OBS’s Interview With SEN Magazine

SEN Magazine is the UK’s leading magazine for special educational needs. SEN Magazine asked Online Business School’s Director, John Holden, how can digital learning providers make their content more accessible? Read on to hear what he said.

Throughout the last year, Covid and the subsequent restrictions have led to digital learning courses becoming more and more popular with learners from all walks of life. However this form of education isn’t as accessible as it could be to users who have some form of impairment which means that the onus is on digital learning providers to improve the ease with which their courses can be accessed. With this in mind, we asked a number of digital learning experts for their thoughts on how this can be achieved.

What have you done to ensure that users with disabilities can access your learning content? Do you have any extra support options available for users with disabilities?

John Holden: Online Business School is an inclusive educational provider; we provide courses for all abilities, nationalities, ethnicities and levels. Our students have up to 5 years to complete a course. This can also be extended depending on the student’s circumstances. This flexibility removes the pressure of deadlines. Our students have unlimited tutor support and this takes place mostly over email or Zoom. This helps students suffering from mental health issues as face-to-face communication can seem daunting.

We also have a dedicated student support team who provide emotional welfare and career guidance for our students.

Do you get a decent volume of inquiries from those with disabilities? What more can be done to encourage them to look into online learning?

John Holden: Yes – we receive inquiries from all abilities. Prospective students may have the misconception that distance learning means that they are alone. This is not the case, and our tutors and student support team are with you every step of the way. The overall student experience is our top priority. In order to aid and enrich student experiences, we’ve created support Hubs. Our Hubs include resources such as mental health support and career development. Our Buddy Hub is designed to ensure user inclusion in the learning process, creating a social learning environment.

Read the full blog here.