Looking back at my question Identifying barriers: What are the contributing factors on the BA and MA costume courses that prevent students with physical disabilities/mobility impairments from applying or succeeding on the course? I would change some of the wording. It is after doing so much reading that I think I would focus on students who are wheelchair users as that is what became my main focus. I would also keep focus to the worksops themselves rather than the course as a whole as it was too broad for me to consider.
Although it is impossible to find out the real reason why students with physical disabilities and mobility impairments are not applying without being able to ask them directly, I can conclude that that are many barriers that are within are spaces that would put students at a disadvantage. As it stands, students would PD/MI would not be able to complete the heavy amount of practical work that is set on each unit, and the time it would take to implement reasonable adjustments would take longer than a unit to put in place.
Having been through the ISA and Disabled students allowance process myself, it is frustrating and takes a long time to get in place. Of course we will always need to make personal reasonable adjustments, but having the core foundational equipment somewhat accessible is fundamental. Otherwise we can not advertise ourselves as an accessible course, but a potentially accessible course (depending on your DSA funding). Anticipatory adjustments are the area to pursue in order for students with PD/MI to be encouraged to apply for the course. As the disability advisor I spoke to said “it’s surely far more attractive for a student to want to join a course where they can demonstratively see that they’ve been thought about.” (2024)
References.
Disability advisor. (2024) Interview with Sarah Masters.