The History of Swansea University Transcription Centre Part I

By Alison Sandy and Naomi Steele

Part II

• When did it all begin?
• In the beginning was the Engineering building...
• References
• Figures and Bibliography

Swansea University has been in existence for 100 years, a period in which society and attitudes to disability and inclusion have changed profoundly. It was founded in 1920 as University College of Swansea (part of the University of Wales) and since 2007 has been named Swansea University.

Swansea University Transcription Centre’s history reflects the changing place of people with physical disabilities in their society over that period. In the 1920s and up to World War Two, there was limited scope for people with physical disabilities to participate in education at all, and certainly no philosophy of trying to provide an equal setting for them to learn and develop. There were few opportunities for – or expectations of – people with physical disabilities to participate in higher education. There was also very little understanding of hidden disabilities and neurodiverse conditions. Yet today, in 2020, education institutions have a legal requirement to make reasonable adjustments for all students with disabilities. Universities are judged on how well they provide for learners who, regardless of physical and cognitive impairments, have a right to equality of opportunity and access to the whole university experience. This history of the Transcription Centre will demonstrate how Swansea University, as an institution, has made provision for this.

When Did It All Begin?

The University Annual Reports, from 1920 onwards, provide illuminating details on the number and make-up of the student body. They include reports by the campus medical team which provided a sick bay, and following World War Two there are some statistics of ex-servicemen who became students[1]. There is, however, no mention of any student with physical disability, even from injury. But in the background there were clear signs that the educational climate was changing, with the Education Act 1994 which promised the right to schooling suited to ‘age, aptitude and ability’ to all children, with disabled children being educated in mainstream schools, ‘where possible’[2]. In October 1955 the parent of a visually impaired potential student began a correspondence with Principal Fulton, about the feasibility of his son beginning a degree course in Mathematics at Swansea University. What is striking is the positivity which characterised the whole exchange, and the pains taken by the Principal, liaising with the Headmaster of the Worcester College for the Blind, because at this time education for VI children was usually segregated and their career prospects limited. Their correspondence and meetings took place between November 1955 and 1956[3].

In the beginning was the Engineering building...

The development of the services for VI students and the University’s vision for equality of opportunity is most clearly documented in the University Annual Reports. They clearly show the increasing resources provided and how the objective was specifically to make University College Swansea exceptional in its provision of equality of opportunity for VI students.

In the 1971–2 Annual Report, Mr L. Spolton, the Warden of Neuadd Sibly Hall of Residence, describes important precedents being set:

“In the middle of the Easter term was the episode of the power cuts… the interior (the well) of a Hall gets very black indeed. However, the episode did some good if it made us more appreciative of the problems of our two blind students who manage so cheerfully all the time. For them there are many other complications: a three-hour examination becomes a five-hour marathon; information is not always available in media they can use. Happily, because they cannot use normal libraries, the College have provided access to the library of Sussex tapes. Many fellow students have provided help by acting as 'readers' but theirs is a three-year course and continuing help is needed[4]. .”

University College Swansea recognised that VI students needed support which did not rely solely on the goodwill of their fellow-students. Working with external bodies and using technology would provide additional sources of support. As a result, in 1971 there was solid investment in providing facilities designed to help meet the needs of these and future visually impaired students. In a major step forward which showed the University’s commitment:

“…a special study centre was set up in the basement of the Engineering Building. The centre contains purpose-built desks and workstations, a braille embosser and a document scanner (with facilities for voice synthesis or the production of braille or large print). In addition, the College has purchased ten four-track cassette recorders and a large number of students and staff have volunteered to tape books and articles. Several recordings made at Swansea have been sent to the Royal National Institute for the Blind for incorporation into the national cassette collections[5]. .”

The pattern for future developments had been set – the centre was developing support for VI students by adopting cutting-edge technology and growing the expertise of local volunteers and staff. Developments in the next two years indicate that the support for VI students was working well – the 1973–4 Annual Report featured two registered blind students who had graduated with a 1st and a 2nd class Honours degree[6].

The number of students who would not have had access without the Education Act 1944 continued to grow. In the 60th Annual Report in 1980 the College Health Service’s report said “Under the Education Act 1944 there were 46 (50) Disabled Students. Seven blind or partially sighted; 1 deaf; 13 epileptic; 8 diabetic; 4 physically handicapped; 5 psychiatrically disabled and 8 with medical conditions.”[7]

The 1990–1 Annual Report described the Widening Access programme:

“The expanding programme, which has doubled in the last year, includes science and technology, humanities, modern languages and a variety of vocationally orientated courses. Special provision has been made for visually impaired students, and from 1991 the College has been working with the Royal National College for the Blind to develop a Humanities Access programme.”[8]

There was growing momentum now in accommodating VI students at University College Swansea, shown in the 1991–2 Annual Report. The report described further facilities for VI students – three students “…each have a guide dog and a special area was built adjacent to Neuadd Mary Williams so that the dogs could be exercised.”[9] The University administrative staff were also involved:

“These developments have been greatly facilitated by the very positive attitude adopted by every member of College staff with whom the visually-handicapped students have had contact. Special mention should be made of the staff in the Admissions Office of the Registry, who have maintained very close links with these students[10].”

Further developments to support equality of access were also taking place, to cater for potential students: “Several developments for the visually impaired are planned in the near future, including the launch of an Access course for visually-handicapped mature students in October 1992. This course will be a collaborative venture between the College and the Royal National College for the Blind at Hereford[11].” .” Even the student newspaper was involved, asking students to get involved as volunteer readers to help record books for VI students[12].” . The Annual Report showed how the support had paid off for three VI students, and the range of degree subjects which they were able to study:

This year's Degree Congregation of the Faculty of Arts witnessed the very successful culmination of a major initiative by the Admissions Committee to help meet the aspirations of visually handicapped students. [Names withheld] MA and KM both obtained upper-second class Joint Honours degrees in History and Politics, while PT obtained a lower-second class Joint Honours degree in Ancient History and Civilisation and Latin, K and M will be returning to the College in October to read for MScEcon degrees in the Department of Political Theory and Government.[13].”

By 1993, the Principal, Professor Brian Clarkson, was able to record in the Annual Report that: “Again with the aim of widening access, the College has concentrated on meeting the needs of blind and visually impaired students. Swansea now has more such students than any other Welsh institution and ranks among the top six institutions in the UK in terms of its provision in this field.” The Undergraduate Prospectus for 1993 declared that: “Swansea positively welcomes applications from applicants with a physical disability. …the College is committed to a long-term policy of increasing its proportion of disabled students, particularly those with visual handicaps.”[16].” Student applications from disabled students would be considered with the emphasis on “academic potential as well as…achievement to date.”[17].”

In the wider environment of inclusivity for disabled students, in 1993 the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) established the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) - a Government grant in the United Kingdom (UK) available to students in Higher Education for any extra study-related costs which students incurred due to an impairment, mental health condition, or learning difficulty. At University College Swansea, students could use this towards the costs of using the transcription service.

The commitment to helping VI students to equality of opportunity in education, and the growth in student numbers, justified and required the opening in 1994 of a new purpose-made base. The RFB [Reading for the Blind] Newsletter described the official opening:

“The 1995–1996 session began in style with the visit of Mr David Blunkett, MP who officially opened the Centre on 2nd November. Members of staff and the press saw Mr Blunkett draw back the curtain on an impressive brass plaque engraved in English, Welsh and Braille and heard him speak of his own experiences as a visually impaired undergraduate.”[18].”

The Times Higher Education featured an article entitled ‘Blind Faith in Swansea’ which went into detail on the opening of the Centre:

“In 1995 Swansea University's 75th anniversary celebrations were launched by the Shadow education spokesman David Blunkett opening the university's Recording Centre for the Blind … which houses three broadcast standard studios identical to those at the RNIB Recording Centre at Peterborough. The Centre, … currently serves twelve students at the University; as well as a taping service the RFB Centre also offers a brailling service and a print enlarging service … Mr Blunkett … wished such a facility had been available when he was a student 25 years ago. "… this centre provides real equality of access for disabled students, and is one of the few good examples we have of practical equality." […] "Swansea could therefore become a resource centre for the whole of the United Kingdom," he observed.”[19]. ”

Swansea's material was available to students of other universities, and the Recording Centre was working closely with international recording centres, particularly Princeton in the United States and the University of Marburg in Germany. The Recording Centre was producing texts available in four languages (English, French, German and Welsh) and attracted students such as linguist 19-year-old Toby Fisher who was reading French and Computer Science[20]. . He wrote French in braille and was clearly very satisfied with the support he was receiving from the Recording Centre, saying that he was “concerned that facilities for blind students are not as good in France as here.[21]. "

The RFB newsletter also provided production figures which showed how busy the service had become:

By 1995 the 76th Annual Report described how the formal opening of the Recording for the Blind Centre had ushered in a year of growth and success. There were now 10 students using the Centre's services during the academic session. New subject choices by the students presented the challenge of recording mathematical and computer science textbooks for an undergraduate visually impaired student. The Annual Report also highlighted the importance of the Transcription Centre’s volunteer readers:

“Long-suffering’ volunteers were recruited from the relevant departments to do this. The Centre's braille workload increased by almost 100 per cent, for subjects as diverse as Computer Science, Greek philosophy and Medieval French – once again, this was achieved through the labours of volunteers specialising in these subjects. … Most importantly, Karin Alderson the Centre Manager reported that “this year's four finalists all attained good second class honours degrees.[22]. ”

Progress continued, showing that VI support was spread across the University, as highlighted in the 1997–8 Annual report:

“The University has acquired considerable expertise in supporting students with disabilities and special needs. We have now appointed a Special Needs Officer, as part of our plan to enhance our facilities. With the Royal National Institute for the Blind, we have been exploring the possibility of enlarging the Recording Centre for Blind students which was opened in 1994.”[23].

It was during this time that a Brailling unit was opened in Cardiff Prison, and due to the overwhelming amount of material being received by the Centre, inmates helped the Centre with their Braille transcription and audio recording (including texts in French and German). The Centre manager at the time, Karin Alderson said: “The visually impaired students who have benefited from this additional service have been delighted with the results, as have we.”[24]. In 2004 the Centre moved to new premises, sited in the re-purposed Amy Dillwyn Building. The Annual Report for 2003–4 described how: “Local author Iris Gower joined in the 10th anniversary celebrations of the Recording Centre for the Blind on campus in July. Honorary Fellow of the University, Iris officially opened the centre's new building.”[25]. A Swansea Evening Post article added that:

“…the original recording centre which was officially opened by blind MP David Blunkett in 1995, a year after it was established. Since then the Centre has helped 34 students successfully complete their studies and has supported one visually impaired lecturer … Centre manager Kathy Williams said that without the support of some 100 volunteers the service could not be provided. “While many are staff and students from the university, the majority are members of the local community,” she said.[26].

Swansea University's Recording Centre for the Blind features in the September/October 2007 edition of Insight, the magazine of the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB). The article ‘Helping students make the most of their time at university’ described how the Centre's work impacted greatly on visually impaired students, not only in Swansea, but also at other Welsh institutions. The Centre now provided students with texts in a choice of formats such as audio, Braille, large print or electronic. Feedback from one of the students eloquently describes the impact:

“The provision available was very encouraging; nothing was too difficult for the staff to help with. They always promoted positive attitudes towards me, even when I was constantly asking for information to be enlarged; I struggled obtaining information as, being visually impaired, I could not just pick up a book and read from it. I would have to ask the staff especially one in particular, for chapters to be enlarged, but though these might be asked for at short notice, there was never once the reply, ‘No, we can't help you.[27]. ’”

The QAA Institutional Review of Swansea University in 2008 referred to the Recording Centre for the Blind, among the features of Student Support Services:

“The Centre provides visually impaired students in Wales with texts in their preferred format, and is linked with the Royal National Institute of Blind People. It has a network of over 100 volunteers and produces on average 10,000 pages of Braille each year, and 1,000 hours of new recordings, of which almost half are archived by this Institute. The Centre records lecture notes, handouts, extracts and other material as required, using a storage system [the DAISY recording system] that enables students to navigate quickly within the material. In its self-evaluation document, the University reported that feedback from students indicates that this system has reduced [the] reading time required by more than 40 per cent, due to this ease of navigation compared with the more traditional recording format.” [28].

The Independent’s A-Z of Universities also mentions provision for VI students: “Specialist facilities for students with disabilities include an on-campus Recording Centre for the Blind.”[29]. In 2009, the Centre changed its name to the Swansea University Transcription Centre, its current name. RNIB celebrated the launch of Digital Audio Production Manual and Certification Scheme and later in 2009 the Centre team (Martina Webber, Sarah Jones and Lesley Morgan), were all awarded Advanced Digital Audio Producer (DAP) status certificates in creating DAISY files by the RNIB.

In 2014, in an important development for widening access, the SUTC service became free for students with a medically attested print-disability at Swansea University.

In 2019 the team marked a new landmark when, for the first time, a student who had been supported by the Centre from entry as an undergraduate achieved her Masters degree. The student has now progressed to working on their PhD (still at Swansea!)[30]. . As the definition of ‘print impairment’/‘print disability’ has changed over the years, and with the introduction of the Equality Act 2010, the Centre is now able to provide accessible texts for students with chronic conditions (e.g. migraines, chronic fatigue syndrome, epilepsy and long Covid) and SPLDs (specific learning difficulties) including dyslexia and dyspraxia.

Continue to Part II

References