The Disabled Student Commitment Advisory Group has published Competence Standards Guidance that supports disabled students across UK higher education institutions, building on the momentum generated since the Disabled Students Commitment was established in October 2023.
This represents a significant milestone in the Commitment's ongoing work to ensure that disabled students can both access and fully enjoy the benefits of higher education, regardless of funding and resource constraints across the sector.
The guidance clarifies the legal definition of a competence standard as "an academic, medical or other standard applied for the purposes of determining whether or not a person has a particular level of competence or ability" (Equality Act 2010, Schedule 13). It also outlines how competence standards must be clearly defined, relevant to course objectives, proportionate, and applied equally to all students.
Find out more about the guidance and the Disabled Student Commitment here.
Download the guidance below.
