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December 16, 2024

Dear faculty and instructors,

Over the fall term I have been on a Listening Tour to hear from colleagues on future opportunities and present-day challenges. One theme consistently raised is academic accommodations. This topic has also been a recurring discussion at Deans’ Council and among the Associate Deans Academic, and it presents both opportunities and challenges.

It is encouraging that an increasing number of students with disabilities view UVic as a university of choice, and that the transition rate of students with disabilities to post-secondary is significantly higher than it was even just five years ago. Currently, there are about 3,800 students registered with UVic’s Centre for Accessible Learning (CAL), representing about 20% of the student population. These realities require us to think differently about our curriculum and assessment practices as well as our central support structures whilst, despite annual increases to CAL’s budget, demand for academic accommodations continues to outpace investments.

Discipline-specific strategies

Across the university, there are thoughtful discussions taking place and new approaches being implemented. I have heard several strategies this term from deans, associate deans, chairs, directors, faculty and instructors, as well as leaders and staff supporting accommodations centrally. Some are working well and others less so; regardless, I am deeply appreciative of everyone’s collective efforts to support students and each other.

By way of example, one strategy that appears to be working well for some disciplines is moving to a smaller number of formalized assessments, with a shared understanding of extra time communicated to students early on. This has been reported to also reduce workload. Another strategy I have heard about is discipline-specific principles to guide distraction-reduced examinations.

Building on the foundational work happening across campus, Deans are working with their teams to create high-level accessibility strategies for their units, with tangible goals and desired outcomes. As part of this process, VPAC will provide limited one-time funding for units to implement sustainable solutions or pilots intended to enhance accessibility. Given our resource-constrained environment and institutional goals related to accessibility, funding is not available for suggestions that will maintain status quo, and new initiatives that reduce reliance on CAL and OREM will be prioritized.

Central supports

To support members of the university as we continue to develop and implement strategies, we will maintain the central exam supports in the Office of the Registrar and Enrolment Management (OREM) that are working well beyond the end of the academic year. It should be noted, however, that these supports are expensive and unstainable, and we need to address the growing reliance on these supports as the demand grows.

To be clear, we will continue to resource CAL appropriately to ensure they are able to fulfil their mandate of supporting complex accommodations, as we always have and will into the foreseeable future.

To support faculty and instructors, CAL implemented several changes this year, including improving their final exam invigilation request process; simplifying deadlines; and creating a new accommodations workshop in collaboration with academics. The Division of Learning and Teaching Support and Innovation recently launched an accessible teaching and learning and is hiring a new curriculum coordinator. Our colleagues are also working collaboratively to procure a replacement for ClockWork.

We know there is additional work we need to do centrally to support longer-term solutions. For example, we have heard that instructors would appreciate better guidance on distraction-reduced environments as well as adjustments to the accommodation letter process. We will continue to consult and refine our approaches centrally and provide regular updates on the VPAC website.

Looking ahead

The university remains committed to investing in the resources and supports needed as we move collectively towards a more access-centred campus. Together, we can create a more inclusive and equitable learning environment for all students.

Thank you for your commitment to this important initiative, and for all that you do to support our diverse community of students.

Sincerely,

Elizabeth A. Croft
Vice-President Academic and Provost
University of Victoria