Equity issues for students with disabilities

Despite legislation, policies and strategies aimed at supporting access, retention, and completion rates for students with disabilities, this group continues to experience a number of learning challenges that impact on their psychological wellbeing. The issue of how best to address the needs of these students has been further complicated by continuous growth in higher education institutions including expansion of course offerings to an online environment. Emerging research suggests that, while online education may provide those in the general community greater access to higher education, this mode of study can introduce additional barriers for those with disability. Improving the accessibility of online education is therefore a priority particularly for students with disabilities. However, the needs of students should be balanced against academic staff wellbeing. There is also a great need for more research that directly examines issues of wellbeing and online education in higher education, which will be able to inform implementation and teaching practices using that educational platform.