Abstract:

This paper presents the project Access2CS, an inclusive initiative from the School of Computer Science in TU Dublin to transform the student experience for students with disabilities entering a Computer Science degree in Ireland.

The project aims at:
(i) producing guidelines, training and resources for academics, and
(ii) making changes to the physical environment to facilitate the integration of students with disabilities.

The top 4 disabilities found in the University are taken as the targets of the project’s actions. These target disabilities are dyslexia, autism spectrum or neurodivergence, mental health conditions and ADD. The projects run in a cycle where a set of workshops and training sessions tailored for one specific disability are scheduled in one semester with evaluation and impact measurement to be collected in the following semester. The design of the project was carefully thought out to be iterative and incremental so lessons learnt in early stages can be incorporated for the following cycles. One of the challenges encountered was the wide range of different interventions needed depending on the disability. For some disabilities, expert training sessions to provide advice was the main resource whereas for other disabilities the change needed involved the creation of a community of practice to involve as many academics as possible in the updating of teaching practices and materials to provide accessible resources to students. Preliminary results show how academic staff are responding positively to the initiative and changes are being implemented in different areas such as accessible materials, availability of Assistive Technology (AT) and improvements in the flow and availability of information for students.

Keywords:

Accessibility, inclusion, disabilities, computer science.