Chapter 1: A New Scene
6 Academic Accommodations and Accessibility Services
Academic accommodations are for students with a documented disability that interferes with their ability to access their education. Students may have learning disabilities, physical disabilities, psychiatric disabilities or mental health conditions, chronic illness, sensory impairments and other health conditions resulting in physical, psychological or cognitive impairment. There is a large range of academic accommodations available. They are always tailored to match specific functional impairments due to a student’s disability and outlined in their accompanying documentation.
Accommodations can include things such as:
- Adaptive technology software (text-to-speech, speech-to-text, etc.)
- Extra time on exams
- Note-takers
- Reduced course load
Accessing Accommodations
To access accommodations, you must register with The Glenn Crombie Centre for Accessibility, Counselling and Wellness. You are encouraged to do so as soon as you have accepted your offer of admission and have been assigned a student number and email. Once you have submitted your documentation, you will receive an email response outlining the next steps.
Please keep in mind the following considerations:
- Registering with the Accessibility Centre is voluntary. It’s up to YOU to register and identify as a student with a disability.
- If you require accommodation, it’s your responsibility to present the appropriate documentation.
- Depending on your choice of program and course selections, your accommodations in college may not be the same as those you received in high school.
- Your accommodation plan is the result of a discussion between yourself and your accessibility advisor.
- Your accommodations do not assure academic success, but they do ensure the same equitable access to post-secondary education as your peers.
First Meeting with Accessibility Services Checklist:
- Documentation of disability
- Medical reports
- Psycho-educational assessments
- IEP
- Course outlines for all classes
- Agenda / Calendar/ day timer
- Note-taking materials
Transition Support
Another transition resource for students with disabilities is the Transition Resource Guide. The Transition Resource Guide provides a wealth of information about students’ rights and responsibilities, how to access Accessibility Services and other support, and how to navigate post-secondary school with a disability.
