The Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee (PESDC) 2022 Final Report identified nine barriers to access. Biweekly, ALS will be doing a deep dive into the barriers and recommendations identified.
The recommendations were founded upon principles that accessibility efforts should be proactive, that all areas of an institution have a shared responsibility in promoting access and that students need to navigate a transparent and seamless system.
This week’s focus is on awareness and training barriers.
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Accessibility and inclusion are constantly evolving. Ongoing training is needed to ensure knowledge is current. The report recommends accessibility training be renewed every three years for all postsecondary employees.
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The report outlines additional training recommendations for specific audiences.
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Training for educators and librarians to include their responsibility in procuring accessible equipment and course content material, the accommodation process as outlined by the Ontario Human Rights Code, and the impact of selecting teaching materials late for students with disabilities.
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Training for administrators and leadership in postsecondary to include system-level barriers to accessibility and the impacts of policy decisions, the impact of staffing decisions (i.e. late hiring and sessional staff) for students with disabilities in the impacts of lack of funding for additional accessibility training.
Visit our ALS Information for Faculty website to learn more about accommodating students with disabilities.
Please email us at accessible-learning@humber.ca with suggestions for key accessibility-related topics that you would like us to address through the Communiqué.