Institutional Ableism

Prejudice and discrimination against people with disabilities that is embedded in the policies, practices, norms, and culture of organizations and institutions, rather than manifesting solely through individual attitudes. In higher education, institutional ableism appears in practices such as designing disability services policies primarily around undergraduate experiences while neglecting graduate student needs, requiring more stringent documentation from students with invisible disabilities than from those with visible disabilities, categorizing research-related activities as "personal study" ineligible for accommodation, and maintaining academic cultures where disability disclosure is perceived as career-threatening. Institutional ableism can be perpetuated even by well-intentioned staff and faculty who operate within systems that privilege non-disabled norms and experiences.