Institutional Responses to Accessibility Needs of Students with Disabilities in Higher Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Scoping Review Protocol (2019–2025)

The COVID-19 pandemic forced colleges and universities to rapidly modify teaching, assessment, and student support services. While these shifts affected all students, students with disabilities experienced distinct and often intensified barriers related to accessibility, accommodations, and inclusion. Pre-pandemic, students with disabilities already faced systemic challenges in higher education (e.g., difficulties navigating accommodation processes, variable instructor implementation, and uneven access to supports). During COVID-19, the rapid transition to remote learning, campus closures, reduced in-person services, and changes to institutional operations created additional accessibility challenges, such as difficulty accessing assistive technology, inconsistent online course accessibility, and disruptions to accommodation delivery and disability services. Early reports suggest that many students with disabilities felt less supported than their non-disabled peers during the pandemic, highlighting the need to better understand what institutions did in response and where gaps remained. This project is a scoping review that will identify, characterize, and map institutional responses implemented in higher education to meet the accessibility needs of students with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Institutional responses” are defined broadly as policies, practices, interventions, or support strategies implemented by colleges, universities, or their sub-units (e.g. faculties, departments, disability service offices) to support access and inclusion for students with disabilities during COVID-19. Responses may include, for example: changes to disability service operations (e.g. moving advising and accommodation processes online), modifications to assessment and academic accommodations (e.g., remote exam adjustments, flexible deadlines, alternative assessments), accessibility improvements to online learning (e.g., captioning, accessible learning management system practices), provision of technology and assistive resources (e.g. loaner laptops or software), mental health and wellness supports, and accessible institutional communication related to COVID-19. The review will include all disability types (sensory, physical/mobility, learning disabilities, neurodivergence such as autism/ADHD, chronic illness, mental health conditions, and multiple disabilities), whether documented through disability services or self-identified. The primary purpose of the review is to provide a comprehensive map of how higher education institutions responded to disability-related accessibility needs during the pandemic period (2019–2025), with particular emphasis on the Canadian context. The review will address four guiding questions: (1) what strategies, measures, or practices were reported by institutions to support accessibility and accommodations for students with disabilities during COVID-19; (2) how these responses varied by context (e.g. country/region, institution type, disability types addressed); (3) what challenges and gaps were identified regarding institutional support; and (4) what recommendations or lessons for future practice were articulated in the literature. Methodologically, this review follows Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) guidance for scoping reviews and will be reported using PRISMA-ScR. Comprehensive searches will be conducted across relevant databases spanning health, education, and social sciences, alongside targeted grey literature searching (e.g. policy reports and institutional guidance documents). Sources will be screened independently by two reviewers, with conflicts resolved by a third reviewer. Data will be charted using a structured extraction form capturing publication characteristics, institutional context, disability focus, and detailed descriptions of institutional actions. While evaluating effectiveness is not the primary goal of a scoping review, any reported outcomes or perceived impacts of institutional responses will be summarized when available to contextualize what appeared to help, what remained problematic, and what needs were still unmet. Expected outcomes include: (1) a categorized map of institutional response types (e.g., academic accommodations, accessible online learning practices, disability service adaptations, technology access supports, mental health supports, and communication strategies); (2) a synthesis of reported implementation challenges and persistent barriers; (3) identification of evidence gaps (e.g., disability groups, settings, or response types that are under-documented); and (4) a consolidated set of recommendations and “lessons learned” that can inform future accessibility planning, inclusive emergency response, and ongoing hybrid/online learning design. Findings will be disseminated through an undergraduate thesis and may be adapted for conference presentation and/or submission to a peer-reviewed journal to support higher education stakeholders (administrators, disability service offices, policymakers, and advocates) in strengthening inclusive practice during future disruptions.