Accessibility Services

Welcome to Accessibility Services!

We support students with disabilities and medical conditions, permanent or temporary, by addressing the barriers that limit their academic success, through accommodations, services, and disability-related information and resources. Our services are available to students in degree programs and continuing studies courses, and to students with permanent and temporary disabilities.

Accommodations are adjustments and modifications that aim to reduce or eliminate barriers in the learning environment. At Accessibility Services, we work with you to understand your needs and to determine relevant accommodations that support your learning.

Our approach

Our work with students is grounded in disability justice. Disability justice recognizes that people with disabilities deserve to have their needs met, have important strengths, and are leaders. Disabled people have a range of experiences and intersecting identities. Disability justice sees ableism as a form of oppression that is inseparable from other types of injustice. By working with disability justice as a starting point, we aim to go beyond the human rights requirements of accommodating students with disabilities to create a space where disabled artists and designers can thrive. To learn more about disability justice, visit Sins Invalid, 10 Principles of Disability Justice.

A Note about Language

There are many ways to talk about disability, including identity-first language (for example, "disabled person") and person-first language (for example, "person with a disability"). The staff at Student Accessibility Services primarily use identity-first language that affirms disability rights and justice throughout our work. Many government programs use person-first language that affirms the personhood of each individual. We recognize that disability communities have varied preferences for terminology and that both person-first and identity-first language are deeply rooted in the historical evolution of disability culture. Please tell us the language you prefer so that we can respect your preferences.

How and When to Request Accommodations

If you are a new student, you can request accommodations as soon as you have accepted your offer to attend Emily Carr. If you are already attending Emily Carr, you can request accommodations at any time. We encourage you to request accommodations as you are registering for classes for the upcoming semester. Some accommodations take time to arrange, so please contact us as early as possible.

To register with Accessibility Services, follow these steps:

1. Complete the Accommodation Request form. After completing this form, send it by email to accessibility@ecuad.ca.
2. Book a meeting with our Student Resource Coordinator using this booking page. You can choose a virtual or in-person meeting. At your appointment, we may ask about your experiences: your education history, your past use of accommodations and how your disability affects you in a learning environment. We will then work with you to develop an accommodation plan.

You can email us if you have questions or challenges - we are here to help you!

Documentation

The registration process for Accessibility Services asks students to provide documentation about their disability. We ask for documentation because it gives us more information about your specific needs and because certain funding programs also ask for it. Documentation that is recent and detailed will help us understand how to help you. If you do not have documentation about your disability, or you aren't sure what type of documentation to provide, that is OK - the most important thing to bring to your appointment is yourself!

Students registered with Accessibility Services will work with the Student Resource Coordinator to develop an accommodation plan that is designed to meet their learning needs and enable them to achieve the learning outcomes of their courses. Accommodations are unique to each student. Selecting accommodations is a collaborative, ongoing process. You are welcome to return to Accessibility Services at any time during the semester for support with your accommodations. After developing your accommodation plan, we write an accommodation letter that lists the specific accommodations you will receive. These may include accommodations in lectures, studios, or exams. You can share this accommodation letter with your instructors to request accommodations in a particular class.

Accessibility Services will not share information about your disability with your instructors, so they will only learn about your disability and your accommodation needs through this accommodation letter.

Once each academic year, we will ask you to confirm that you are still interested in receiving accommodations and that your accommodations are still working well for you.

Accessibility Services is available for consultations with faculty and staff who are looking to improve their accessible teaching practices and build stronger supports for students. We welcome your questions about student accommodations, assistive technology, and referrals to campus services.

The student’s diagnosis, if known, and any documentation verifying a disability are confidential. Accessibility Services will not disclose such information to any person without first obtaining the student’s prior consent in writing, unless disclosure is required in compelling circumstances involving risk of harm to self or others.

To arrange an accommodation, it is understood that Accessibility Services may consult and share information to the extent necessary with:

• other accommodation service providers (e.g. notetakers, interpreters);
• University administrators; and
• faculty and staff at the University.

Collection and disclosure of personal information is governed by the British Columbia Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act. Accessibility Services will collect and, if necessary, disclose only that information required to develop and implement appropriate and reasonable accommodation for a student, and shall disclose such information only to those persons requiring such information to assist with development or implementation of such accommodation.

The collection and disclosure of personal information as articulated by the preceding paragraph shall be undertaken only with the prior written consent of the student requiring accommodation.