Loyalist College must provide educators with accessibility awareness training as it relates to program or course delivery and instruction. In addition, Loyalist College is committed to:
Accessibility Legislation:
Building on the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), 2005 the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation (IASR), 2011; Section 16: Training to Educators increases accountability and accessibility.
Moving from accommodations to accessible education:
– Setting accessibility standards to remove barriers by building on principles of effective teaching and learning.
There are four fundamental principles underlying the IASR that support equal opportunities for, and equal access to, learning for students in general and those with disabilities:
- Dignity: Each student is able to maintain privacy, self-respect and respect of others.
- Equal Opportunity: All students have the same opportunity to benefit from the learning experience.
- Independence: Each student can undertake learning tasks without unnecessary help.
- Integration: Every student is able to benefit from the same education, in the same place and in the same way as others.
Program Quality Assurance (PQA) and University Design for Learning (UDL)
As part of the PQA practice at Loyalist College, programs are required to meet PQA Standard 8 – Accessibility. Effective quality assurance mechanisms ensure the activities and procedures of the program support the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA); and more specifically, Universal Design for Learning.
This requires programs to ensure that
- Curriculum design and delivery principles create an inclusive and accessible learning experience for students in the program’s services, practices and environment
- Programs evaluate the curricular materials and activities to ensure they are accessible and inclusive for students with disabilities.
- Program capital acquisitions and operating actions meet provincial accessibility directive.