Accessibility Enhancement

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Message from Vice-Provost, Dean of Students + Vice-Provost (EDI)

Transforming environments to embrace disability culture requires a multi-system approach that centers on the lived experiences of our university community members. In collaboration with the Office of the Vice-Provost (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion), this project is a critical step in the U of A’s commitment to improving access.

Aligned with the University of Alberta’s commitments and priorities outlined in Shape and insights from the Student Experience Action Plan (SEAP), the Accessibility Enhancement project focuses on improving accommodations-related processes, technology and services for students, including processes and procedures in the Office of the Dean of Students.

To ensure all students and instructors alike can do their very best, we must strive to remove barriers to access and address accessibility. A key component of this project focuses on accommodation service enhancements to achieve greater access and accessibility, which impact the student experience. The success of this project relies on the support of and collaboration with U of A instructors, staff and students.

We will continue to engage with and listen to students, faculty and staff to co-create solutions, make recommendations to reduce structural barriers, maximize student autonomy and streamline processes and procedures while optimizing available technology and resources.

Thank you for your continued support to transform the student experience and commitment to helping all U of A students achieve academic and personal success.

Project Overview

The Accessibility Enhancement project was initiated by the Office of the Dean of Students with support from the Office of the Deputy Provost (Students and Enrolment) and the Office of the Vice-Provost (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) to address the challenges U of A students, faculty and staff have identified with the processes, technologies and access to accessibility and accommodations across campus communities.

The project began with a thorough review of student feedback on accommodation services received in the Student Experience Action Plan (SEAP) survey issued in 2023 and the National Standards for Mental Health initiatives. Student engagement is critical to the success of the project, with the team exploring avenues to co-create solutions with people with lived experience wherever possible.

It gathered information on accommodations services from staff and instructors, including the strengths and challenges of current technologies, processes in place and the approaches used to facilitate accessibility and accommodations to students.

Evidence gathered from this discovery phase has been analyzed and presented as recommendations on technology, processes and more to be reviewed and approved to inform the scope of changes needing to be designed and implemented. Priorities with respect to these recommendations have been confirmed with the Council on Systemic Ableism.

Goals

The overarching goal of the Accessibility Enhancement project is to help transform the student, instructor and staff experience of accommodation services towad improved accessibility. Changes to technology, communications and processes will shape a more equitable, clear and consistent delivery of services, which will have an impact on U of A campuses.

The project will involve identifying and implementing solutions that reduce barriers and maximize student autonomy. Decisions will be informed by people with lived experience and will advance the university's values, plans and policies.

• Student experience: Enhancing the experience of students facing barriers by streamlining procedures and maximizing student autonomy.
• Efficiency: Reducing administrative barriers for students, staff and instructors by streamlining business processes.
• Relationships: Improving collaboration between accommodations teams, faculty and instructors.
• Communications: Increasing awareness and knowledge about accessibility and accommodations among students, faculty and instructors.
• Optimization: Optimizing technology to support business processes to support the U of A’s commitment to prioritizing the current and evolving needs of students, faculty and staff.

What we know

Positive encounters in the accommodations process can have a lasting, positive impact on a student’s academic success and personal well-being. Conversely, cumbersome access processes, systems and technologies present additional barriers to student success and well-being.

Through the SEAP student survey issued in 2023, we heard from students about the need to enhance the student accommodation process along with physical and online spaces to ensure accessibility and navigability for students to meaningfully participate and thrive.

• Overall, 61% of students said having easy access to accommodations to help meet their learning needs is very important or essential to their student experience.
• This was higher for different groups:
  • Students with disabilities - 79%
  • Students who hold another identity that should be protected on similar grounds as disability - 76%

Guiding Principles

• Solutions
  • co-created with those with lived experiences
  • focused on maximizing student autonomy and reducing barriers
  • guided by human-centered and evidence-based practices and principles
• Recommendations
  • based on perspectives of intersectionality and disability culture
• Decisions
  • informed by and advance the University's institutional values, plans and policies
  • determined with the expectation that enrolment will increase by 35% over the next seven years
• Communications
  • shared timely in accessible formats with all those who need to be involved

Timeline

Project Discovery Outcomes

From Fall 2023 to Spring 2024, the project team facilitated the discovery stage of the project which included analysis of survey feedback from students who submitted responses to the SEAP survey issued in 2023 and National Standards for Mental Health. Additionally, the project team conducted more than 400 hours of workshops, interviews and listening sessions, as well as scanned other Canadian post-secondary institutions as part of this project stage.

The outcome of the discovery stage was the development of a list of evidence-based recommendations which were further prioritized for the design phase for this project. Recommendations that were not included in the design phase are being assessed on how to take them forward either through hand-offs or collaborations with other units/project teams across campuses, or schedule those for later delivery.

Enhancements included in the design stage of the project are:

1. Implementing a new system called Symplicity Accommodate to replace ClockWork software which staff, students and instructors use to apply for, assess, approve and deliver accommodations.
2. Conducting a service review of the most critical processes in the student accommodation journey, such as the application process and exam accommodation and proctoring processes.
3. Defining the roles and responsibilities of key participants in the accommodations processes more clearly, including that of students, instructors, faculty and staff.

The Accessibility Enhancement project will take an iterative approach in that the full scope of changes will be defined in stages. The project team will remain flexible and open minded to learning more as the project progresses. Evidence gathered during the discovery stage will be explored and analyzed further in the design stage, with project solutions to be brought forward at the implementation stage.

Steering committee

CO-CHAIRS

Ravina Sanghera - Project Sponsor; Vice-Provost and Dean of Students
Representation: College of Health Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Carrie Smith - Vice-Provost (Equity, Diversity and Inclusion)
Representation: Equity, Diversity & Inclusion Unit; College of Social Sciences and Humanities, Faculty of Arts

MEMBERS

Chris Brunelle - Executive Director, Enrolment Systems & Service Innovation
Representation: Deputy Provost (Student Enrolment), Enrolment Systems & Service Innovation Unit (Project Management Office)

Danielle Peers - Canada Research Chair in Disability and Movement Cultures; Associate Professor, Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation
Representation: Equity Praxis and Systemic Ableism; College of Health Sciences, Faculty of Kinesiology, Sport, and Recreation

Deanna Singhal - Faculty Service Officer, Faculty of Science, Psychology Science
Representation: College of Natural and Applied Sciences, Faculty of Science

Helen Vallianatos - Interim Associate Dean (Education), College of Social Sciences and Humanities, Office of Education
Representation: College of Social Sciences and Humanities

Jax Oltean - Associate General Counsel
Representation: University Legal

Jim Bohun - Director, Office of Education, College of Natural and Applied Sciences, Dean's Office
Representation: College of Natural and Applied Sciences

Ken Cor - Provost Fellow, Vice Provost (Programs); Assistant Dean (Assessment and Evaluation), Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences
Representation: College of Health Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Mebbie Bell - Student Equity and Accessibility Director, Student Services, DoS Administration
Representation: DoS Student Equity and Accessibility Unit

Sharon Stearns - Accessibility & Accommodations Director, Student Services, DoS Administration
Representation: DoS Accessibility and Accommodations Unit

Contact

For questions related to the Accessibility Enhancement project, please reach out to ae.project@ualberta.ca.