Higher education for all? : The paradox of accommodations

Individuals with disability have different needs of accommodations because the disability can express itself in different ways. There's laws that are designed to meet the individuals with disabilities so they can live on the same terms as individuals without disabilities. What’s not regulated in the law is how an equivalent education should be achieved for individuals with disabilities in higher education. In order to meet the needs of students with disabilities, accommodations have been established. Accommodations have been established so that students with disabilities can study at the same terms as students without. The aim of this study was to examine decision-makers' experience regarding accommodations for students with disabilities and whether the forms of accommodations correspond to the students' needs, especially in the light of the ongoing pandemic Covid-19. The method used was a qualitative method where semi-structured interviews were conducted with staff in charge of accommodations throughout Sweden. The result and analysis have found that the accommodations have been affected by the fact that education has shifted to distance education due to Covid-19. The conclusion that has been drawn is that the accommodations are unavailable regardless of whether it is regular teaching or distance teaching. A further conclusion is that the focus should be on making the teaching environment available instead of focusing on expanding the accommodations.