Higher education experts' perspectives on incorporating Universal Design (UD) and accessibility into Higher Education...

UD and accessibility have increasingly gained momentum in HE debates, constituting an indispensable dimension of inclusion rhetoric. Research has largely examined UD's pedagogical role in addressing student diversity in HE, rather than its integration into curricula for professional application. This article reports the findings from a larger cross-national, funded project, examining University experts' experiences and recommendations on the broad incorporation of Accessibility and UD into the content of HE curricula.

: Data collection involved focus group interviews with ten participants representatives of the small number of Universities in Cyprus. Participants varied in academic backgrounds, coming from different disciplines. A qualitative data thematic and discourse analysis was applied towards obtaining participants' reflective insights.

Findings highlight the imperative of universalising UD-informed curricula by extending the number of courses focusing on UD and accessibility and informing research and practice more rigorously in HE. Key barriers identified include limited UD awareness and competencies, insufficient recognition of disability as valued diversity, and the absence of accountability mechanisms promoting UD. Responses mirror a more 'technicist' rather than a critical approach to discussing UD, Assistive Technologies and accessibility and the necessity of developing students' democratic competencies in HE. These considerations relate to broader issues regarding political indifference, resistance, and inertia at the university and governmental levels in promoting inclusion and its associated concepts of accessibility and UD in HE and beyond.