The Supporting Students with Disabilities in BC Postsecondary course provides practical information and easy-to-use strategies to help you to better support the learning of students with disabilities in your classrooms. You are not required to complete the course lessons in consecutive order, so you may wish to reflect on your learning needs and prioritize completing specific lessons related to those needs.

Please note: The Supporting Students with Disabilities in BC Postsecondary course does not necessarily align entirely with the views and practices of the Centre for Accessible Learning or Simon Fraser University (SFU). The course is intended to provide post-secondary instructors and other teaching support staff with general information about applying UDL within their courses in order to promote a more accessible and inclusive learning experience for all students. Some content presented within the course may not be applicable to the specific context of teaching and learning at SFU. Teaching staff should also visit CAL’s Faculty and Instructors Webpage for more information about their individual rights and responsibilities in relation to disability services on campus.

Discrepancies between the CAL’s practices and information presented within the JIBC course to review:

·         Lesson 2: Topic 1 – Duty to Accommodate and Reasonable Accommodations

o   The case study presented in this section gives the impression that instructors decide what accommodations are appropriate for their students. At SFU, teaching staff should not adjust CAL authorized accommodations without consulting with the CAL beforehand. Any modifications that instructors are considering adding on the basis of the student’s disability/registered status should be first discussed with CAL prior to implementation. However, this differs from the instructor’s ability to provide students with leniency based on compassionate grounds.

·         Lesson 2: Topic 2 – The Accommodation Process

o   When discussing confidentiality, the course outlines that “in most cases, Disability Services will provide information about the functional impacts of a student’s disability.” However, the CAL does not provide instructors with information about a student’s functional impact or specific disability, and in most cases, it is inappropriate to inquire about a student's disability or disability status. If you have questions regarding an individual’s accommodation needs, please reach out to the CAL directly.

o   The course details that “student’s instructors are responsible for reviewing the recommended accommodations.” Accommodations set forth by the CAL are not recommended but required to be implemented. However, instructors who believe that a student’s accommodations will impede upon an essential component of their course should contact the CAL.

·         Lesson 3: Topic 3 – Video of Instructor Modeling Empathy

o   This video talks about various students in a class having different learning needs and how this class had an open discussion about specific students’ needs. At SFU, teaching staff should refrain from discussing the accessibility needs of an individual student in front of the student’s peers. However, instructors are encouraged to publicly highlight aspects of their course design that are intended to enhance accessibility and inclusion. If students wish to discuss their accessibility needs or accommodations, they can approach instructors privately (e.g., during office hours).

·         Case Studies

o   Some of the case studies presented within this course provide stereotypical examples of the functional impacts associated with certain disabilities. Please note, students’ learning experiences and functional impacts are diverse.

If you have completed this course and have any questions about how content within the course relates to CAL’s practices, please do not hesitate to reach out to discuss. Please contact our office by phoning 778.782.3112 or emailing caladmin@sfu.ca