Inclusion: Understanding the impact of higher education policy

Under the Equality Act 2010, all further and higher education institutions is Scotland are
required to make "reasonable adjustments to ensure that students with disabilities which affect
their studies are not placed at a disadvantage" (Children and Families Directorate, 2019).
Reasonable adjustments are defined as changes that provide additional support or specialist
equipment (Government Digital, 2015). Although the 2018 report by The Scottish Government
shows an increase in the proportion of learning hours delivered to students with declared
disabilities and despite increase in widening access, participation and inclusion at universities,
and a rising number of entrants to a full-time higher education in Scotland, disabled students
are still underrepresented (Commissioner for Fair Access, 2019; Fuller et al., 2004).
Most of the available literature on students with disabilities focuses primarily on improving
curriculum, access to learning materials, specialist technology, and help with exams and time
management (Claiborne et al., 2011; Leyser, 2011; Gibson, 2015). Although there is a growing
number of studies exploring the experiences of disabled students in higher education (Brandt,
2011; Moriña, 2015; Moriña, 2017), there are not many available resources to evaluate how
disabled university students in Scotland experience other aspects of their student lives, such
as extra-curricular activities and social events. The study by Wessel at al. (2009) revealed that
higher and further education institutions encounter a high dropout rate by students with
disabilities within the first 6 weeks, this time is also considered crucial, as it is during that period
that students are to most susceptible to feeling left out (Tinto, 1988). Multiple studies have
shown that implementation of campus-wide approaches to student participation improve
student retention and increase the chances of student's success post-study (Moriña, 2017;
Zorec et al., 2022). Campus-wide approaches to the inclusion of all students involve the work
and collaboration of all university staff and cover all areas of student experience