ADCET UDL Symposium: The Importance of Universal Design for Learning for Part-time Students

Online presentation

University students have traditionally studied full-time and as such, university processes are skewed towards supporting full-time students. In 2024, 35% of domestic Australian university students enrolled to study part-time and students from equity cohorts studied part-time at a higher rate than average. Many barriers that students face at university stem from institutional structures that create unnecessary complexity. The hidden curriculum, encompassing unclear processes and communication, can particularly disadvantage students from diverse backgrounds (Orón Semper & Blasco, 2018).

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) promotes inclusive, flexible learning environments through varied opportunities for engagement, multiple means of expression and diverse representation (CAST, 2024). The aim of this study was to investigate which elements of UDL are important in unit design for part-time students. A total of 965 part-time students from 35 Australian universities completed a survey, including the question ‘How important are each of the following in the design of your subjects/units/courses?’ Students were provided with 11 elements of unit design to rate using a Likert-like scale of not important at all to very important. A total of 44% of participants reported a disability, condition or illness that impacted their studies (29% registered with their university, 15% not registered with their university) and 56% of participants reported no disability.

The four most important elements of unit design were the same for students with disability whether registered or not. The most important element for students with disability was access to automatic extensions, however this was only the 7th most important element for students without disability. The next three most important elements were consistent LMS site layout, having the learning content available early and clear distinctions between key and additional content. Results from this study can help to inform which elements of unit design are important to the success of part-time students.

Presenter

A/Prof Kelly Linden leads the implementation of UDL in the Faculty of Science and Health at Charles Sturt University. Kelly has experience teaching large, service taught science subjects and over the last 10 years has led a number of university-wide projects to support student success and retention with a focus on UDL , Transition Pedagogy and a Pedagogy of Kindness. In 2025 Kelly received an Equity Fellowship from the Australian Centre of Students Equity and Success (ACSES) to investigate how universities could better support part-time students.

(June 2026)