Inclusive Universities

 a lamp and innovative ideas with the title of the webinar ‘Towards Genuinely Inclusive Universities’ An international perspective on best practices in the implementation of universal design

Recordings and presentations

Webinar 7 - Universal design for learning beyond the Global South

Thursday, 10 June 2021, 15.30 – 17.00 CET

The development and implementation of UDL in Higher Education has so far been tracked, documented and discussed within Global North countries (mostly North America, Europe and Australia so far). The interest for UDL in fact extends to the Global South, a landscape where it represents distinct opportunities but also specific challenges. This session invited guest speakers from higher education institutions in the Global South, where UDL implementation has begun. They shared their experiences and showcase what they see ahead in terms of sustainable development of UDL in the post-secondary sector in Global South countries.

Webinar 6 - The potential of universal design for learning in community colleges, colleges of further education, trade schools, and vocation education institutions

Thursday, 20 May 2021, 15.30 – 17.00 CET

This SIHO webinar focuses on the potential of UDL in community colleges, colleges of further education, trade schools, and vocation education institutions. Further education institutions and community colleges face a very specific set of variables when addressing the diversity of learners, and these need to be analyzed in detail.

Contributors: Valérie Van Hees (SIHO - Belgium) - Frederic Fovet (Royal Roads University - Canada) - Sam Catherine Johnston (CAST - US) - Mary Quirke (School of Education - Trinity College Dublin) - Patricia McCarthy (Trinity College - Dublin)

Valérie Van Hees is the coordinator of Support Centre Inclusive Higher Education (Belgium) and has accumulated over 20 years of experience in the field of policy and inclusion in higher education. At SIHO, she forms a bridge between policy and practice on a daily basis, being a point of contact for both the Flemish Government and higher education staff to support the implementation of inclusion measures in policies and practices.

Frederic Fovet is Associate Professor, School of Education and Technology at Royal Roads University (Canada). Fovet is an inclusion specialist with a specific interest in emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD), critical pedagogy and universal design for learning (UDL). Fovet also has a strong grounding in Disability Studies, and has served as a teacher and principal in schools with a focus on the successful inclusion of students with EBD.

Sam Catherine Johnston is the Director of Postsecondary and Workforce Development at the Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST). As Director of Postsecondary & Workforce Development, Sam Catherine Johnston provides thought and operational leadership in CAST's workforce/postsecondary opportunities. Sam's primary research focus is on social learning processes and the use of online and blended learning to support peer-to-peer knowledge transfer.

Mary Quirke is a PhD candidate at the School of Education, Trinity College Dublin. Mary does research on Universal Design for Learning, Inclusive Education, Career Guidance and Adult Education. Her current project is 'Universal Design' and 'Universal Design for Learning'.

Patricia McCarthy is an associate researcher at Trinity College Dublin. Patricia McCarthy began her academic career with a Degree and a Masters in Social Science from University College Dublin. She received her Ph.D. from the School of Education, Trinity College Dublin, where she specialized in disability studies and inclusion in education and society.

Video

Webinar 5 - The potential of universal design for learning with regards to mental health and wellbeing in higher education

Thursday, 29 April 2021, 15.30 – 17.00 CET

This SIHO webinar focuses on the potential of UDL with regards to mental health issues in the higher education classroom, and points out UDL solutions which are being proposed, from a design perspective, to minimize the impact of mental health issues within the learning experience.

Contributors: Valérie Van Hees (SIHO - Belgium) - Frederic Fovet (Royal Roads University - Canada) - Amy Dicks (UK Universities) - Manûshân Nesari (UCLL)

Stepchange - Mentally Healthy Universities - Amy Dicks is a Policy Researcher at Universities UK. She works across the mental health and social mobility, widening access and participation programmes. Prior to joining UUK, Amy worked at the University of Westminster. She has an educational background in Sociology, with a master’s degree in Education, specialising in social justice, equity, and inclusion.

Guidance Continuum @UCLL - Manûshân Nesari is the team coordinator of Student Services at University of Applied Sciences UC Leuven-Limburg (UCLL). At UCLL, he and his team successfully implemented a guidance model in which students receive qualitative support and customized care in various fields of student life and learning. Universal design forms a solid basis in this guidance model.

Examining the impact of design of learning experience on mental health issues - Frederic Fovet is an Associate Professor at the School of Education and Technology at Royal Roads University (Canada). Fovet is an inclusion specialist with a specific interest in emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD), critical pedagogy and universal design for learning (UDL). Fovet also has a strong grounding in Disability Studies, and served as a teacher and principal in schools with a focus on the successful inclusion of students with EBD.

Video

Webinar 4 - The potential of universal design to create inclusive classroom practices with international students

Thursday, 18 March 2021, 15.30 – 17.00 CET

This SIHO webinar focuses around the relevance of UDL in the inclusion of international students in the higher education classroom and mobility programmes.

Contributors: Valérie Van Hees (SIHO - Belgium) - Frederic Fovet (Royal Roads University - Canada) - Dominique Montagense (SIHO - Belgium)

Sense of Belonging, Intercultural and Academic Experiences among International Students - Valérie Van Hees is the coordinator of Support Centre Inclusive Higher Education (Belgium) and has accumulated over 20 years of experience in the field of policy and inclusion in higher education. As coordinator at SIHO, she serves as a contact point for both the Flemish government and higher education staff and as such supports the implementation of inclusion measures in policies and practices.

Using Universal Design to Create Inclusive Provisions for International Students in Higher Education - Frederic Fovet is an Associate Professor at the School of Education and Technology at Royal Roads University (Canada). Fovet is an inclusion specialist with a specific interest in emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD), critical pedagogy and universal design for learning (UDL). Fovet also has a strong grounding in Disability Studies, and served as a teacher and principal in schools with a focus on the successful inclusion of students with EBD.

Designing inclusive mobilities: state of play across the European Higher Education Area - Dominique Montagnese is an expert on Inclusive Mobility at the Support Centre for Inclusive Higher Education. He has been working with international mobility programmes for more than 10 years and with social inclusion in mobility for more than 6 years. He is the initiator of several projects linking inclusion and Erasmus+ mobilities, such as MapAbility, MappED! and the Inclusive Mobility Alliance which he currently chairs. Dominique contributes to the current development of the platform inclusivemobility.eu, which will be the platform for inclusive mobility in the European Higher

Webinar 3 - Universal design for learning in the classroom: best practices for inclusive assessment

Thursday, 11 February 2021, 15.30 – 17.00 CET

This webinar introduces case studies from universities and programs where a universal design for learning (UDL) strategy on assessment has effectively been embedded.

Contributors: Valérie Van Hees (SIHO - Belgium) - Frederic Fovet (Royal Roads University - Canada) - Mieke Demeyere (Howest University of Applied Sciences - Belgium) - Anneleen Cottyn (Howest University of Applied Sciences - Belgium) - Marian McCarthy (University College Cork - Ireland)

Universal design for learning in the classroom: best practices for inclusive assessment: DESIGN of an EXAM - Mieke Demeyere is the coordinator of the Biomedical Laboratory Science Program at Howest University of Applied Sciences. Inclusive assessment practices have been successfully implemented within the program.

Checklist exams

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Webinar 2 - Universal design as an institutional approach: international good practices

Thursday, 14 January 2021, 15.30 – 17.00 CET

This webinar introduces case studies from universities where a universal design for learning (UDL) strategy has been embedded at institutional level.

Contributers: Erik Uytterhoeven (Odisee University of Applied Sciences - Belgium) - Imran Uddin (Artevelde University of Applied Sciences) - Belgium- - Dara Ryder (AHEAD - Ireland) - Valérie Van Hees (SIHO - Belgium) - Frederic Fovet (Royal Roads University - Canada)

Universal design as an institutional approach - Odisee University of Applied Sciences - An inspiring Flemish case study - Valérie Van Hees is the coordinator of Support Centre Inclusive Higher Education (Belgium) and has accumulated over 20 years of experience in the field of policy and inclusion in higher education. As coordinator at SIHO, she serves as a contact point for both the Flemish government and higher education staff and as such supports the implementation of inclusion measures in policies and practices.

Implementation of UDL in Higher Education: An North American overview - Successes, challenges and lessons for the next decade - Frederic Fovet is an Associate Professor at the School of Education and Technology at Royal Roads University (Canada). Fovet is an inclusion specialist with a specific interest in emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD), critical pedagogy and universal design for learning (UDL). Fovet also has a strong grounding in Disability Studies, and served as a teacher and principal in schools with a focus on the successful inclusion of students with EBD.

Webinar 1 - State of play on implementing inclusion and universal design strategies in higher education across Europe and beyond

Thursday, 10 December 2020 - 15.30 - 17.00 CET

The social dimension of higher education has been featured in the discussions of the Bologna Process since its early years. A new set of Principles and Guidelines produced by the Bologna Follow-Up Group (BFUG) Advisory Group on the Social Dimension (AG1) has renewed the sectors’ commitment to equity and inclusion and aims to foster concrete change in the EHEA in the coming years. This webinar will review these recommendations and discuss them from the viewpoint of European higher education institutions. The speakers will discuss findings of their research project on university strategies for inclusion, and examine how UDL fits within these wide objectives for inclusion. This SIHO webinar will provide a concise overview of the European landscape on social inclusion in higher education and address the barriers that have emerged with the implementation of the UDL framework.

Exploring learner diversity beyond Disability: What are the challenges and why is UDL immediately appealing? - Frederic Fovet is an Associate Professor at the School of Education and Technology at Royal Roads University (Canada). Fovet is an inclusion specialist with a specific interest in emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD), critical pedagogy and universal design for learning (UDL). Fovet also has a strong grounding in Disability Studies, and served as a teacher and principal in schools with a focus on the successful inclusion of students with EBD.

State of play of inclusion strategies in Europe and beyond Progress made in recent years, as well as remaining barriers to implementing UDL - Valérie Van Hees is the coordinator of Support Centre Inclusive Higher Education (Belgium) and has accumulated over 20 years of experience in the field of policy and inclusion in higher education. As coordinator at SIHO, she serves as a contact point for both the Flemish government and higher education staff and as such supports the implementation of inclusion measures in policies and practices.

Principles and Guidelines to Strengthen the Social Dimension of Higher Education in the EHEA - Ninoslav Šćukanec Schmidt is the Executive Director of the Institute for the Development of Education in Zagreb, Croatia. He has dedicated his career to the development of higher education policies. His main expertise is in institutional governance and strategic management of higher education, financing of higher education, the social dimension of higher education, quality assurance in higher education, and in the development of qualifications frameworks. He is the co-chair BFUG Advisory Group on Social Dimension (AG1) who created the Principles and Guidelines for Social Dimension to help 48 countries in the European Higher Education Area improve social dimension policies.

Programme

Between December 2020 and July 2021, the Support Centre Inclusive Higher Education (SIHO) is hosting a webinar series entitled ‘Towards Genuinely Inclusive Universities: an international perspective on best practices in the implementation of universal design’. The series consists of eight webinars and will shed light on several topics closely related to current policies and practices in post-secondary education around the topics of inclusion and universal design. Each webinar will focus on case studies concerning implementation. This webinar series is led by Valérie Van Hees, Coordinator Support Centre Inclusive Higher Education (SIHO, Belgium) and Frederic Fovet, Associate Professor, School of Education and Technology at Royal Roads University (Canada). During each webinar, one or two additional speakers will join the facilitators to discuss the topic by using a panel approach. Each webinar is programmed to last one and a half hours and will include an opportunity for Q&A.

Do you wish to participate? Consult here the programme and registration forms for the webinar Series 'Towards Genuinely Inclusive Universities'.