The Role of Students in Driving Change: How Student Feedback Shapes Accessibility Initiatives

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Accessibility initiatives in higher education are often perceived as top-down mandates, implemented in response to evolving laws or institutional policies. But some of the most transformative and sustainable changes come from students with disabilities who experience navigating campus systems every day.

At Macmillan Learning, we are committed to making our learning tools inclusive by design. One of the most powerful ways we do this is by learning directly from students with disabilities. This blog explores students' impact on accessibility practices both on campus as advocates and with us through ongoing feedback. We also explore some ways that institutions can work with students, not just for them, to create truly inclusive learning environments.

Students as Advocates and Policy Influencers

Students bring critical insight to accessibility efforts, not just as recipients of accommodations but as active agents of change. Their experiences, ideas, and persistence often highlight gaps in current systems and illuminate pathways toward a more inclusive future.

Samm Nelson, Digital Accessibility Coordinator at Mount Holyoke College, shared how students have driven impactful change:

“The students that I work with are amazing advocates, allies, and champions of accessible higher education. They have intentionally formed a community with peers and mentors with disabilities to support one another in challenges and victories. The current students on campus were able to get the attention of our administration to draw attention to the needs of disabled students in higher education and make systemic changes at our university. Our students are the reason I am hopeful that our world will continue to be a more welcoming and accessible place for all people, regardless of disability.”

Nelson believes that student engagement does more than raise awareness. It shapes policy, builds community, and reframes disability as a vital identity. “It is my hope that a disability cultural center on campus will not only improve the experience of all our disabled faculty, students, and staff on campus, but the presence of the center alone signals our priorities and our understanding that disability is an identity to be celebrated and better understood on our campus.”

Students as Experts Through Lived Experience

When institutions include students with disabilities in accessibility workflows, they gain not only user feedback but authentic expertise. Lived experience, particularly from students who rely on assistive technologies, can uncover barriers that automated tools or testers without disabilities may miss.

Danae Harris, Senior Digital Accessibility Specialist at the University of North Texas, explains how her institution benefits from this approach:

“In my division, we hire Accessibility Testers who are current or former students and native assistive technology users. They play a huge role in testing content from various perspectives. Our team includes a student who relies on a screen reader and Nemeth Braille keyboard, a student who uses magnification software alongside a screen reader, and a student who relies solely on a screen reader. It is important to get the input of the students. We cannot effectively create and advocate for accessible content without their input.”

Shifting from a reactive to a proactive accessibility model means designing with students in mind from the beginning. That shift requires more than intention. It calls for systems that center disabled voices in testing, procurement, and decision-making processes. 

What Can You Do?

Creating meaningful partnerships with students with disabilities isn’t complicated, but it does require commitment, consistency, and care. Here are some recommendations about how you can make an impact: 

Promote Opportunities for Students to Share Their Experiences.

At Macmillan Learning, we conduct paid usability tests and surveys with students with disabilities to better understand their experience with our products. Their feedback has helped identify both barriers and successes that have directly shaped product development, including the redesign of one of our digital assessment experiences. If you’re a higher education student with a disability or an instructor working with students with disabilities, we'd love to partner with you. Email webaccessibility@macmillan.com to join our accessibility research database.  

This can be implemented more broadly with institutions by establishing paid student tester programs, usability panels, or advisory boards. Creating formal roles for students with disabilities in campus accessibility planning helps move from simply accommodating students to intentionally partnering with them in the design and evaluation of accessible learning environments.

Invite Student Feedback Early and Often. 

It’s important to get their perspectives through regular surveys, open office hours, or focus groups to learn about urgent needs and long-term goals. Include accessibility questions in course evaluations or feedback forms. Offer flexible alternatives that reflect student suggestions and support diverse learning needs. Also, consider launching accessibility ambassador programs or adding student seats to digital accessibility committees.

Help Create Community.

When we talk about accessibility, it’s easy to focus on physical or digital accommodations, like ramps, captions, or screen readers. But for students with disabilities, belonging is just as critical. Community isn’t a bonus feature; it’s infrastructure. And instructors can play a powerful role in helping students find or build it. A quick mention in class of your school's disability services, student affinity groups, or mental health resources can be a game-changer, especially for students who are new, unsure, or reluctant to self-advocate.

Accessibility is not just about compliance; it’s about community. And as Samm Nelson so eloquently put it, “We as disabled people belong in every space where decisions are made.”

Danae Harris is the Senior Digital Accessibility Specialist at the University of North Texas. In addition to reviewing online courses to help faculty create accessible content, she also works with third-party representatives, including publishers and e-learning software providers, to address accessibility concerns and shares best practices and tools for making digital content accessible.

Samm Nelson, CPACC is the Digital Accessibility Coordinator at Mount Holyoke College. She is responsible for ensuring faculty, students, and staff have equitable access to digital spaces on campus. She trains individuals on how to use assistive technology and oversees training, auditing, and remediation of digital spaces on campus to ensure accessibility.