Implementing Universal Design and the ICF in Higher Education: Towards a Model that Achieves Quality Higher Education for All

The landmark UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the first time explicitly makes reference to the inclusion of the needs and capacities of all persons, on equal grounds, in the planning of our built environment and services (Goal 11) and in our quality educational systems (Goal 4). Accessibility and inclusion of all people in vulnerable situations, including people with disabilities, provides a strong benchmark for sustainability. Accessibility and Inclusion in higher education are the topic of an increasing number of studies, however, there is no existing common set of multidomain indicators for Inclusion available to the multiple stakeholders involved in higher education. The purpose of this paper is to fill this gap. With a Universal Design approach and the common language of the ICF we aim to provide a multi-dimensional assessment and planning tool to quantitatively and qualitatively measure Inclusion of environments and services in Higher Education.