Access to Zoom is available for deaf students and staff as part of their Reasonable Adjustments. Zoom is still available for Deaf BSL users In June 2026, the University decided to cut funding for Zoom licenses and require all staff and students to use MS Teams for online activities, including staff meetings and online teaching. This adversely impacted Deaf BSL staff and students’ right to accessible communication, and the decision was therefore reversed for groups with characteristics protected under the Equality Act (2010). Why Zoom remains vital for Deaf BSL users Zoom offers a more accessible and flexible online meeting experience for Deaf BSL users than Microsoft Teams. While Teams includes some sign language features, these can be limiting, particularly when multiple BSL users or interpreters are involved. For example, in Microsoft Teams, the size of the screen automatically reduces depending on how many people join the meeting. This can make it difficult or impossible for Deaf participants to fully engage in meetings, teaching and events with other BSL users, including BSL/English interpreters. Zoom allows users to pin and rearrange interpreters and other participants to suit their individual communication needs, while maintaining clear visibility when sharing screens or viewing presentations. It also supports collaboration with external freelance BSL interpreters more easily and provides features such as live captions and AI-generated meeting summaries, which can improve access to information and reduce the need to divide visual attention between signing and note-taking. Providing Zoom as an available platform helps remove unnecessary barriers for Deaf BSL staff and students, supports effective communication with external interpreters, and contributes to the University's commitment to meeting its accessibility responsibilities under the Equality Act 2010, the BSL (Scotland) Act 2015, and the University's BSL Plan 2024-2030. How do I get access to a Zoom account? If you are a Deaf staff member or student, or a BSL user, you have the right to request that a Zoom license is provided to you as part of your Reasonable Adjustments and you can request a Zoom account from the ISG team. If you are a staff member organising a University meeting that includes BSL users, you are also able to request a Zoom license from the ISG team. All Schools and Colleges should already have Zoom accounts available, but if not, please do get in touch with the ISG team to organise one. You can contact the ISG through the helpdesk button on the IS Helpline page. The page includes information on how to contact ISG via relay services with BSL interpreters. ISG support can advise and assist on all manner of IT, e-Learning and Library queries. IS Helpline siteIf you need to record Zoom meetings, there is a limit of 5GB of recordings that can be stored on the Zoom Cloud. Any amount above this limit can be moved and stored on a university location of your choice. Health and guidance is provided on SharePoint.Moving your recordings from Zoom. This article was published on Thursday 2 July 2026
