Support for students
Access & Diversity provides disability-related academic accommodations for students with disabilities who have registered with our office.
Academic accommodations
The purpose of an accommodation is to allow students to overcome disability-related challenges that impede their academic success. We base our accommodation recommendations on:
- the impact of the disability, as determined through medical documentation
- the student's course of study and expected learning outcomes of the course
You are encouraged to provide input on the academic challenges posed by your disability/medical condition. This information is helpful in determining which accommodations would be most appropriate for you.
Accommodations are not established by instructors. However, instructors may assess whether the accommodations affect the essential learning outcomes of a course.
Some examples of accommodations are:
- alternate format material (such as Braille for blind students)
- private exam space for students with attention deficit disorder
- notetakers for students with hand/wrist injuries
Requesting academic accommodations
- Register with us by contacting the Access & Diversity front desk.
- Bring your disability documentation to the meeting with a Diversity Advisor – Disability (your primary contact, whom you'll book appointments with and maintain regular contact with.)
- After we review your disability documentation, we will prepare an accommodations letter, which you will provide to your instructor at the outset of the term.
- Contact your Diversity Advisor – Disability if you and your instructor cannot reach an agreement about your accommodation.
- Complete the necessary forms if you are requesting services such as accommodated exams, notetaking, alternate format materials, peer tutoring, and captioning or sign interpreting.
- Keep your Diversity Advisor – Disability informed of any concerns or issues.
Confidentiality
If you wish to share information about your disability documentation or discuss the nature of your disability with your instructors or other University offices, you can. However, you are not expected to do so.
Access & Diversity is committed to treating your documentation as confidential in accordance with BC's Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act:
In registering for services with our office, you have given written permission for Access & Diversity to share relevant information with instructors and departments to the extent necessary to ensure the provision of services. The functional impact of your disability relative to a need for a specific accommodation is the type of information that may be shared.
