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Council of Ontario Universities

Council of Ontario Universities. Accessibility at Ontario Universities – A Collaborative Approach July 2014 Presented by: Amanda Thomson. Accessibility at Ontario Universities – A Collaborative Approach. About COU Accessibility in Ontario Reinvention Prevention

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Council of Ontario Universities

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  1. Council of Ontario Universities Accessibility at Ontario Universities – A Collaborative Approach July 2014 Presented by: Amanda Thomson

  2. Council of Ontario Universities Accessibility at Ontario Universities – A Collaborative Approach • About COU • Accessibility in Ontario • Reinvention Prevention • How do we collaborate? • AccessibleCampus.ca

  3. Council of Ontario Universities About COU

  4. Council of Ontario Universities About COU • The Council of Ontario Universities (COU) is a membership organization representing the 21 publicly assisted universities in Ontario • COU advances higher education in Ontario through advocacy, research and policy development and shared services. • COU’s work conducted through our affiliates and various task forces and working groups. The Reference Group on Accessibility, for example, reports through to two major affiliates: • Ontario Council of Academic Vice-Presidents • Council of Senior Administrative Officers (CSAO) – VPs Finance and Admin

  5. Council of Ontario Universities Accessibility in Ontario

  6. Council of Ontario Universities Accessibility in Ontario The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) was passed into law in 2005 with the goal of making Ontario accessible for people with disabilities by 2025. Accessibility Standards • Customer Service Standard • Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation (IASR) • General • Information & Communications Standard • Employment Standard • Transportation Standard • Design of Public Spaces Standard • Accessibility-Related Amendments to the Ontario Building Code

  7. Council of Ontario Universities Accessibility in Ontario So what do these standards actually mean for Ontario universities? • Training: • Customer Service • Training on the IASR & Ontario Human Rights Code • Training to educators • Accessible websites & web content • Accessibility policies and plans • Accessible procurement • Emergency preparedness • Accessible recruitment processes • Transportation services, if provided • Outdoor and Indoor spaces on a go-forward/renovation basis Just to name a few...

  8. Council of Ontario Universities Reinvention Prevention

  9. Council of Ontario Universities Reinvention Prevention All universities in Ontario must meet the same compliance requirements and have a desire to enhance the accessibility of their campuses to everyone. So, why not work together? How do we collaborate? • Reference Group on Accessibility • AODA Coordinators Sub-Group • Various targeted projects • Funded aspects but a lot of in-kind contributions

  10. Council of Ontario Universities Reinvention Prevention • Customer Service Training Tool • Accessibility Toolkit • Educators’ Accessibility Resource (EAR) Kit • Innovative Designs for Accessibility (IDeA) Student Competition • Various Working Groups • Procurement Working Group • Video-Captioning Working Group

  11. Council of Ontario Universities Reinvention Prevention So, what makes this collaborative approach effective? • Engagement from all levels of staff at universities • Shared ownership of resources • Increased uptake on campus and acceptance of tools that are created collectively • Greater confidence in tools with knowledge that Ministry that is responsible for AODA compliance has been involved • Eases the workload across the system • Creation of a network of support

  12. Council of Ontario Universities AccessibleCampus.ca

  13. Council of Ontario Universities AccessibleCampus.ca You’re probably wondering where you can find these resources….? • AccessibleCampus.ca • Hub of accessibility-related resources • “AODA Everyday” • For Administrators • For Educators • Mental Health • Get Involved • News & Events • Open source content • Online since October 2013 • ~42,000 page views since launch • International success • www.accessiblecampus.ca

  14. COUNCIL OF ONTARIO UNIVERSITIES Questions?? Contact: Amanda Thomson Policy Analyst, Strategic Initiatives athomson@cou.on.ca 416-979-2165 ext 229 www.accessiblecampus.ca

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