Assessment tool for the requirements of disabled students in higher education

The Ministry of Welfare of Latvia this year in the frame of the project “Equal Opportunities” has prepared Guidelines for Higher Education Institutions on Inclusive Study Environments formation ensuring the coordination functions of the horizontal principle. The guidelines aim to facilitate access to higher education for people with disabilities by raising awareness of people with disabilities disability needs in higher education and provide the guidelines for higher education institutions for the adaptation of the study environment and process. The Erasmus Call 2020 Round 1 KA2 - Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices KA203 - Strategic Partnerships for a higher education project "Smart Solutions for the Inclusion of Students with Disabilities in Higher Education" aim to develop the systems of integrated digital assistive technology services for higher education processes. In the frame of the first phase of the project, the assessment tool for the requirements of disabled students in higher education in Liepaja University Institute of Educational Sciences together with researchers from University of Maribor Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (Slovenia), The University of Patras Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering (Greece) and Centre for Social Innovation Research and Development organization (Cyprus) is elaborated. The research demonstrates the steps in the development of criteria for assessing the requirements of disabled students in higher education and necessary data set analyses in order to meet the requirements of disabled students in higher education and build the appropriate digital assessment tool.  Scientific contribution in the field is necessary as studies reflect the fact that, among European countries, the understanding of what is a disability and what is needed to include students with disabilities in higher education is very diverse.