Quality assurance and disability

The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) provides a service for UK higher education by undertaking institutional audits and reviews, the results of which are published.

Section 3 of the QAA Code of Practice relates to provision for disabled students and has useful sections on learning and teaching and assessment. It contains 24 precepts that set comprehensive quality standards in relation to disabled students, which institutions are expected to adopt.

The Code states that disabled students are 'an integral part of the academic community', and that accessible and appropriate provision is not additional, but a core element of the overall service an institution makes available. The quality of learning opportunities on offer to disabled students in higher education institutions needs to be assured in the same way as any other provision.

The QAA Code requires an element of proactive change within institutions at all levels of operation. This is a useful approach, because it mirrors the duty to make ‘anticipatory’ adjustments that institutions have under the DDA.