Dr Lisa Padden, Kathie Orr, UCD; Jean Moore (SFHEA), Northumbria University;
The National Forum Digital Badges provide opportunities for all those working in Higher Education in Ireland to engage in professional development, gain recognition and enhance their practice. These badges have been developed by and for the sector and have been a great success over the past eight years. By far the most awarded of the digital badges offered has been Universal Design for Teaching & Learning which was developed by UCD and AHEAD and has now been awarded to over 4,000 colleagues across Higher and Further Education and Training in Ireland. Addressing feedback, a new Digital Badge was launched by UCD and AHEAD in 2023, supported through funding from the National Forum – Universal Design Beyond the Classroom. This digital badge provides an opportunity for those working in the sector to upskill in Universal Design where their role is not primarily teaching. Following a successful closed pilot for over 100 colleagues in 2023 an open national roll out took place in Autumn of 2024 with over 400 people nationally now holding this badge. The original Universal Design for Teaching and Learning badge is currently being redeveloped with new case studies and content and will be launched in September 2025.
As with all of the digital badges as part of the National Forum’s Open Courses initiative, the badge content is available as Open Educational Resources and those in other jurisdictions are actively encouraged to use/adapt the materials in their own contexts. In 2024, Jean Moore from Northumbria University collaborated with Lisa Padden and Kathie Orr from UCD to learn more about the Beyond the Classroom badge and adapted the materials, conducting a successful local roll-out in her University with full support from the University’s senior management team.
Universal Design in Northumbria
Northumbria University is a research-intensive institution with two campuses in Newcastle upon Tyne and a satellite campus in London. Home to a diverse community of 37,000 students from 146 countries, the university is committed to access, participation, and inclusive education. A substantial number of our students disclose widening participation characteristics during onboarding, indicating that many come from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in higher education. This highlights the need for an inclusive approach that responds to the diverse experiences and needs of our student community.
Northumbria University’s Education Strategic Delivery Plan reflects this by prioritising the development of inclusive education practices, with a focus on embedding Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles. Incorporating UDL into strategic initiatives, such as the UDL digital badge, demonstrates a coordinated effort to align day-to-day practices with wider institutional goals related to access, equity, and student success.
The strategic emphasis on inclusive education at Northumbria and the goals of our new Education Strategy have been meaningfully supported and advanced through Lisa Padden and Kathie Orr’s willingness to share time, resources, expertise, and valuable insights on their UDL Beyond the Classroom Digital Badge. This enabled us to adapt the badge for the Northumbria context, and we are proud to recognise UCD’s foundational role in shaping the development and launch of our digital badge programme. We also acknowledge the contribution of UCD Access and Lifelong Learning (ALL) and AHEAD (Ireland) and National Forum T&L for allowing the course materials to be available as Open Educational Resources.
53% of Northumbria’s 3,500 staff work in professional support roles. Professional support services play a central role in guiding students through every stage of their journey, from the excitement of accepting an offer and arranging accommodation, to the anticipation of timetables and navigating campus, the demands of assessments, placements, and graduation, and the complex emotional moments that shape the student experience.
Twenty-two colleagues from a wide range of professional support services were invited to participate in the pilot phase of our digital badge. With a 100% completion rate, this project produced innovative and thoughtful redesigns that will enhance students’ experience at Northumbria.
Feedback from staff was overwhelmingly positive:
“I think the Plus One concept is genius. It’s simple to implement yet will significantly improve how our messages are received by students. Adding voice note explanations, or QR codes to make our communications more accessible, is a simple but effective way forward.”
— Dan B., Student Change of Circumstances Lead
“Prior to taking part in this course, I was largely unaware of the concept of Universal Design or +1 redesign. Having now been through the course, it is clear how much benefit a small +1 change can bring to the service that we provide.”
— Allison P., Academic Support Manager
“We created a sense of community as we worked towards embedding UDL principles into our practices across Student, Library and Academic Services. Everyone was dedicated to producing impactful change; I have not experienced anything as profound in my 27 years here.”
— Su M., Copyright Adviser
By embracing Universal Design for Learning (UDL) as a mindset rather than a checklist, Northumbria affirms the crucial role of professional support services in building a truly inclusive university. This work goes beyond compliance, it is about culture change. It is about designing a student experience that is equitable, accessible, and intentionally inclusive from the outset. We look forward to the formal roll-out in September 2025 and extending our offer to teaching and learning.
The Brief for our Colleagues in the Pilot Phase:
“Using the ‘Plus One’ approach and the principles of Universal Design for Learning, redesign an aspect of your practice.”
A Video Case Study of a ‘Plus One’ Redesign from the Pilot Phase.
Amy Biggins, an Accessibility and Inclusion Co-ordinator, discusses her redesign of the Neurodiversity@Northumbria drop-in, pop-up weekly café. (Duration 7 minutes, 13 seconds)
Panopto Link:
Neurodiversity pop-up cafe redesign video link
Other Examples of Redesigns from the pilot Phase.
Example 1
Sharon W., and Emma O., Exams and Awards Co-ordinators.
Figure 1. ‘Before’ and ‘After’: The Stop/Start in exams allowance sheet.
Example 2
Lindsey H., Customer Experience Improvement Lead
Figure 3. Infographic and checklist for Requesting a Payment Plan and Appointment Booking Checklist.
Example 3
Maddy Mc K., Student Caseworker, Immigration and Funding.
Figure 4. Infographic explaining the support process for pregnant students and new parents.
Our digital badge
Lisa Padden has worked in University College Dublin (UCD) since 2012 and her current role is as Deputy Director in UCD Access & Lifelong Learning. Lisa leads on a number of areas including University for All – UCD’s whole-institution approach to student inclusion encompassing strategy and policy, teaching, learning and assessment, student supports and services, the built environment and technological infrastructure. Lisa has significant expertise in Universal Design and has developed and co-developed a number of Universal Design capacity building initiatives across Irish Higher and Further Education and Training. Lisa’s research interests include Universal Design for Learning, widening participation, equitable access to education, and student inclusion.
Kathie Orr has worked in Further and Higher Education since 2012 and her current role is as Project Officer of Pathways to the Professions, a University for All initiative which aims to develop a transferrable model to support diversification of the professions. She worked as an instructional designer on the Digital Badge in Universal Design Beyond the Classroom. Kathie’s areas of interest include UDL and fostering inclusion through accessible design.
Jean Moore is an Inclusive Education Adviser and a Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. Professionally accredited by the British Dyslexia Association, she is a qualified specialist teacher and assessor. Jean supports the delivery of Northumbria University’s Education Strategic Delivery Plans by embedding Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles through digital badge initiatives and wider inclusive teaching practices. She also leads neurodiversity training and awareness through the Neurodiversity@Northumbria programme.
