In the 2008 Higher Education Opportunity Act, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is defined as:
"A scientifically valid framework for guiding educational practice that:
Designing curricula using Universal Design principles helps ensure that materials are accessible to learners with disabilities. But beyond that, this practice reshapes the learning environment in such a way that the diverse and varied learning styles and needs of all students are addressed, whether the student has an identified disability or not, thus providing every student the chance to be successful.
The way students learn is as varied as their fingerprints, and the idea that there is an average student is a myth. UDL has this variability at it's core; there is no one size fits all when it comes to designing instruction.