enthusiasm and involvement of non-project staff - especially central services or academic staff if the projects were outside these areas
administration of the project from central services, or from a part of the organisation with high status.

f. Monitoring services for students with disabilities was essential to maintain standards, and to respond to students' changing needs.

Enquiries

8. Enquiries about this report should be addressed to:

Sandie Cusack
HEFCE
Northavon House
Coldharbour Lane
Bristol BS16 1QD

Introduction

1. This report:

a. Disseminates the outcomes of the Council's two special initiatives to widen access to HE for students with disabilities.

b. Provides institutions with examples of good practice in delivering an appropriate HE experience for students with disabilities.

c. Summarises the 1994-95 special initiative projects supported by the Council.

2. This document follows the Council's 1995 report "Access to Higher Education: Students with Special Needs", which summarised the outcomes of the 1993-94 special initiative. Only the project summaries of the 1993-94 initiative have been reproduced here; the full text of the earlier report is available on the HEFCE web site. Its findings remain valid, and many of the points were echoed in the project reports following the 1994-95 initiative. The two HEFCE reports should be taken together to provide a comprehensive record of the initiatives.

3. The reports should help institutions to develop their policy and provision, and to produce the Disability Statements required under the new Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) 1995.

Background

4. In a letter of guidance to the Chairman of the HEFCE on 1 June 1992, the Secretary of State for Education wrote:

"The Council should consider how access to higher education for students with special educational needs can be facilitated. It will need to give attention to providing for these students in its funding."

5. This formed the basis of one of the Council's key objectives, and in July 1992 it established an Advisory Group on Access and Participation (AGAP). In February 1993 the Council agreed to allocate £3 million in 1993-94 to widen participation in higher education for students with special needs. Following the success of this initiative, a further £3 million was allocated in 1994-95.

The Special Initiatives : 1993-94 and 1994-95

6. The central purpose of the initiatives was to help improve physical access for students with disabilities, and access to teaching and learning support, leisure, and advisory services. The Council sought to make the best use of limited funds by supporting projects in institutions which:

were committed to meeting the needs of students with disabilities
had a successful record of providing for such students
could be expected to achieve the project aims.

7. The initiatives were intended to pump-prime new projects in centres of excellence and experience; to break new ground; and to stimulate imaginative approaches to the needs of students with a wide range of disabilities. Institutions were asked to demonstrate commitment to the success of their project beyond the period of Council support.

The Projects

8. In 1993-94, 38 projects were funded as follows:

12 projects addressing sensory impairment (visual, hearing, etc)
10 projects addressing the problems of dyslexia
19 projects promoting access to information and
learning, including capital projects.

(Three projects covered more than one of the above categories.)

9. In 1994-95, 48 projects were funded covering a wider range of activity. Broadly, these can be categorised as:

27 projects facilitating access to the curriculum and learning support
11 projects to develop information technology applications
10 miscellaneous projects including 5 specialising in dyslexia support and 2 focussing on careers advice.

Dissemination and Collaboration

10. The Council emphasised the importance of two key aims of both initiatives:

a. The widespread dissemination of information and materials produced by the projects to benefit the sector as a whole. In particular, it was hoped that institutions with little or no track record in this area could learn from the successful projects and begin to provide appropriate facilities themselves.

b. Collaboration between projects with similar interests.

11. To achieve these aims, the Council engaged Skill: National Bureau for Students with Disabilities. It publicised project outcomes through networks, conferences and newsletters; and facilitated communication between projects.

Evaluation

12. In 1994-95, the Council also commissioned Skill to evaluate the impact and achievements of the initiatives. Its report, received by the Council in December 1995, informs much of this report.

Achievements

13. The main achievements of the special initiatives were:

a. Raising the profile of support for disability within institutions. The projects acted as a focal point from which to develop appropriate institutional policy.

b. Increasing awareness among staff, especially central services staff, of the needs of students with disabilities. Management also became more aware of the time and money required to provide good support.

c. Comprehensive audits of institutional strengths and weaknesses in providing for students with disabilities. In response to these, institutions improved access to the curriculum for particular groups of students with disabilities by strengthening internal co-ordination of support services and making it easier for students to find appropriate support.

d. Increasing the advice and information resources available to staff and students with disabilities across the sector, which fostered collaboration between institutions.

14. Twenty six institutions received funding from both special initiatives. They achieved more than institutions funded for only one year, even though the projects supported in each year addressed the needs of a different disability or provided a different service. A number of strengths emerged from a second year of support:

a. The impact of the projects was deeper and changes had begun to permeate central policy making.

b. Students were more involved in determining their own support.

c. There was an emphasis on regional or cross-sector collaboration, for example, between Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), Further Education Colleges (FECs) and specialist voluntary organisations.

15. Many projects demonstrated that by improving support for students with disabilities, provision for all students also improved. This integrated approach is a model of best practice, discussed in more detail below under Success Factors.

16. Although the main aim of the special initiatives was to increase access to HE for students with disabilities, institutions concentrated on improving the quality of provision rather than simply recruiting more students. Many argued that, as future resources were uncertain, improving current facilities was the priority, and that this would attract more students with disabilities into the system in future.

Collaboration

17. A number of collaborative ventures were planned from the start, and others evolved as a by-product of the initiatives. The most successful ventures were generally between local institutions.

18. Collaboration took a number of different forms: between HEIs or with FECs; joint work with specialist voluntary organisations such as the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB) and Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID); contact with dyslexia organisations; and contact with Skill. For many projects, voluntary organisations were their single most helpful source of information and guidance.

19. There was also considerable sector-wide collaboration, notably in sharing information, resources and advice. Access to electronic communication and information resources meant data could be exchanged quickly and cheaply, and experience could be shared to solve problems. For example, the UK Disability Forum (dis-forum), established by the University of Westminster and funded by the special initiative, has been highly successful. Other projects have set up bulletin boards on the Internet and World Wide Web.

20. More traditional networking groups also evolved to provide mutual support, staff development and creative cross-fertilisation of ideas. There are many different models of collaboration. Examples include:

SUMMIT - a consortium of individuals supporting students with disabilities in five HEIs, and committed to sharing resources, developing new facilities and planning staff development
CANDO - a database set up by a small group of institutions around the United Kingdom, which offers information on graduate level careers, training opportunities and publications for students with disabilities and those who advise them
CHESS - The Consortium of Higher Education Support Services (for deaf students)
the Dyslexia Working Party.

21. Collaboration can also present difficulties. For example, when institutions organise a joint service, management responsibilities may become unclear. The project manager's ability to take strategic decisions may be weakened, and the project may lack a coherent and agreed direction, leading to difficulties in running and marketing the service. These and other tensions can lead to breakdown of the service.

22. To be successful in the long term, the structure of the service and its intended direction and focus must be agreed and clearly defined at the outset by the collaborating parties. Overall management responsibility should be vested in a clear and workable framework where the service will not be subject to any conflicting priorities within the individual institutions.

Dissemination

23. Skill was engaged to publicise outcomes from the special initiatives. By providing a framework for communication and dissemination across the sector, through conferences, workshops, seminars and newsletters, it was extremely successful. Its role was valued by institutions, particularly those not included in the special initiatives, for whom Skill was the main source of information.

24. Unfortunately, the special initiatives have failed to influence provision and awareness levels significantly in most institutions not participating in the initiatives. Therefore it is important that institutions continue to make their expertise available to others and to disseminate their findings widely in the sector. However, only about half the project staff employed by institutions in 1994-95 were expecting to be retained in post when Council special initiative funding ceased. This loss of expertise will restrict the pace of future developments and improvements.

25. A further problem is that many non-participating institutions do not have a named member of staff with whom participating institutions can share their expertise.

26. Skill has begun to address this problem by compiling a list of individuals in institutions who can be contacted about disability issues. Many have no specific budget from their institutions to provide for students with disabilities, so they find it difficult to attend conferences or seminars. Institutions will need to consider this matter.

27. At the end of the 1994-95 special initiative, the HEFCE/Skill Dissemination Conference on Good Practice was dedicated to informing non-participating institutions. Twenty three non-participating institutions were represented. Many of them have made substantial progress without specific HEFCE funding, and their attendance at the conference shows a desire across much of the sector to provide at least a basic service and, in some cases, something much more developed.

28. A booklet published by Skill, 'Sharing the Gains', advises participating institutions on effective ways to share their expertise and good practice through conferences, networks, publications and other means.

29. The Council is also aware of the need to continue dissemination. Target audiences for this report, and other HEFCE publications on provision for students with disabilities, include counsellors of potential students at pre-admissions stage, and careers advisers, many of whom are unaware of the considerable advances many institutions have made.

30. In 1993-94 and 1994-95, many institutions blamed the constraint of one-year funding for failure to fulfil their dissemination plans. There are lessons here for the HEFCE, but institutions should estimate more realistically what they can achieve in the timescale of their projects, particularly where dissemination is a requirement. In future, they should also plan from the outset for a period of dissemination to run well beyond the end of the funded period.

Success Factors

31. Institutions were asked to highlight in their project reports lessons which would be of value to others. These are discussed below.

Institutional Commitment

32. A number of projects adopted a whole institution approach to policy and practice for students with disabilities. This requires disability issues to be considered in the institution's academic, administrative and technical activities, as well as in the specifically student-centred support services. Thus, for example, the lessons learned from a project initiated in a student services department might be introduced into procedures for admissions, and for using library, laboratory and information technology resources. Responsibility for maintaining the institution's policy towards students with disabilities is not restricted for example to welfare or student services but becomes the responsibility of all staff, at all levels in the institution.

33. Where this strategy was adopted, it helped to embed the gains made by the project. It also ensured that central institutional policy towards students with disabilities was carried out in every part of the organisation as a matter of course. Institutions could extend this strategy by encouraging the specialist cross-sector networks and discipline-based groups, to which many central and academic staff belong, to consider issues affecting students with disabilities.

34. The institutions which did not adopt this approach also believed that they had implemented an effective project and securely embedded the outcomes. However, many were uncertain whether the improvements could be sustained in the longer term. It could be argued, therefore, that the most effective long-term strategies for provision for students with disabilities are those which take a whole institution approach.

Senior Management Commitment

35. An important factor in determining the success of the projects was the commitment and active support of senior management, working on behalf of the project at institutional policy making level. Their support, especially if originating at the design stage of projects, was crucial to ensure the successful embedding of project gains. In both special initiatives, the projects which had the greatest difficulty in achieving their objectives (a small but important minority), were constrained by a lack of commitment by senior management.

36. Ideally, senior managers on cross-institutional committees, where support for students with disabilities could be introduced as a legitimate and important issue in the planning process, should be targeted to act as champions. They could ensure that the needs of students with disabilities were considered in management discussions of issues previously regarded as unrelated to them. This integrated approach encourages an institution to take a strategic overview of the impact of any new developments on its students with disabilities. It can also help to embed project outcomes throughout an institution, and where appropriate can promote project staff as an internal source of expertise and support.

Effective Organisation

37. The status and location of provision for students with disabilities within an institution or department is another important success factor. Institutions need to consider, for example, whether this function should be outside the academic structure, as a separate service, with a strategic consultancy role and a remit to advise the whole institution, or whether a central location in the existing student support services, but with links to influential management committees, would be the most effective position from which to achieve lasting change.

38. Projects explored a variety of ways to increase their profile across the institution and to avoid becoming a marginal activity. Some found that location was not of overriding importance, as they could raise the profile through internal publicity - for example, articles in institutional newsletters. Others found that an audit of existing provision by an external professional body (such as the RNIB or RNID) was highly effective. An external report was more easily and more widely accepted by academic and administrative staff in some institutions than any internal assessment of need. It also helped to raise the project's credibility and profile, particularly where it reiterated problems that the project had already highlighted internally.

39. Most projects found that the best location was within existing central support units for teaching and learning. However, externally located projects or those in departments with a lower profile, such as welfare, could succeed as long as there was support from senior management.

Strategic Planning

40. A well-planned strategy from the outset was vital if projects were to remain focused. The best approach suggested was to commission a professional audit by an external body of existing facilities and perceived needs, as outlined above. This not only identified the immediate requirements of the institution's own students with disabilities, but the audit's recommendations could also be used in the strategic planning of future activity and provision.

41. Once an objective set of needs had been established in this way, and agreed at a senior level within the institution, staff could develop provision at a rate of change appropriate to the organisation. If an institution could not commit any funds after the first year's funding from HEFCE, this might restrict change to the first steps outlined by the audit report. However, it would not prevent the institution making further, well-planned improvements in the future, as it would have a clear framework within which to work. Substantial long-term change, to create a supportive educational environment, could thus be broken down into a series of incremental developments in the strategic plan.

42. Some projects felt that a long timespan was needed to effect substantial cultural change in the social and academic spheres of institutional life. A strategic and planned approach of this sort might be essential to maintain that change in the long term.

Firm Foundations

43. Some projects experienced difficulties which were partly due to their own failure to undertake initial groundwork. Others felt that over-complicated and ambitious project aims had led to a lack of focus, making it difficult to achieve the objectives in one year. Setting clear and attainable goals based on careful research would have avoided these difficulties. Some of the more successful projects reported that a steering group had helped to keep them focused, avoid inappropriate diversions and achieve their goals.

Consultation

44. Initial research and consultation of the prospective client group were also essential to ensure that the services were appropriate and met students' needs. However, student requirements can vary year on year, and at different times during the same year, so any service needed to be flexible.

Flexible Scope

45. A new, inexperienced service should not attempt to tackle all aspects of institutional life at the outset. The help and advice of existing departments - and services such as admissions, student records, examinations, registry, health and housing - could be enlisted to help develop a policy of providing for students with disabilities in each area of activity. This spreads the burden of work, draws on existing expertise and also fosters the whole institution approach recommended earlier.

46. Too rigid a focus would have restricted the dynamism of many projects. Broadening the scope to encompass new dimensions as they were discovered improved the projects and their outcomes. There is a balance to be struck between providing a service which is clearly defined and one which is responsive to changing needs and circumstances.

Learning from Others

47. Many 1994-95 projects sought advice from 1993-94 project holders when developing their provision. They found they were able to achieve the right solution for their institution first time, rather than making several false starts with untried ideas. Some invited previous project holders to undertake or facilitate training and awareness sessions for their staff.

Staff Matters

48. Attention to staff development varied greatly across the projects. On the whole it was a weakness. Success largely depended on the extent to which awareness-raising among staff was a central objective. Nonetheless, any activity which seeks to integrate the needs of students with disabilities into institutional activity as a whole needs to consider the implications for staff development.

49. Training may be required for:

a. Those involved in developing provision for students with disabilities and who need to improve their expertise.

b. All staff who need to be more aware of the issues concerning students with disabilities.

c. Academic staff who may wish to provide specialist support.

50. For all staff there are the predictable difficulties of finding the resources or the time to attend training events. In some places, collaborative working has assisted with staff development, enabling non-participating institutions to learn from participating institutions.

51. Open workshops to increase awareness of disability issues should ideally be led by or include students or staff members with the disability being considered. Staff can thus become familiar with disabled colleagues and students as individuals. One successful strategy is for a disability awareness session to be included as standard in all induction training for new academic teaching staff, and in any general courses for teaching staff.

52. In some institutions, academic and central services staff had become closely involved with support for students with disabilities and had begun to identify their own needs for training and support. Project activity had sometimes raised expectations among academic staff that their institution should respond to students' needs, and provide adequate training for staff to develop expertise in this area.

53. For both specialist support staff training and general awareness-raising programmes there remains much scope for improvement. One way to achieve it is through joint training events between experienced and inexperienced institutions.

54. A further problem was the shortage of staff trained for specific support work, such as communication support for deaf students, or the application of new technologies for students with disabilities. These difficulties are discussed later in the report.

Recruitment and Learner Support

55. This section highlights a number of factors to consider in making the institution more accessible to students with disabilities.

Admissions - the First Hurdle

56. An institution's prospectus could contain a welcoming statement addressed to students with disabilities, and the name of a student adviser. The adviser should be able to answer questions from prospective applicants, address concerns about the extent of support, and guide them through the application procedure.

57. Many projects recommended that academic staff should meet all applicants with disabilities at an early stage to discuss any special needs they might have concerning their studies. All parties should be encouraged to seek advice from the specialist support team about the options available.

Reducing Drop-out Rates

58. Research has shown that the first few days of student life are crucial in forming attitudes to study. If students have bad experiences right at the beginning, the drop out rate may be high.

59. Therefore the induction programme is important to ensure that students with disabilities have an appropriate entry to HE. Institutions should be sensitive to their particular needs. For example, deaf students or those with hearing impairment may miss a lot of information in a largely verbal induction. Inaccessible venues for induction sessions will affect wheelchair users, who may also have problems completing forms if the desks are not at the right height. Bad lighting or overcrowding can affect all students, but particularly those with certain disabilities.

Teaching and Learning Aids

60. Simple changes can often make learning easier for students with disabilities. For example:

a. More visual aids and course notes on coloured paper to help students with dyslexia.

b. Better lighting for students who are visually impaired.

c. Remembering that lip-readers cannot participate when the speaker turns away from them, and that visual aids have to be described to blind students or those with visual impairment.

61. Specialist project staff should work with academic staff, recognising their academic authority, to design and guide an appropriate approach. Time spent on staff away-days can often be effective in changing attitudes and explaining new methods.

An Integrated Approach

62. Some projects suggested that, in view of the changing make-up of the student population, it was meaningless to consider the needs of students with disabilities as 'more special ' than the needs of other students. In institutions where most students have a wide range of different needs, support for those with disabilities is becoming increasingly integrated with learning and social support for all students.

63. In society as a whole, there is a growing tendency towards including people with disabilities. As the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act begins to take effect in the workplace, institutions which remain unaware of the need to 'rule people in' will be increasingly out of step. One project report expressed it thus: "In school and at work, in shops and in leisure centres, human beings will come to expect to meet non-discriminatory practices, and as a result they will come to expect more of their HE experience."

64. Many of the foregoing points apply to all projects. The following sections relate to projects that address a specific disability or take a particular approach, such as using information technology, or project monitoring.

Information Technology

65. Projects developing software for students with disabilities students or disability support officers often found that the people they wished to help firmly believed that information technology had nothing to offer them. It was also difficult to persuade such individuals to collaborate in developing a custom-built system to meet their needs, when the potential benefits were hard for them to visualise in advance of the finished product being demonstrated.

66. Some projects began to develop IT work with volunteers and interested parties from other institutions. However, no matter how interested initially, such volunteers could not be relied upon when their own work had to take precedence. It might therefore be more effective to engage paid consultants.

67. IT projects not based in an institution's IT service department had problems with access to local resources. Network links were not always available, updated versions of software were not installed, and there were competing demands for use of the institutional database. Plenty of time should be built into project plans to allow projects to overcome these difficulties.

68. Planning and time were also needed when developing multimedia artefacts or integrating existing disparate media. Many different storage methods may have to be tested to find the best method for each system.

IT Equipment Loans

69. Managers of an IT equipment loan service found that providing a personal introduction to the equipment for students with disabilities quickly gave them the skills and confidence to use it, and to work alongside their counterparts on a more equal basis. However, translating the insights gained into a 'user friendly' written guide on using the equipment, to release staff time, proved problematical.

70. Problems arose because the student intake might include a different range of disabilities each year. The induction approach required when most students using the loan service were visually impaired would not be appropriate the following year if there was a high proportion of students with dyslexia. Standardised guidance could only save staff time if it addressed the needs of people with a wide range of disabilities.

Hearing Impairment

71. As in 1993-94, the 1994-95 projects dealing with services for students with hearing impairment found great difficulty in meeting demand for trained note-takers, lip-speakers and British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters. The national shortage of deaf communicators with the ability to interpret at higher education level, is such that some projects advised institutions to check the availability of local resources and expertise first, to establish whether it was feasible to set up a service for deaf students.

72. Some institutions overcome the lack of trained signing staff by the use of new technology. As the lecturer speaks, a keyboard operator types on a keyboard linked to the deaf student's lap-top: thus the text is immediately available on the student's screen. After the lecture, notes can be provided to the student as hard copy or on disk. A trained typist is easier to find and less expensive to employ than someone trained to use BSL level 3 or the Hi-Linc simultaneous transcription system which is in use in some institutions. A variation of this approach linked a student's lap-top by telephone lines to a centrally located operator, thus avoiding the need for the typist to move around the campus and enabling one typist to support several deaf students.

73. Other institutions are providing diploma courses in disability support issues; or initiating Continuing Education courses in BSL, Deaf Awareness, and Alternative Communication Skills. These activities may in the long term lead to more BSL trained staff in higher education. However, there is a clear need for further initiatives by institutions.

Disability Awareness Events

74. Some institutions followed the lead of projects in the 1993-94 initiative, and organised social, cultural or employment-based events to raise awareness among staff, students, employers and the general public of the skills and abilities of students with disabilities. Notable examples included:

a. A Careers Day with presentations by employers, discussions, and workshops led by Workable (Graduate Support Service). This was attended by students, careers advisers, employers and local authorities.

b. Disability Arts Festival including lectures, films, discussions, events and displays of art work by students with disabilities, held both on campus and at venues around the local city to encourage public participation and raise awareness.

Monitoring

75. Monitoring the effects and use of services for students with disabilities is vital to maintain high standards, and respond to students' changing needs. Information can be obtained by completing diaries of use; asking students to complete questionnaires; and general observation by project staff.

Summary

76. In summary, the critical factors for success in developing and implementing provision for students with disabilities are:

active and committed support by senior managers who are involved in policy making
willingness, enthusiasm and involvement of non-project staff - especially central services or academic staff if the projects are outside these areas
administration of the project from central services, or from a part of the institution with high status
planning strategically and knowing students' needs
staff development
accessible applications and admissions procedures
integrating disability across the institution
effective monitoring of activity.

77. Further information and guidance on achieving long-term change can be found in the joint Skill/HEFCE publication based on Skill's evaluation of the special initiatives, 'Making Change Last', available from Skill.