By Cír Doyle
What do you think of when you think of college students? Do you see a group of late teens, early twenty-something year olds smiling, laughing with one another, raising their hands in a big lecture hall, looking stressed over books in a library. You may not be thinking of someone like me. A 32 year old who has dropped out of college three times already due to medical issues, praying that the fourth time is their lucky shot.
In September, I entered a daunting building filled with people, walking stick in hand. To be fair to the college, the building itself isn’t actually daunting. It is more so what this building represents that is daunting to me. As a former “gifted child”, this year means finally getting to say I have a third level education when asked in official documents, like the census. I consider myself an educated person, but without any formal certificate, it feels like I am not taken seriously. You don’t need a certificate to be educated, but it feels like our society hasn’t gotten this memo. But this is my chance. This course is a means of taking back my education. This building is my route to proving that I can be disabled and educated.
You don’t have to be in any college long to see why disabled people have some of the lowest levels of education in society. There is always some permit, some law, some tradition or another preventing institutions from being wholly accessible. But here’s the thing, every excuse an institute hides behind, is just another barrier to the success of a disabled person. The difference being, after the awkward conversations finish, those in power get to walk away, disabled people? Well, they have 3 choices: push through despite the inaccessibility, fight for access or give up. The common result in these three choices: the disadvantaged are left exhausted.
In the Republic of Ireland, Further Education and Training Colleges (FET) fall under the Education and Training Board Ireland (ETBI). These FET colleges are designed to provide a valuable alternative to those who are less suited to the more traditional education system, or wish to upskill in a subject area. Yet it doesn’t appear that our education population reflects our societal population diversity. A report by SOLAS in 2023 showed that 6.8% of students in FET reported having at least one type of disability. In contrast, according to the National Disability Authority more than 1 in 5 people in Ireland have a disability, a 13.2% discrepancy. A 2024 AHEAD report notes that the number of disabled students in FET is increasing. So how are the colleges coping with these increases?
Dr Joe Collins, Director of Further Education and Training in the ETBI, said “Creating a truly inclusive environment comes with challenges, many of which stem from historical infrastructure limitations, resource constraints, and the need for continuous awareness and training. Retrofitting older buildings to meet modern accessibility standards, for example, can be complex, as can ensuring that all digital and learning resources are fully accessible. Additionally, fostering a culture of inclusion requires ongoing engagement with students and staff to identify and address barriers as they arise.”
This sentiment is reflected in the findings of the AHEAD report. Several challenges contribute to FET Colleges delivering quality and consistent accommodations for disabled students. Some of the most reported difficulties include that of staffing, resources and capacity building. And indeed, when talking to multiple staff in an ETB on Dublin’s northside, I encountered them lamenting the lack of meaningful training when it came to identifying and supporting disabled students. But Dr Collins has reassured “there are several initiatives within ETBI that are making a meaningful impact. Following the launch of the Reasonable Accommodations in Further Education and Training (RA in FET) Research in June 2024, AHEAD, in collaboration with ETBI, has developed a set of evidence-based self-review tools to help ETBs strategically reflect on and improve the quality and consistency of reasonable accommodations for disabled learners.”
If you delve into the ETBI’s website you will find that, as well as developing guides to help students transition into college, AsIAm, the national autism charity, has worked with ETB’s in developing guides for staff. Some other tools, Dr Collins discussed were “A Maturity Model for ETB provision of FET disability support services, along with a user guide. A checklist to self-review how disability supports are communicated to learners via ETB websites and social media platforms. A checklist to self-review ETB reasonable accommodations policies.”
Since 2021, there also has been a push by ETBI for a more inclusive model of education, with the launch of their Universal Design for Learning guide. UDL not only aims to help disabled students, but all students by focusing on learner strengths and reducing the need for individual accommodations. The adoption of Universal Design (UD) principles in teaching and learner support services continues to expand. Dr Collins was encouraging saying “The widespread uptake of Digital Badges in UD for Learning and UD Beyond the Classroom by FET practitioners is helping to ensure that all learners benefit from an accessible and supportive learning environment tailored to diverse needs. All 16 ETBs have committed to using these resources as part of a self-review process, fostering collaborative dialogue across different areas of each ETB to enhance provision. In addition, a 2-hour self-directed short course on Reasonable Accommodations and Needs Assessment is nearing completion and will be available in the first half of 2025.”
Though it’s clear to see the implementation of UDL can vary amongst tutors, with some subjects lending themselves to the process more readily than others. When talking to Media students in Coláiste Dhúlaigh, a number of them noted how helpful the use of UDL had been in several classes. Many of them singling out one module in particular. The Media Analysis module was praised by several students for the classes feeling particularly neuroaffirming and accommodating. One student said “I love how we are allowed to submit assignments in different ways. Like I know you enjoyed writing an assignment, but I found that so daunting and really appreciated being able to give a presentation instead.”
Likewise, another student praised the tutor’s use of speech-to-text in class. “The use of Microsoft’s close captions in class is great when teaching us. Being able to read what he is saying on the projector means I can process so much more due to my delayed auditory processing” said Isabella Harley.
Small acts like these and allowing students to fidget can be so helpful to Neurodivergent students in particular. But what happens when the building is not accessible? Among AHEAD and SOLAS it is recognised that buildings are not always accessible for those with physical disabilities. In AHEAD’s 2024 report “Reasonable Accommodations in FET Scoping Survey” it was recommended that SOLAS and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science create a dedicated capital funding stream to help with this barrier.
Accessibility is an issue in many ETB’s who are custodians of older buildings, for example Coláiste Dhúlaigh on Dublin’s northside, who are only now receiving lift access, which has been in the pipeline for almost 20 years. One student reports serious difficulties in navigating between different floors of the Coolock campus, she says “I have chronic pain, and the strain of these physical conditions flares the pain up so much. I do not think I should have to choose between preserving energy and eating lunch in the canteen.”
A representative from the National Learning Network expressed that it would be useful for courses to disclose any accessibility issues in advance, for example in prospectuses, but that this could cause difficulties as some courses might not have room designations until the semester begins.
So where does the responsibility lie? Several staff members are of the opinion that the government is not doing enough, that the ETBI is doing all it can with the resources it has. Dr Collins is enthusiastic about the commitment of the ETBI to accessibility “More broadly, ETBI remains committed to ensuring that accessibility is not just about compliance but about fostering an environment where all students can thrive. We continue to work closely with the sector, student representatives, and advocacy groups to identify areas for improvement and implement meaningful change”.
Every stakeholder has the potential to help students. Even if that’s in small ways like turning on the speech-to-text option on a presentation or allowing students to write an answer instead of having to speak out loud. There is always some way of helping to improve accessibility. Disabled students are constantly trying to figure out how to balance their disabilities. If institutions made consistent changes, it would put them on a more even playing field with their non-disabled peers. And maybe the energy saved could go into completing assignments or enjoying their lives outside of college. This is a change we all can make if we work together towards small, consistent improvements. So next time you have the opportunity to improve accessibility, think of us with our three choices; push through, fight for access or give up.