What happens when we reframe accessibility as belonging?

Universities take accessibility seriously, at least on paper. Policies are in place, adjustments offered, and staff generally want to do the right thing. And yet, many students still experience barriers to belonging during their studies. Accessibility, in practice, too often becomes a private negotiation rather than a shared design responsibility.

The problem is certainly not a lack of goodwill. It largely stems from the assumption that accessibility can be layered on to teaching after the fact. When learning and assessment are designed with a “one size fits all” approach, even generous accommodations can feel like exceptions rather than entitlements. Reframing accessibility as belonging significantly shifts this dynamic. It moves the conversation into curriculum and assessment design, and asks a more powerful question: “Who does this learning experience work for, and who must adapt themselves to fit?” The following three considerations may support a shift in practice to foreground belonging as not only important, but critical to truly fostering accessible learning environments in higher education.

1. Design for belonging rather than compliance

Accessibility conversations often begin with policies, processes and lists of approved accommodations. While these are necessary, they are poor starting points for inclusive teaching. Beginning with compliance encourages a reactive mindset: we make adjustments once students struggle, rather than designing learning experiences that reduce uncertainty and exclusion from the outset.

A more productive starting question is: “Where might students struggle to see themselves in this learning experience, and why?” These questions often reveal hidden expectations embedded in teaching and assessment, assumptions about prior knowledge, confidence around participation, processing speeds or familiarity with unspoken academic norms. When these expectations remain implicit, students who do not already match them are positioned as needing “support” rather than as learners navigating opaque systems.

Designing for belonging means making expectations visible and negotiable. This might involve clarifying what meaningful participation looks like, unpacking assessment criteria with concrete examples or explicitly valuing different ways of preparing, engaging and contributing. These changes benefit all students, but they are particularly powerful for those who are neurodivergent, first in their family to attend university, studying in a second language or balancing study with work and care responsibilities.

Start curriculum review conversations with belonging, not policy, in mind. Identify where your students may feel uncertain, invisible or exposed and redesign those moments first.

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2. Make flexibility visible, structured and legitimate

Flexibility is too often treated as an exception granted to individual students rather than as a deliberate feature of good assessment design. When this happens, students must request it, justify it, or worry about whether they are being perceived as less capable. Staff, in turn, may worry that flexibility compromises standards or creates inconsistency.

Design flexibility into assessment from the outset to reframe it as a legitimate rather than remedial approach. This can include offering choice in topics, formats or modes of engagement while keeping learning outcomes consistent. When we clearly explain flexibility in assessment briefs, including why it exists and how it supports learning, it becomes part of the academic design rather than a personal concession.

What often surprises staff is that structured flexibility reduces, rather than increases, workload. Clear options reduce ad hoc negotiations, and transparent criteria maintain academic rigour. Students are more likely to engage confidently when they understand the parameters within which choice operates.

3. Treat universal design for learning as a mindset, not a checklist

Universal design for learning (UDL) is often introduced as an additional framework to be applied, audited or complied with. When this happens, it is often viewed as yet another requirement layered on to already complex teaching roles. Used well, however, UDL is less about checklists and more about a mindset.

Small design choices often have the greatest impact. Clear sequencing of tasks, explicit exemplars, predictable learning rhythms and transparent assessment expectations reduce cognitive load and uncertainty for all students. These practices are rarely radical, but they are powerful because they make learning navigable.

The shift comes when UDL is framed as good teaching rather than a special provision. When staff see inclusive design as integral to quality, rather than as an added responsibility, accessibility becomes embedded rather than bolted on.

Resist turning UDL into a compliance exercise. Focus on a few high-impact design choices that make learning clearer and more navigable for everyone.

Why reframing accessibility matters

When accessibility is framed as belonging, the benefits extend well beyond students with accessibility requirements. Teaching becomes clearer, assessment becomes fairer, and engagement becomes more evenly distributed across cohorts. Importantly, this reframing also reduces the emotional labour placed on students who would otherwise need to explain, request, or justify their needs.

Accessibility does not have to sit at the margins of teaching practice. When we treat it as a core design principle, it strengthens learning for all students and supports staff in creating learning environments where difference is expected rather than managed. With these considerations in mind, the dominant question is no longer “How do we accommodate this student?” but “How might we design learning so fewer students need to ask for permission to belong?”

Angela Fitzgerald is a professor at Xi’an Jiaotong-Liverpool University.

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