South African higher education institutions (HEIs) are working towards transforming the education system that was exclusionary to previously disadvantaged groups, such as students with disabilities. With limited literature that examines the access, inclusion, support, and retention of students with disabilities in a distance learning environment, this study explored the experiences of University of South Africa (Unisa) students with disabilities, looking at their views on the support services provided to them, together with the views of the Unisa support staff regarding the support that Unisa provided to students with disabilities to promote the access, inclusion, support, and retention of these students. This study used a mixed-method case study design. The data collection involved a combination of in-depth interviews and surveys, which were utilised to generate an in-depth understanding of the challenges and opportunities unique to the students with disabilities at Unisa. This study revealed that while legislative frameworks and institutional policies aim to promote equity for students with disabilities in a comprehensive, open, distance, and e-learning (CODeL) university, implementation gaps persist, exacerbating barriers for the student cohort. Also, this study's findings highlight the interplay between staff perceptions, resource constraints, and systemic inefficiencies, which collectively hinder inclusive practices for students with disabilities in a CODeL institution. This study further found that students with disabilities face challenges in the CODeL setting, such as limited academic accommodations, insufficient assistive technologies and, in some cases, lack of assistive technologies for students with disabilities. This study also highlights the importance of a culture of inclusion through targeted training, policy reforms, and cross-departmental collaboration with a CODeL university. This study offers some actionable recommendations to enhance accessibility, inclusion, support systems, and retention strategies for the student subset to create a more equitable higher education landscape in South Africa, particularly focusing on students with disabilities in CODeL universities.
Keywords: students with disabilities, student support, higher education institutions, comprehensive open distance eLearning, retention, access, inclusion, support staff, university students, support services, University of South Africa (Unisa), assistive technologies, institutional responsiveness