Realizing GenAI's potential to improve accessibility in postsecondary education requires clarity and collaboration among students, instructors and support staff.
Generative AI (GenAI) is quickly transforming higher education, creating an opportunity for Ontario's postsecondary education (PSE) sector to reimagine how it supports student success. Doing so will require collaboration between students, faculty, departments and institutions, which includes engaging in ongoing dialogue and sharing best practices. It will also require increased clarity and awareness around how students and staff can use GenAI to make learning more accessible, as well as under what circumstances the use of these tools is permissible.
The Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario (HEQCO) conducted a study to determine how GenAI can be used to make learning more accessible for all students, including those with disabilities, and the barriers to its use faced by students, instructors and staff in PSE. HEQCO surveyed over 500 Ontario students about their experiences with GenAI and interviewed eleven support staff from nine publicly assisted colleges and universities in the province. Of those students surveyed, 68% were attending university and 31% were attending college; students surveyed were split almost evenly in their area of study between BHASE (business, humanities, health, arts, social science, education, legal studies, trades, services, natural resources and conservation at 52%) and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics at 45%).
Students reported using GenAI for understanding course content, generating ideas and articulating knowledge. GenAI also served as a substitute for formal academic accommodations, with 38% of users surveyed relying on it when instructors couldn't adapt materials or when alternative formats were needed. Institutional staff shared examples of GenAI supporting students with disabilities through transcription and speech-to-text software, highlighting this as a potential strategy for reducing the workload of Offices for Students with Disabilities.
Some students avoided using GenAI altogether, with 66% of non-users surveyed citing institutional prohibition as their reason. Although 85% of all respondents were aware of GenAI policies or guidelines at their institution, only some publicly assisted institutions in Ontario have specific GenAI policies or even reference it in existing documents. This inconsistency leads to misconceptions about GenAI policies and whether its use is allowed. Moving forward, interviewees emphasized the need for greater awareness and literacy regarding when and how students can use GenAI to assist in their studies.
Integrating GenAI into PSE and clarifying best practices for its use will benefit students both during their studies and as they transition into the labour market, where GenAI skills are increasingly important. In order to realize the potential of GenAI for students' PSE learning, accommodation and broader experiences, Ontario's PSE sector will need evidence-based research on effective integration strategies. For students with disabilities to fully benefit from the integration of GenAI tools in PSE, further research to better understand how those tools can be used as alternative to traditional accommodation strategies is crucial.
For more information
1 Yonge Street, Suite 2402
Toronto Ontario
Canada M5E 1E5
www.heqco.ca
