Accessibility Enhancement
GOALS
The goal of the Accessibility Enhancement project is to help transform the student, instructor and staff experience of academic accommodation services toward improved accessibility. Changes to technology, processes and communication will shape a more equitable, clear and consistent delivery of services.
Aligned with the University of Alberta’s commitments outlined in SHAPE, Changing the Story, and insights from the Student Experience Action Plan (SEAP), the project involves exploring and implementing solutions that reduce barriers and maximize student autonomy. People with lived experience will inform decisions and will advance the university's values, plans and policies.
Priority areas
- Student experience: Enhancing the experience of students facing barriers by streamlining procedures and maximizing student autonomy.
- Efficiency: Streamlining business processes by reducing administrative barriers for students, staff, and instructors.
- 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.
The project is led 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 (Access, Community & Belonging).
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.
Through the SEAP student survey issued in 2023, we heard from students about the need to enhance the accommodation process and physical and online spaces to ensure accessibility for students to participate and thrive meaningfully.
- Overall, 61% of students said having easy access to academic accommodations to help meet their learning needs is very important or essential to their student experience.
- This was higher for different groups:
- 79% of students with disabilities
- 76% of students who hold another identity that should be protected on similar grounds as disability
Project Overview
The project was launched in November 2023 with a discovery stage. This involved extensive community consultations, culminating in evidence-based recommendations for accommodations services, processes and technology improvements. Top priorities were identified with confirmation from the Council on Systemic Ableism and moved into a design stage of the project, with implementation targeted for Spring 2025.
Enhancements included in the design stage of the project are:
Technology Workstream
- 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.
Service Review Workstream
- 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.
- Defining the roles and responsibilities of key participants in the accommodations processes more clearly, including that of students, instructors, faculty and staff.
- Develop a service catalogue & co-design essential services.
Project Timeline
The project team reviewed student feedback from existing data sets, including SEAP 2023 survey data and consultations from the National Standards for Mental Health initiative.
Insights were gathered through workshops, interviews and focus groups with staff, administrators, instructors and other Canadian post-secondary institutions.
Recommendations for improving accommodation processes, technology and services were developed based on analysis of evidence. Decisions were made on initial focus areas for enhancements and a sub-committee of students with lived experience under the Council on Systemic Ableism was formed to collaborate on planning these.
The following themes emerged from the recommendations:
- Enhance knowledge and awareness regarding accommodation services
- Streamline processes while clarifying the delegation of responsibilities
- Improve resources to meet the growing demand
- Develop support for complex situations and faculty-specific needs
Service review workshops were conducted with students with lived experience and instructors focused on the accommodation application process and exam accommodations. Workshop participants explored journey mapping activities which allowed participants to share stories, identify pain points and explore opportunities for future service enhancements that would improve their experience. The development of a service catalogue and an examination of the roles and responsibilities of key participants in the accommodation processes began.
A new software called Accommodate was selected to replace ClockWork in managing student accommodations and design work with the vendor began.
Findings from service review workshops with students and instructors were reviewed and shared. The design of the new system Accommodate continues in consultation with students, staff and instructors.
User training and support for technology and service changes are underway for staff, students and instructors. The new system, Accommodate, aims to go live for student accommodation needs for spring 2025.
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
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 (Access, Community & Belonging)
Representation: Access, Community & Belonging 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: Disability Cultures and Access; 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
Message from the co-chairs
Transforming environments to embrace disability culture requires a multi-system approach that centers on the lived experiences of our university community members. This project is a critical step in the U of A’s commitment to improving access.
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 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.
Ravina Sanghera
Vice-Provost and Dean of Students
Carrie Smith
Vice-Provost (Access, Community & Belonging)
Contact
For questions related to the Accessibility Enhancement project, please reach out to the project team at ae.project@ualberta.ca.