ALTITUDE – The National Charter for Universal Design in Tertiary Education: Technical Report

Aileen Kennedy; Carol Neenan; Colin Tierney; Dara Ryder; Deirdre McHugh; Dr Joanne Banks; James Northridge; Jean Reale; Karen Burke; Maureen Haran; Niamh Plunkett; Richard Healy; Rosario Cooney; Thomas O'Shaughnessy

Resource

ALTITUDE – The National Charter for Universal Design in Tertiary Education: Technical Report

Description

This technical report accompanies ALTITUDE, the National Charter for Universal Design in Tertiary Education. It explains the rationale for the Charter, its development and consultation process, its strategic enablers and four pillars, and its alignment with international, national and institutional policy. It also provides guidance for adoption and implementation across further and higher education.

Prepared by Dr Joanne Banks with direction and input from the ALTITUDE Working Group. Published by AHEAD Educational Press, 2024.

Benefit of this resource and how to make the best use of it

Use this report alongside the ALTITUDE Charter and its implementation toolkit to understand the evidence, policy context and practical steps for embedding Universal Design across an institution.

Explore the challenges and enablers of inclusion in Irish tertiary education.
Understand the Charter’s strategic enablers and four pillars: learning, teaching and assessment; supports, services and social engagement; the physical environment; and the digital environment.
Map Universal Design work to relevant international, national and tertiary education policy.
Plan institutional adoption, including an implementation committee or working group and use of the accompanying toolkit.

Publication details

Publication year: 2024
Publisher: AHEAD Educational Press
ISBN: 978-1-916836-05-1
Length: 113 PDF pages

Recommended citation: Banks, J., Burke, K., Cooney, R., Haran, M., Healy, R., Kennedy, A., McHugh, D., Neenan, C., Northridge, J., O’Shaughnessy, T., Plunkett, N., Reale, J., Ryder, D., & Tierney, C. (2024). ALTITUDE The National Charter for Universal Design in Tertiary Education: Technical Report. AHEAD Educational Press.

People, communities and initiatives

Collaborators

Aileen Kennedy · Carol Neenan · Colin Tierney · Dara Ryder · Deirdre McHugh · Dr Joanne Banks · James Northridge · Jean Reale · Karen Burke · Maureen Haran · Niamh Plunkett · Richard Healy · Rosario Cooney · Thomas O'Shaughnessy

Communities

AHEAD

ALTITUDE – National Charter for Universal Design in Tertiary Education

Initiatives

Further information and metadata

Topics

Accessibility and Inclusion

Disciplines

Keywords

universal design

Funding programmes

Learning resources

Organisations

AHEAD

Collaborators

Aileen Kennedy · Carol Neenan · Colin Tierney · Dara Ryder · Deirdre McHugh · Dr Joanne Banks · James Northridge · Jean Reale · Karen Burke · Maureen Haran · Niamh Plunkett · Richard Healy · Rosario Cooney · Thomas O'Shaughnessy

Date submitted

19 October 2026

Submitted by

National Forum

Resource record ID

21831

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ALTITUDE – The National Charter for Universal Design in Tertiary Education: Technical Report

Description