Policy Context
This page provides information on the national and European polices which support the implementation of inclusive practices in Higher Education.
Below is a list of national policies and frameworks associated with implementing inclusive practices in Higher Education.
The ALTITUDE Charter is a framework designed to promote inclusive learning, teaching, and development practices within educational institutions. It emphasises equity, diversity, and inclusion, often aligning with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles and aiming to create supportive environments for all students, regardless of their backgrounds or abilities.
ALTITUDE - National Charter for Universal Design in Tertiary Education
The fourth National Access Plan: A Strategic Action Plan for Equity of Access, Participation and Success in Higher Education 2022-2028, to be known as the ‘National Access Plan’, was published in August 2022. This Plan follows the National Plan for Equity of Access to Higher Education 2015-2019 and the Progress Review of 2018, which extended the objectives of the third Plan to 2021.
All public bodies in Ireland have responsibility to promote equality, prevent discrimination and protect the human rights of their employees, customers, service users and everyone affected by their policies and plans. This is a legal obligation, called the Public Sector Equality and Human Rights Duty, and it originated in Section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Act 2014.
The Athena Swan Charter is a framework that is used across the globe to support and transform gender equality within higher education (HE) and research. The objective of the Athena Swan Ireland 2021 charter framework is to support higher education institutions, academic departments, and professional units in impactful and sustainable gender equality work and to build capacity for evidence-based equality work across the equality grounds enshrined in Irish legislation.
Section 4. Evaluating culture, inclusion and belonging - ensuring that culture and practices support inclusion and belonging across student curricula, pedagogy, and assessment, relating to equality grounds in addition to gender, as well as capacity to identify and address intersectional inequalities for staff and students.