3 Teaching and learning

The University of Ottawa provides an equitable and inclusive learning experience for everyone. We encourage you to provide support and accommodation measures to ensure that students with disabilities have equitable access to and can take part fully in their learning environments, while minimizing the impact of barriers in those environments. To find out more about your obligations, see the “Academic accommodations” section.

We encourage you to explore the resources available to you to make your courses as equitable, diverse and inclusive as possible. To that end, the TLSS offers support on its inclusive pedagogies webpages as well as workshops and other training sessions.

In addition, the Library has resources and considerable expertise on how you can make your courses more inclusive. They are described further in the “EDI resources” section.

You should also know that experiential learning is a priority at the University of Ottawa. Think of ways to include experiential learning in your courses and programs. The Career and Experiential Learning Centre  (CELC) can provide you with information in that regard, and the TLSS can assist you as well.

The Library makes accessible publications available to students and professors who, due to a sensory impairment, require them in alternative formats. It also provides accessible workstations that include a range of software applications. For more information, see the Library accessibility services.

The Library also offers research guides, with a range of resources and content that support the principles of equity, diversity and inclusion. Some examples:

The Library has also produced an OER (Open Educational Resources) by Discipline Guide, which includes a section on inclusion, diversity, accessibility, anti-racism and equity, as well as on Indigenization and decolonization. Contact your research librarian for assistance in locating additional resources related to your teaching or research area.

Assessments (also called evaluations) are important tools for measuring student learning. At the same time, they’re one of their biggest sources of stress. You’ll therefore need to prepare fair and inclusive evaluations that reflect your course’s anticipated learning outcomes and promote academic integrity. The TLSS and academic integrity webpages have relevant information and training (e.g. Assessing student learning).

Good communication of (learning and academic integrity) expectations, anticipated learning outcomes and evaluation formats (e.g., types of questions, length) is essential, both before and after evaluations.

The University has a number of academic regulations on the subject of assessments, particularly Academic Regulation A-8 (Evaluation of Student Learning).

The Professor Zone of the Academic Integrity website contains resources for communicating expectations (e.g., in syllabi and instructions for evaluations), designing evaluations that measure learning and maximize integrity, understanding the grounds for academic misconduct, promoting academic integrity in courses and applying processes for recognizing academic misconduct (including IT related), reporting suspected misconduct and deciding on consequences (e.g., pedagogical approach).

Academic Regulation A-4 – Academic Integrity and Academic Misconduct sets out expectations, processes and stakeholder responsibilities in the event of suspected academic misconduct.

In such situations, document the allegation and notify the dean’s office. Academic misconduct issues are not the responsibility of professors.

A syllabus is more than a source of important information. It lays the foundation for a positive and welcoming atmosphere. The Accessible Syllabus webpage is chock-full of recommendations for making syllabi more readable, inclusive and accessible.

At the University of Ottawa, we use a syllabus design and management tool called Simple Syllabus. It is a template, in a way. Simple Syllabus is effective because it draws on common syllabus content to generate the key (and compulsory) components of your syllabi. We recommend that you put the most important information at the beginning, since students will probably use the syllabus as a reference instead of reading it all the way through.

Hand out your syllabus at the start of the term, by the end of the first regularly scheduled course (Academic Regulation A-2).

A syllabus should contain the following information, at a minimum:

We recommend that you also include your expectations as regards academic integrity (see the template in the Professor Zone) and that you have your students ask questions should something not be clear. We also suggest you include a link to the Academic Regulation on academic integrity and academic misconduct.

Lastly, we encourage you to add a list of mental health support services, or a link to the Health and Wellness webpage. Show your students that you care about them. They’ll appreciate it, for sure.

Syllabi should be available online. To that end, we suggest you post each of your syllabi in your Brightspace course space so that it can be consulted and printed out if necessary.

Syllabi not only detail the knowledge and skills students will acquire — they also help avoid misunderstandings should something unexpected happen. For example, should a student appeal a grade, the syllabus will be a critical source of information.

Virtual Campus (Brightspace), a learning management system, is used to organize courses, communicate with students (announcements, syllabus, list of compulsory readings, quizzes, etc.) and disseminate grades securely. This learning management system is widely used on campus.

You can connect to the platform using your uOttawa.ca address. On your Brightspace page, you can create a course by selecting the Maestro link (at the top of the menu on the right-hand side of the page). The Maestro portal describes the steps for creating a site for your course. The site will normally be online within 24 hours, and will be available for student access at that time. Make sure, however, to enable the course (or disable it when you’re working on the site).

You have access to IT support for creating and enabling your courses, and for any questions about Brightspace through links, forms and contact information on your Brightspace page and via Virtual Campus, and through the Teaching and Learning Support Service  (TLSS).

The University of Ottawa recently approved new guidelines on digital learning materials for use in courses.

• Requesting reproductions (photocopies and printouts)
• Photocopies

Ares, the Library’s digital course reserve system, is a one-stop access point for digital course documents. It can be accessed directly via Virtual Campus once the function has been enabled. If you use this service, course reserve staff will locate the documents listed in the syllabus and make them available via Ares. This system also manages copyright and licences. While this service simplifies the process for instructors, it also has benefits for students, as it allows them to access course materials remotely around the clock, and at reduced cost.

To request that something be put on reserve for your course, email your syllabus or reading list to ares@uOttawa.ca. Once your request has been processed, materials that have been reserved will be available to students via Ares. Submit your requests as soon as possible to ensure they are processed in a timely manner. To learn more, visit the Course reserves webpage.

Please note that the traditional course reserve form (teaching materials) is still available.

If we don’t have the document you need, you can submit an interlibrary loan request (if the document is available). You can also suggest that we purchase a work and add it to our collection. To do so, suggest a library purchase.

Open educational resources (OERs) are teaching and learning resources that are freely and openly available. OERs, which are often textbooks or even courses, can also be videos, podcasts, simulations, case studies, slides and much more. These resources can be disseminated widely and adapted because they are free to use and are not subject to the usual copyright restrictions.

The Library has created an OER by Discipline Guide: University of Ottawa (version 2.0), which includes a section on inclusion, diversity, accessibility and equity and a section on Indigenization and decolonization.

For more information about OERs and assistance available at the Library, see the open educational resources webpage.

• Review medical documentation and assess needs
• Identify accommodations and help manage expectations
• Find solutions should difficulties arise
• Report issues that could interfere with the learning environment
• Assess needs for work placements and identify experiential learning opportunities
• Help students develop their skills and prepare to enter the labour force

Accommodations are implemented in order to ensure equitable opportunities for everyone. However, all students must meet the same requirements as regards academic performance (i.e., the same learning outcomes) in their courses and programs. Academic accommodations do not give persons with disabilities an unfair advantage.

Academic accommodations are granted based on medical documentation submitted and conditions foreseen in the learning environment. If you think that implementing one or more accommodations that have been approved in Ventus could compromise attainment of academic standards, discuss the issue with the Academic Accommodations Service. You can work in tandem with the latter to come up with alternatives that meet academic integrity standards and enable the student in question to fulfill the essential requirements of a course or program.

Currently, some 4,650 students with disabilities, or approximately 10% of our student body, have been granted academic accommodations at the University of Ottawa. That percentage is slightly lower than the provincial average, with most institutions posting proportions between 12 and 15%. However, we can expect this population to continue to grow in the years ahead.

Following is a visual representation of the disability categories of the 4,650 persons enrolled as of September 2022.

A significant percentage of these individuals have invisible disabilities. We should therefore not make assumptions about people’s abilities based on their appearance. Each person with a disability is different, and needs and abilities vary. Some people are comfortable talking about their needs, while others prefer to keep that information confidential. Students are not obligated to disclose their disability status or their diagnosis, and they must not be given the impression that they are required to do so. By maintaining the secrecy of accommodation-related conversations, you will help to protect confidentiality and create an environment where everyone feels safe and comfortable expressing their needs.

Students may request accommodations at any time, regardless of whether their disability is permanent or temporary. Some students register for supports at the time of admission, while others receive diagnoses during their studies and register right away. In other cases, students may try to persevere without accommodations, for fear of stigmatization. Whatever the case may be, as soon as a student begins the registration process and provides a valid medical document from a qualified health care provider, they’re supported by our service. It may take up to 60 days for accommodations to be implemented, depending on the nature of the support measures required or the timing of the registration (e.g., for registrations during the final exam period, exam-related accommodations are implemented the following term).

Whereas accommodations seek to reduce barriers in the learning environment, Universal Design for Learning principles aim to eliminate barriers and to ensure equal opportunity for all by taking as many aspects of learning into account as feasible. The Academic Accommodations Service supports the implementation of UDL principles in the learning environment as much as possible.

There are two main kinds of approved accommodations for students: pedagogical accommodations in the classroom and accommodations for timed assessments. Following are some examples of each kind (in order of use):

When designing your course, you can be proactive in anticipating the most-requested pedagogical supports. The list of the most common support measures provides an overview of the kinds of measures that could benefit your students and help you base your courses on Universal Design for Learning principles. Here are examples of UDL that can enhance accessibility and inclusion while reducing the number of individual accommodations required.

Official grades are not sent through Brightspace. They’re communicated via Virtuo (Faculty Centre).

Awards and distinctions aim to recognize your contribution to the teaching environment. There are several of them at the University of Ottawa, including the following:

Your department and faculty can advise you about other internal options in your discipline and more generally.