20 Conclusion

Academic accommodation processes in most higher education settings in Canada follow a highly medicalized and individualized procedure. Medical verification of disability status is required and accommodations apply to individual students, rather than push for larger changes to the classroom or university.

This report was spurred by a need to imagine alternatives to traditional academic accommodation systems, and to better understand the access-oriented practices that are responsive to the accommodation needs of students. It examines pitfalls in academic accommodation processes, identifies emerging access-oriented practices, and amplifies the aspirations of access leaders shared in interviews.

The pitfalls revealed how students’ access needs remain at the mercy of a restrictive medical model, a poorly resourced accessibility office, and are often precariously negotiated at the behest of faculty. The practices revealed that alternatives are possible and in many places they are already happening, including moves away from medical documentation in accommodation processes. Lastly, by articulating their aspirations for a more accessible learning environment, interviewees stressed the need for robust institutional support to better serve the diverse access needs of their campus members.

There is a need for real action to design and build alternative pathways to access for and with students that are more just and equitable. As participants stressed, there is a need to remove the medical documentation model from the access equation and find ways to share the responsibility for access. We end this report outlining calls to action we argue require immediate attention.