User Groups
Student Disability Statistics
UoM Student Disability Types
Australian University Students
Key facts
- 7.4% of Australian domestic students have a disability.
- Between 2018 and 2020, the number of domestic students in Australia rose by 5%.
- Between 2018 and 2020, the number of domestic students with a disability rose by 14%.
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All domestic students | 728,553 | 799,531 | 845,002 | 875,913 | 921,186 | 972,292 | 1,013,831 | 1,035,474 | 1,055,274 | 1,071,448 | 1,071,980 | 1,076,790 | 1,124,453 |
| Domestic undergrad students with a disability | 24,311 | 26,106 | 29,441 | 32,608 | 35,994 | 38,707 | 43,385 | 47,256 | 50,206 | 54,265 | 58,157 | 61,349 | 65,444 |
| Domestic postgrad students with a disability | 6,561 | 7,530 | 8,661 | 9,503 | 10,499 | 11,372 | 12,220 | 12,763 | 13,511 | 14,276 | 15,078 | 16,284 | 18,242 |
| All domestic students with a disability | 30,872 | 33,636 | 38,102 | 42,111 | 46,493 | 50,079 | 55,605 | 60,019 | 63,717 | 68,541 | 73,235 | 77.633 | 83,686 |
| % of domestic students with a disability | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 5.2 | 5.5 | 5.8 | 6.0 | 6.4 | 6.8 | 7.2 | 7.4 |
University of Melbourne Students
Key facts
- Of the 7.4% of Australian domestic students with a disability, 78% are undergraduate.
- Of the 7.4% of Australian domestic students with a disability, 22% are postgraduate.
- Of the 7.4% of UoM domestic students with a disability, 53% are undergraduate.
- Of the 7.4% of UoM domestic students with a disability, 47% are postgraduate.
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All UoM domestic students | 32,680 | 32,928 | 34,379 | 34,804 | 35,771 | 37,074 | 38,136 | 39,178 | 39,620 | 39,910 | 40,133 | 40589 | 41210 |
| UoM undergrad students with a disability | 783 | 776 | 805 | 837 | 841 | 888 | 1044 | 1119 | 1122 | 1177 | 1259 | 1393 | 1629 |
| UoM postgrad students with a disability | 331 | 361 | 435 | 557 | 709 | 810 | 974 | 1084 | 1182 | 1180 | 1227 | 1245 | 1417 |
| All UoM domestic students with a disability | 1114 | 1137 | 1240 | 1394 | 1550 | 1698 | 2018 | 2203 | 2304 | 2357 | 2486 | 2638 | 3046 |
| % of UoM domestic students with a disability | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.6 | 4.0 | 4.3 | 4.6 | 5.3 | 5.6 | 5.8 | 5.9 | 6.2 | 6.5 | 7.4 |
Source:
Australian Government, Department of Education and Training, Student Data - Equity Groups
Staff Disability Statistics
Key facts
- It is hard to get accurate statistics on the number of staff with disabilities. Unlike students, the University does not ask staff if they has a disability when they commence employment.
- The Australian Bureau of Statistics data on Disability and Labour Force Participation 2012 shows 9% of employed Australians have a disability.
- The total number of staff at the University is 11379 (9189 FTE), according to the 2020 Annual Report. So 11379 x 9% = 1024 staff with a disability.
Sources:
Cognitive Impairments
Types of Cognitive Impairment
- Memory.
- Problem Solving.
- Attention, e.g. ADHD
- Reading, linguistic and verbal comprehension, e.g. dyslexia
- Mathematical comprehension
- Visual comprehension
Assistive Technologies
- Visual learning software
- Speech, spellchecker, e.g. TextHelp
- Text to voice, e.g. WYNNS
Barriers to Access
- Users may have trouble remembering the overall context of a web site or task.
- Users may make more errors than usual.
- Users may be easily distracted.
- Users may be have difficulty reading web content.
Example
Vision Impairments
Blindness
- Users often listen to pages using a screen reader.
- Barrier to access: content often isn’t read out correctly.
Low Vision
- Users often set their own font and background colors.
- Users often magnify the screen to make it more readable.
- Barrier to access: content doesn’t resize correctly.
- Barrier to access: insufficient contrast between text and background.
Color Blindness
- Reds and greens often indistinguishable.
Assistive Technologies
- Screen Reader, e.g. JAWS, WindowEyes, NVDA
- Braille Reader
- Screen Magnifier
- Voice recognition, e.g. Dragon NaturallySpeaking
Example
Motor Impairments
Types of Motor Impairment
- Spinal cord injury.
- Lost or damaged limb.
- Cerebral palsy.
- Muscular dystrophy.
- Multiple sclerosis.
- Spina bifida
- Lou Gehrig's disease
- Arthritis
- Parkinson's disease
- Essential tremor
Assistive technologies
- Mouth stick.
- Head wand.
- Single-switch access.
- Sip and puff switch.
- Oversized trackball mouse.
- Adaptive keyboard.
- Eye tracking.
- Voice recognition software.
Barriers to Access
- 40% of people with a motor impairment have difficulty using their hands.
- Users may not be able to use the mouse.
- Users may not be able to control the mouse or keyboard well.
- Users may be using voice-activated software.
- Users may become easily fatigued.
Example
Hearing Impairment
Types of hearing loss
- Mild. Speech can be difficult to understand.
- Moderate. Hearing aid might be required.
- Severe. Hearing aid useful in some cases.
- Profound. The absence of the ability to hear.
Assistive Technologies
- Hearing aid
- Cochlear implant
Barriers to Access
- Audio is unusable without transcripts or captions.
- Volume can’t be controlled.
- Playback position can’t be controlled.
Example
Contact Us
For assistance or to report accessibility problems please contact:
Andrew Normand
Web Accessibility Lead
Email: anormand@unimelb.edu.au
Phone: +61 3 9035 4867