The Access-Ability Committee at UPEI acts as an advisory group to the University community on issues pertaining to students who have disabilities.
The role of the Committee members is to:
If you wish to address comments or concerns to the Access-Ability Committee, or would like further information on their work, please contact us by e-mail or by phoning (902) 628-4364.
In 2003, the UPEI Senate approved the documents Policy on Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities and Procedures, Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities.
Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities (also available in pdf format)
Creation Date: February 4, 2002
Version Date: April 11, 2003
Authority: Senate
Responsibility: Office of the Registrar and Department of Student Services
Review Date: March, 2008
1. Purpose
The University of Prince Edward Island, founded on the tradition of liberal education, exists to encourage and assist people to acquire the skills, knowledge, and understanding necessary for critical and creative thinking, and thus prepare them to contribute to their own betterment and that of society through the development of their full potential.
To accomplish these ends, the University is a community of scholars whose primary tasks are to teach and to learn, to engage in scholarship and research, and to offer service for the benefit of our Island and beyond. - UPEI Mission Statement
The University encourages the full participation of all students, including students with disabilities, as members of the University community, and strives to ensure fair and consistent treatment, and access to University services, programs and facilities for all.
Recognizing its moral and legal duty to provide academic accommodation, the University is committed to providing equal opportunities for students with disabilities, within a supportive and challenging environment and consistent with academic principles.
2. Scope
2.1 For the purpose of this policy, the term disability (or disabilities) shall refer to mobility, sensory, learning, and/or physical disabilities.
2.2 The Policy shall apply to:
- all self-identified full-time or part-time students registered in credit or non-credit courses at the University of Prince Edward Island;
- persons who have a disability and have formally applied to the University as prospective students.
2.3 The Policy shall conform with provisions of:
- the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms
- the Prince Edward Island Human Rights Act
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3. Responsibility
3.1 The Office of the Registrar is responsible for decisions respecting admission to the University.
3.2 The Department of Student Services is responsible for the coordination of accommodations for students with disabilities.
3.3 The Access-Ability Committee, reporting to the Director of Student Services, advises the University community on issues pertaining to students who have disabilities.
4. Policy
4.1 The University of Prince Edward Island will undertake to provide reasonable academic accommodation to all otherwise qualified students who have a disability.
4.2 The provision of accommodations that permit students with a disability to access courses shall not in any manner reduce the standards, academic or otherwise, of the University.
4.3 Students with a disability at the University of Prince Edward Island who seek accommodations are responsible for bringing the request to the attention of the appropriate personnel in the Department of Student Services and for providing the relevant documentation of their disability in a timely manner. Delays in notifying Student Services personnel may result in accommodation requests not being processed in time for the current term/course in which accommodation is sought.
4.4 Procedural guidelines have been developed which outline the process of reaching a reasonable accommodation with the participation of all relevant parties.
4.5 Admissions:
4.6 Accommodations:4.5.1 Academically qualified students with disabilities, generally, will have access to the University’s educational programs, facilities, and services.
4.5.2 Students with a disability who meet the current admission requirements forentrance to the University of Prince Edward Island follow the current admission procedures.
4.5.3 Students with a disability who do not meet the current admission requirements have the same recourse as other applicants in that they may appeal, through documentation, to the Admissions Committee. Decisions of the Admissions Committee are final.
4.5.4 Persons with a disability should recognize that admission to the University does not in and of itself guarantee that accommodation for a disability will be made.
4.6.1 The University seeks to remove attitudinal and environmental barriers which may impede or prevent academically qualified students with disabilities from participating fully in University life. The University understands that persons with disabilities may have different methods for achieving success and acknowledges that performance is not inferior merely because it is different.
4.6.2 It is recognized that students with documented disabilities may require certain accommodations not required by other students in order to have an equal opportunity to demonstrate their achievement of academic objectives. Nevertheless, it is expected that students with disabilities will satisfy the academic standards of the University, as defined by the University.4.7 Responsibilities of Students and of the University
4.7.1 A student with a disability at the University of Prince Edward Island who seeks assistance and/or accommodation shall:
- initiate contact with the appropriate office on campus in a timely manner and make the nature of the disability and needs known;
- provide the necessary documentation. The University does not provide or assume the cost of diagnostic services;
- undertake a reasonable amount of self-advocacy, including discussing their situation with each instructor from whom accommodations may be requested in general.
4.7.2 The University has a responsibility to:
- ensure that persons with a disability are given equal consideration for admission;
- provide information and support for students with a disability;
- provide reasonable accommodations, up to the point of undue hardship, to otherwise qualified students with a disability;
- promote an attitude of respect within the university for persons with disabilities;
- review documentation to ensure that recommendations and decisions regarding accommodations are based on appropriate medical and/or psycho-educational information;
- maintain confidentiality of the information obtained
4.8 Appeals
4.8.1 Applicants should be aware that decisions of the Admissions Committee are final.
4.8.2 Students who believe they have not been treated fairly in accordance with this policy respecting academic matters should first discuss the matter with the instructor. Further appeals should be undertaken in accordance with Academic Regulation 30: Appeals.
4.8.3 Students who believe they have not been treated fairly in accordance with this policy respecting non-academic matters should first discuss the matter with the appropriate manager, dean, or department head. If a satisfactory resolution is not found, further discussion may be undertaken with due regard to the reporting line of the person or persons involved.
5. Review
This policy will be reviewed in full one year after it is approved, and no less than every five years thereafter.
Procedures
Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities
(reference to Academic Accommodations for Students with Disabilities Policy 4.4)
1. Self-identification
1.1 Students are encouraged to self-identify at the time of application, indicating the presence of a disability on the University of Prince Edward Island Application for Admission form.
1.2 Students who become disabled, either permanently or temporarily, and students with a disability whose status changes during their time at UPEI, should contact Student Services, as soon as possible, to discuss their specific needs.
2. Documentation
All requests for accommodations are based on documented need. Students must provide appropriate documentation of a disability to the Registrar’s Office or to Student Services.
3. Accommodations
3.1 The student will meet with Student Services staff to discuss accommodation needs for each course as required.
3.2 Student Services staff will provide, to the student, a written letter based on documentation to the appropriate faculty member indicating the category of disability and suggested accommodations appropriate for the specific student and course.
3.3The student will meet with the faculty member to present and review the contents of the letter. At this time, the student will explain the disability and the suggested accommodations. Student Services staff are available to provide further information regarding the disability and related accommodations.
4. Test & Exam Accommodations
Following discussion with the student, Student Services staff will contact the faculty member directly to organize specific test and exam accommodations.
5. Monitoring Process
The student will remain in contact with the professor and with Student Services staff to ensure that the selected accommodations are appropriate, and/or to make changes.
6. Guidelines for Documentation of a Learning Disability
The following guidelines are provided in the interest of assuring that documentation is appropriate to verify eligibility and support for reasonable accommodations, academic adjustments, and/or auxiliary aids on the basis of a learning disability. The Coordinator of Services for Students with Learning Disabilities is available to consult regarding any of these guidelines.
6.1 Testing will be comprehensive. It is not acceptable to administer only one test for the purpose of diagnosis. Minimally, domains to be addressed must include (but not be limited to):
Aptitude. The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - Revised (WAIS III) is the preferred instrument. The Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery-Revised: Tests of Cognitive Ability or the Stanford Binet Intelligence Scale: Fourth Edition are acceptable.
Achievement. Current levels of functioning in reading, mathematics, and written language are required. Acceptable instruments include: The Woodcock-Johnson Psychoeducational Battery-Revised: Tests of Achievement; Wechsler Individual Achievement Test (WIAT); Stanford Tests of Academic Skills; Scholastic Abilities test for Adults; or specific achievement tests such as the Test of Written Language-2(TOWL-2), Woodcock Reading Mastery Tests-Revised, or the Stanford Diagnostic Mathematics Test. The Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised (WRAT-R) is NOT a comprehensive measure of achievement and is therefore not suitable for this purpose.
Information Processing. Specific areas of information processing (e.g., short-term and long-term memory; sequential memory; auditory and visual perception/processing; processing speed) must be assessed. Information from subtests of the WAIS or the Woodcock- Johnson Psychoeducational Battery-Revised: Tests of Cognitive Ability, as well as other instruments relevant to the presenting learning problem(s), may be used to address these areas.
This is not intended as an exhaustive or to restrict assessment in other pertinent and helpful areas such as vocational interests and aptitudes.
6.2 Testing will be current. In most cases, this means testing that has been conducted within the past three years. Because the provision of all reasonable accommodations and services is based on assessment of the current impact of the student’s disabilities on his/her academic performance, it is in a student’s best interest to provide recent and appropriate documentation.
6.3 There will be clear, specific evidence and identification of a learning disability. Individual “learning styles,” “learning differences,” and “learning difficulties” in and of themselves do not constitute a learning disability.
6.4 Professionals conducting assessments and rendering diagnoses of specific learning disabilities will be qualified to do so. Registered psychologists are involved in the process of assessment.
6.5 Tests used to document a learning disability will be technically sound (i.e., statistically reliable and valid) and standardized for use with a specific age range.
6.6 Diagnostic reports will include names, titles, and professional credentials (e.g., registered psychologist) of the evaluators, as well as the date(s) of testing. All reports will be typed.
6.7 A written summary of or background information about the student’s educational, medical, and family histories that relate to learning disabilities will be included.
6.8 A description of any accommodation and auxiliary aid that has been used at the secondary or post-secondary level will be discussed. Include information about specific conditions under which the accommodation was used and whether or not it benefitted the student. If no accommodations have been previously provided, a detailed explanation as to why none has been used and the rationale for the student’s present need for accommodation(s) will be provided.
ALL DOCUMENTATION IS CONFIDENTIAL
