{"id":5811,"date":"2025-09-23T18:16:41","date_gmt":"2025-09-23T16:16:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecio.nl\/praktijkinspiratie\/national-network-accessible-academia-on-barriers-mission-and-future-of-inclusive-universities\/"},"modified":"2025-09-30T14:41:34","modified_gmt":"2025-09-30T12:41:34","slug":"national-network-accessible-academia-on-barriers-mission-and-future-of-inclusive-universities","status":"publish","type":"praktijkinspiratie","link":"https:\/\/ecio.nl\/en\/praktijkinspiratie\/national-network-accessible-academia-on-barriers-mission-and-future-of-inclusive-universities\/","title":{"rendered":"National Network | Accessible Academia on barriers, mission and future of inclusive universities"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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“In practice, you encounter rigid structures.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Accessible Academia<\/a> is a nationwide network of students, PhD students, researchers and staff with support needs at Dutch universities. In an open interview conducted by Franka van de Wijdeven, communications consultant at ECIO, they share their personal experiences, mission and ideas for structural change in academia. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n

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“Accessibility is not a favor, but a right and a duty of the institution.” <\/em>– Bas Koelewijn (he\/he), expert by experience and researcher on the experiences of students and academics with disabilities.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

What do students and staff encounter?<\/h2>\n\n

“The biggest problem is that accessibility still has to be retrofitted,” Bas says. “You depend on individual adjustments, approvals and bureaucracy. For someone else it’s a normal working day, for you it’s a huge barrier.” Laurier Hendricx (xij\/die), software asset manager at Utrecht University and ambassador for Network USP Inclusive<\/a>,<\/strong> emphasizes the regulatory burden: “Because facilities are considered per individual, it takes an enormous amount of time and energy to arrange everything yourself. Meanwhile, you also just have to do your job.” Steven Arisz (he\/he), biologist and researcher at Utrecht University, points to a structural problem: “The way universities are organized makes change difficult. There is often no good alignment between central policy and faculty practice. Professional knowledge about support needs is often lacking.” <\/p>\n\n

Issues and experiences around accessibility<\/h3>\n\n
Accessibility concerns<\/th>Experiences from practice<\/th><\/tr><\/thead>
Physical accessibility: incorporate accessibility directly into design and treat complaints seriously.<\/td>New elevator doors in a faculty building turned out to be too narrow for wheelchair users. Complaints about this were not taken seriously <\/td><\/tr>
Policy and implementation: make sure policies are known, invest clear responsibilities and organize oversight.<\/td>Central HR policies for employees with disabilities are often not known in departments.<\/td><\/tr>
Information provision: provide easily findable and clear online information about schemes and facilities.<\/td>Combining study and informal care lacks information about the student support fund.<\/td><\/tr>
Digital accessibility: enable online participation at symposia and events by default.<\/td>At symposia and events, online participation often proves impossible, which also prevents you from expanding your network.<\/td><\/tr>
Privacy: protect personal data around illness, disability and impairment; keep information strictly confidential.<\/td>After calling in sick, a supervisor was automatically given access to a registration in the target group register.<\/td><\/tr>
Appropriate support: listen to what someone needs and provide customized support rather than assumptions.<\/td>Someone reported being overloaded at a training session because of a functional disability, but was given only one short break. Despite multiple requests for support, appropriate accommodation failed to materialize. Being assertive was mistakenly seen as ‘being able to do it yourself <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n

If customization is lacking<\/h2>\n\n

The examples range from major system problems to daily frustrations. Bas mentions the decline after the corona period: “During the pandemic, a lot more flexibility was suddenly possible. When the measures disappeared, so did that flexibility. For students with disabilities, that was painful, because it was possible.” <\/p>\n\n

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“All the knowledge about working more productively in shorter weeks is already there, but in practice you encounter rigid structures.”<\/em> – Lesley Verbeek (she\/he), PhD student in Cultural Studies at the Open University and expert by experience on chronic pain and informal care.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Lesley explains, “A friend who is also doing a PhD needed fewer hours after a car accident. Her supervisor insisted on ‘normal working’. That worked against her recovery and shows how little room there sometimes is for customization, when the knowledge about flexible working is already there. My own experience shows this: when I can work less due to family care or illness, my supervisors come to me with information about care leave, and initiatives to reduce the workload. As a result, I am less likely to suffer burnout and more likely to return to full work sooner.”<\/p>\n\n

The mission of Accessible Academia<\/h2>\n\n

Accessible Academia is a national, experience-driven platform that amplifies the voices of students and staff with support needs. “Peer support and community building are essential,” says Maurits Huijbrechtse (he\/he), master’s student in history at the UvA and co-founder. “Many universities do build networks for their own students and sometimes for their staff, but at the national level this hardly ever happens. By building peer groups and a strong network, you create the anchoring needed to really stand up for your rights and achieve a critical mass that forces change. That’s why we deliberately chose a national approach.” Bas adds: “We want to provide an environment where flexibility and accessibility are natural: a place where you don’t have to explain what you need or why.” <\/p>\n\n

How is Accessible Academia working toward that mission?<\/h2>\n\n

The network runs on meeting and sharing knowledge. Bas: “We focus on community building and less on policy. We do this by organizing video calls and open meetings to share experiences. The signals that come from these form the basis for what we bring to the outside world. We look for cooperation. For example, we have also given presentations at universities such as Utrecht, Leiden and Twente.” <\/p>\n\n

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“In advisory committees, I bring in our signals so that bottom-up experiences touch top-down policy.” <\/em>– Steven Arisz<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Representing interests: listening and connecting<\/h2>\n\n

“The platform provides a voice for the people themselves,” Bas says. “By bringing people together, signals come out naturally.” We work together with organizations such as Ieder(in) and ECIO and join talks with the Ministry of OCW. “Our strength lies in experiential knowledge and passing on stories, which need to be heard in order to make good policy,” says Maurits. <\/p>\n\n

What do universities need to change?<\/h2>\n\n

Bas argues for a cultural shift: accessibility should be a right, not a favor. As long as adjustments depend on individual willingness, social insecurity will continue to lurk. Accessibility must be regulated structurally and institutionally. Laurier emphasizes that institutions still think too much from the medical model: individual solutions rather than an inclusive basis for all. Steven points out the importance of visibility. The obstacles that students and employees with disabilities face, as well as how they nevertheless usually just participate, remain underexposed. Universities can easily change this by giving attention and actively sharing these experiences. <\/p>\n\n

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“The social model requires that you build in flexibility upfront for everyone. That makes all the difference.” <\/em>– Laurier Hendricx<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Steven advocates structural coordination: “Without a connection between central policy and implementation at faculties, plans remain stuck in fine words. Responsibilities must be clear and professional knowledge must be present at all levels.”<\/p>\n\n

Breaking Stigma<\/h2>\n\n

“Listening more to the experiences of students and staff with disabilities. Not just to arrange accommodations, but to really understand how policies and culture have their impact in everyday life,” Bas explains. Laurier adds, “Break through assumptions. There is still too often a perception that students can have support needs, but employees don’t. That perception really needs to change.” <\/p>\n\n

The picture of the future<\/h2>\n\n

Our vision for the future is simple, says Laurier: “Ideally, we will be redundant because universities will have their affairs in order. Then we will remain only as a network to share experiences, hopefully only positive ones.” Lesley also sees an important role for knowledge sharing: “A central knowledge base with good examples and solutions would be great, so we don’t have to keep starting from scratch.” <\/p>\n\n

What can students and staff do themselves?<\/h2>\n\n
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” Alone you won’t make it in a system that wasn’t designed for you.”<\/em> – Maurits Huijbrechtse<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

“It’s important to seek each other out. A network and peer support are important. Use your voice, no matter how small. Every experience is valuable. Together we make visible that this is not about individual problems, but a collective responsibility,” Bas said.<\/p>\n\n

Making blind spots visible<\/h2>\n\n

Lesley calls special attention to an often forgotten group: people with intellectual disabilities. “They are almost always excluded from knowledge production, while their perspective is indispensable, especially if the research is about them. At Accessible Academia they can, because we make room for customization and collaboration.” Finally, Maurice emphasizes the position of so-called “stackers”: “Many students with disabilities are forced to stack courses to get there, partly because there is often no VWO available for students with disabilities. More attention needs to be paid to this in policy and guidance.” <\/p>\n\n

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“We are not a policy club, but a place where people breathe.”<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Accessible Academia believes that change begins with stories and with recognizing experiential expertise. As long as inclusion is not yet a given, Accessible Academia remains a safe haven and a critical voice. We are eager to learn from the experiences and insights we bring together to make the university truly inclusive. In doing so, more voices and perspectives are always welcome. <\/p>\n