Disability Education Inclusion Strategy

Shreyas Kale with laptop in the Gold Coast campus library

Have your say

We have drafted a plan. Tell us if we have it right.

Southern Cross University has written a draft plan about making study work better for students with disability. It runs from 2027 to 2031. It is not finished, and that is why this page exists.

The plan says its main aim is to reduce the effort it takes to get access so students with a disability don’t need to repeatedly justify support needs to different parts of the University, or continually work around systems that were not built with accessibility in mind. We want to know whether that matches your experience, and what would make the biggest difference first.

Open until Friday 30 October 2026. The questions take about ten minutes. You can answer just one.

This is not your only chance to have a say. We want to keep hearing from you after the plan is published. We will let you know how, once that is set up.

Read the draft plan Have your say

Before you start

  • For this survey you wont be asked to tell us about your disability or your diagnosis.
  • Taking part is separate from any support you currently receive through Inclusion, including a Learning Access Plan.
  • You do not have to answer every question. Answering one is worth doing.
  • If you need a different format — or any other adjustment to take part — email southerncrossmodel@scu.edu.au and we will arrange it.
  • We will publish what we heard and what we changed because of it.

The plan, in plain language

Part 1. A study experience that works

  1. You only have to explain what you need once.
  2. Changes that help you learn get agreed quickly, and then they actually happen.
  3. You can easily find information about support, accessibility and the process for requesting reasonable adjustments.
  4. Staff know how to teach and set assessments that work for more people.

Part 2. Places and tools that work

  1. Your notes and readings are ready in a format you can use from the first week.
  2. Online systems work with the tools you use, like screen readers.
  3. Your requirements are considered early to support work integrated learning, fieldwork and placement.
  4. Priority is given to making rooms, labs and all learning environments accessible.

Part 3. The University holds itself to it

  1. There is a clear and safe way to say something is wrong, and get it fixed.
  2. The University publishes how it is going every year, and acts when it is not good enough.

Frequently asked questions

The plan is for students with disability at SCU. It covers you whether you study on campus, online, or both. It covers finding out about support, applying and enrolling, your classes and readings, your assessments, placements and practical work, the computer systems you have to use, and the buildings you learn in.

The plan is about study. A different plan covers staff jobs and working conditions.

We looked at our own numbers for 2025. Students with disability at SCU stay at university at almost the same rate as other students. They pass their units at close to the same rate.

But they are less happy with their course. The gap is about 6 points out of 100.

Students told us why - they sometimes need to follow up repeatedly about timelines of adjustments or explain their needs more than once. They have to work around systems that were not built for them.

In short: students with disability at SCU do well, but it takes more effort than it should.

Every year the University will publish how the draft disability education inclusion plan is going.

It will count the usual things, like how many students stay and pass. It will also count something new: how much effort it takes you to get access. That second one matters. If students pass but it wears them out, the plan has not worked.

You will be able to tell someone if a change you need is not happening. Students will be able to raise concerns safely without fear.

Every response is read and matched to the part of the plan it speaks to. Before the Strategy is approved we will publish what we heard, what changed because of it, and where we did not change something, why not.

If you tell us about a problem you are having right now — an adjustment that was agreed but is not happening, materials you cannot read this week — we will pass it on to be addressed, not just record it. Tell us if you would rather we did not.

Read the full draft

The full Strategy is twelve sections. You are welcome to read it, but you do not need to in order to respond.

Need it in another format? Email southerncrossmodel@scu.edu.au and we will arrange it.

Have your say whichever way suits you

Answer the questions online

About ten minutes. Opens in the same window.

Talk to someone one to one

In person, by phone or online. Email to arrange a time.

Send a note in your own words

No form, no questions. Write whatever you want us to know.

If any of this is difficult

Some of these questions ask about experiences that were hard. You can stop at any point, and you do not need to give a reason.