Accessibility and Universal Design for Learning

Designing Out the Disclosure Requirement

Disclosure burden as a design variable

Practised · resource in development

Access that is gated behind disclosure asks a person to name a private matter to someone holding authority over them, and the documented costs of that request are real: anticipated stigma, delay, and for some, a decision not to ask at all. This resource treats disclosure burden as something design can measure and reduce — why a flexible deadline requiring an email is a disclosure event and a built-in buffer is not — while leaving the accommodation record itself where it belongs, with the office that holds it.

Group. Accommodation in practice

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. Stigma and concealment (Goffman); academic ableism; BC information-governance requirements

Practised in. Flexible timing and asynchronous options at a national technology education provider; built-in accommodations at a national research laboratory

Themes. Disability studies, Access, Equity

Sources

• Reference 41: Goffman, E. (1963). Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. Prentice-Hall.
• Reference 6: Dolmage, J. T. (2017). Academic Ableism: Disability and Higher Education. University of Michigan Press.
• Reference 42: Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 165. Province of British Columbia.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Documentation Requirements and Medical Gatekeeping — Disability, Equity · 3 shared sources
• Disability Studies for Learning Designers — Access, Disability, Equity · 1 shared source
• Designing for Episodic and Fluctuating Conditions — Access
• Models of Disability as Design Decisions — Access, Disability, Equity
• Why Universal Design Never Eliminates Individual Accommodation — Access

Connected resources

• Why Universal Design Never Eliminates Individual Accommodation — Rights and obligation
• Disability Studies for Learning Designers — Grounding
• Designing for Episodic and Fluctuating Conditions — Accommodation in practice

Designing for Episodic and Fluctuating Conditions

Program architecture for conditions that vary

Practised · resource in development

Attendance policy, deadline architecture, cohort progression, and leave-and-return pathways — the structural layer of a problem that individual accommodation handles with difficulty because most systems assume that access requirements are stable. It is program and policy design, offered in the knowledge that disabled people and experienced advisors hold far more understanding of these conditions than the design literature yet reflects.

Group. Accommodation in practice

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. Episodic disability framework (O’Brien et al.); disability studies

Practised in. Flexible assessment timing at a national technology education provider; flexible pacing at a national research laboratory

Themes. Accommodation, Wellbeing, Access

Sources

• Reference 43: O’Brien, K. K., Bayoumi, A. M., Strike, C., Young, N. L., & Davis, A. M. (2008). “Exploring Disability from the Perspective of Adults Living with HIV/AIDS: Development of a Conceptual Framework.” Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 6:76.
• Reference 8: Kafer, A. (2013). Feminist, Queer, Crip. Indiana University Press.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Documentation Requirements and Medical Gatekeeping — Accommodation · 1 shared source
• Time, Pacing and Deadlines as Design Variables — Accommodation · 1 shared source
• Designing Out the Disclosure Requirement — Access
• Disability Categories and the Barriers People Meet — Access
• Essential Requirements and the Limits of Flexibility — Accommodation

Connected resources

• Designing Out the Disclosure Requirement — Accommodation in practice
• Essential Requirements and the Limits of Flexibility — Rights and obligation

Working with Accommodation Offices and Access Advisors

Who decides, and what a referral has to carry

Practised · resource in development

What an accommodation office decides, what it requires from an instructor or a designer, and what a referral has to contain to be usable. It covers the implementation gap in which an approved accommodation is recorded and then not delivered, and the boundary between designing conditions and adjudicating an individual case. The second belongs to the advisors and accommodation professionals who hold that work.

Group. Accommodation in practice

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. AHEAD program standards; Canadian human rights jurisprudence; disability in higher education

Themes. Accommodation, Policy, Access

Sources

• Reference 57: Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD). Program Domains, Standards, and Performance Indicators.
• Reference 36: British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU, [1999] 3 S.C.R. 3, 1999 CanLII 652 (SCC) — the “Meiorin” decision, establishing the unified bona fide requirement test and accommodation to the point of undue hardship.
  British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU, [1999] 3 S.C.R. 3, 1999 CanLII 652…https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1999/1999canlii652/1999canlii652.html
• Reference 48: Meeks, L. M., & Jain, N. R. (2018). Accessibility, Inclusion, and Action in Medical Education: Lived Experiences of Learners and Physicians with Disabilities. Association of American Medical Colleges.
• Reference 6: Dolmage, J. T. (2017). Academic Ableism: Disability and Higher Education. University of Michigan Press.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• The Interactive Process in Learning Settings — Access, Accommodation, Policy · 1 shared source
• The Duty to Accommodate in Learning Design — Access, Accommodation, Policy · 1 shared source
• Why Universal Design Never Eliminates Individual Accommodation — Access, Accommodation · 1 shared source
• Canadian Accessibility and Accommodation Law for Learning Designers — Access, Accommodation, Policy · 1 shared source
• Access in Clinical and Placement Education — Access, Accommodation · 2 shared sources

Connected resources

• Why Universal Design Never Eliminates Individual Accommodation — Rights and obligation
• The Duty to Accommodate in Learning Design — Rights and obligation
• The Interactive Process in Learning Settings — Accommodation in practice

The Interactive Process in Learning Settings

A shared duty, not a request and a ruling

Practised · resource in development

Canadian human rights law treats accommodation as a process with obligations on every party to it, including the person seeking accommodation, and it sets limits on what may be asked of them. This resource covers who initiates, what good faith requires on each side, what documentation of the process is distinct from documentation of the person, and the points at which the process stalls: no response, an unworkable offer, or a request handled as a complaint.

Group. Accommodation in practice

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. Renaud (SCC, 1992); Meiorin (SCC, 1999); BC Human Rights Code

Themes. Accommodation, Policy, Access

Sources

• Reference 56: Central Okanagan School District No. 23 v. Renaud, 1992 CanLII 81 (SCC), [1992] 2 S.C.R. 970 — the shared responsibility of every party to the accommodation process.
• Reference 36: British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU, [1999] 3 S.C.R. 3, 1999 CanLII 652 (SCC) — the “Meiorin” decision, establishing the unified bona fide requirement test and accommodation to the point of undue hardship.
  British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU, [1999] 3 S.C.R. 3, 1999 CanLII 652…https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1999/1999canlii652/1999canlii652.html
• Reference 38: Human Rights Code, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 210. Province of British Columbia.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Working with Accommodation Offices and Access Advisors — Access, Accommodation, Policy · 1 shared source
• The Duty to Accommodate in Learning Design — Access, Accommodation, Policy · 2 shared sources
• Canadian Accessibility and Accommodation Law for Learning Designers — Access, Accommodation, Policy · 2 shared sources
• Documentation Requirements and Medical Gatekeeping — Accommodation
• Access in Clinical and Placement Education — Access, Accommodation · 1 shared source

Connected resources

• The Duty to Accommodate in Learning Design — Rights and obligation
• Working with Accommodation Offices and Access Advisors — Accommodation in practice
• Documentation Requirements and Medical Gatekeeping — Accommodation in practice

Documentation Requirements and Medical Gatekeeping

What is asked of a person before they are believed

Practised · resource in development

What documentation is actually required, set against what institutions routinely request. Cost, waiting time and access to diagnosis are barriers in their own right, and requirements written for stable, diagnosed conditions operate differently for undiagnosed, episodic and fluctuating ones. It covers privacy and custody of records, and the conditions under which self-report is sufficient.

Group. Accommodation in practice

Home branch. Accessibility · Emerging

Grounding. Disability studies; stigma and disclosure (Goffman); BC information governance

Themes. Accommodation, Disability studies, Equity

Sources

• Reference 41: Goffman, E. (1963). Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. Prentice-Hall.
• Reference 42: Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 165. Province of British Columbia.
• Reference 6: Dolmage, J. T. (2017). Academic Ableism: Disability and Higher Education. University of Michigan Press.
• Reference 43: O’Brien, K. K., Bayoumi, A. M., Strike, C., Young, N. L., & Davis, A. M. (2008). “Exploring Disability from the Perspective of Adults Living with HIV/AIDS: Development of a Conceptual Framework.” Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 6:76.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Designing Out the Disclosure Requirement — Disability, Equity · 3 shared sources
• Designing for Episodic and Fluctuating Conditions — Accommodation · 1 shared source
• The Interactive Process in Learning Settings — Accommodation
• Disability Studies for Learning Designers — Disability, Equity · 1 shared source
• Working with Accommodation Offices and Access Advisors — Accommodation · 1 shared source

Connected resources

• Designing Out the Disclosure Requirement — Accommodation in practice
• Designing for Episodic and Fluctuating Conditions — Accommodation in practice
• The Interactive Process in Learning Settings — Accommodation in practice

Peer Mentorship as Access Infrastructure

Trained peers between the student and the office

Practised · resource in development

Most accommodation systems have two parties, the student and the office; the daily work of access happens between them, often with no one assigned to it. This resource designs the middle: peer mentors trained in integrated learning and technical support, matched to incoming students with accommodations, with clear limits on what a peer decides and a route back to the advisor for what a peer cannot. It is peer-based support, written as program architecture.

Group. Accommodation in practice

Home branch. Accessibility · Emerging

Grounding. Peer-assisted learning (Topping); accommodation practice standards (AHEAD); communities of practice

Practised in. An art and design university: a peer mentorship program pairing new students with accommodations with mentors trained in integrated learning and technical support

Themes. Accommodation, Community, Capacity

Sources

• Reference 68: Topping, K. J. (2005). “Trends in Peer Learning.” Educational Psychology, 25(6), 631–645.
• Reference 57: Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD). Program Domains, Standards, and Performance Indicators.
  Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD). Program Domains, Standards, and Performance Indicatorshttps://www.ahead.org/professional-resources/program-standards-ethics
• Reference 53: Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge University Press.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Working with Accommodation Offices and Access Advisors — Accommodation in practice
• The Interactive Process in Learning Settings — Accommodation in practice
• Access in Studio, Shop and Lab-Based Learning — Sectors and participation
• Inclusive Facilitation & Capacity Building — Institutions, governance and change

Connected resources

• Working with Accommodation Offices and Access Advisors — Accommodation in practice
• The Interactive Process in Learning Settings — Accommodation in practice
• Access in Studio, Shop and Lab-Based Learning — Sectors and participation

Reading Disability Documentation

What a report can establish, and what it cannot

Practised · resource in development

A psychoeducational or medical report records a person’s performance on particular instruments at one point in time. An accommodation decision concerns the barriers that person meets in a particular course. The challenge is to read the first without asking it to answer the second by itself. This resource covers what standard scores, percentiles and confidence intervals do and do not establish; the distinction between a diagnosis, a functional limitation and a barrier; the weight professional guidance gives to a student’s own account; and the limits of a clinician’s recommendation as evidence. The reading of an individual file, and the decision that follows from it, rest with the accommodation office.

Group. Accommodation in practice

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (AERA, APA & NCME); validity theory (Messick); AHEAD documentation guidance; ICF (WHO, 2001)

Themes. Accommodation, Assessment, Disability studies

Sources

• Reference 73: American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, & National Council on Measurement in Education (2014). Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. American Educational Research Association.
• Reference 37: Messick, S. (1995). “Validity of Psychological Assessment: Validation of Inferences from Persons’ Responses and Performances as Scientific Inquiry into Score Meaning.” American Psychologist, 50(9), 741–749.
• Reference 74: Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD) (2012). Supporting Accommodation Requests: Guidance on Documentation Practices.
  Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD) (2012). Supporting Accommodation Requests:…https://www.ahead.org/professional-resources/accommodations/documentation
• Reference 12: World Health Organization (2001). International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). WHO — the source of the biopsychosocial model of disability.
  World Health Organization (2001). International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF).…https://www.who.int/standards/classifications/international-classification-of-functioning-disability-and-health

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Reasoning Through an Accommodation Request — Accommodation, Assessment · 1 shared source
• Documentation Requirements and Medical Gatekeeping — Accommodation, Disability
• Functional Impact in Academic Tasks — Disability · 2 shared sources
• Accommodated Exams and Assessment Logistics — Accommodation, Assessment · 2 shared sources
• The Interactive Process in Learning Settings — Accommodation

Connected resources

• Documentation Requirements and Medical Gatekeeping — Accommodation in practice
• The Interactive Process in Learning Settings — Accommodation in practice
• Functional Impact in Academic Tasks — Grounding

The Advising Conversation

Trauma-informed, developmental and student-centred

Practised · resource in development

A conversation about access asks a student to describe a disability to someone who holds authority over the outcome. The challenge is to conduct that conversation so that it is safe, clear and useful to the student. This resource sets it out as a designed encounter: how the principles of a trauma-informed approach, among them safety, transparency and choice, are built into its structure; how barriers are asked about without requiring a person to prove themselves again; how the conversation builds the student’s capacity to describe their own access requirements; and where advising ends and counselling begins. It draws on needs-assessment interviewing in learning design and on student development theory.

Group. Accommodation in practice

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. Trauma-informed approach (SAMHSA); student development theory (Patton et al.); self-advocacy framework (Test et al.); self-determination theory (Ryan & Deci)

Themes. Accommodation, Wellbeing, Equity

Sources

• Reference 75: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2014). SAMHSA’s Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach. HHS Publication No. (SMA) 14-4884.
• Reference 76: Patton, L. D., Renn, K. A., Guido, F. M., & Quaye, S. J. (2016). Student Development in College: Theory, Research, and Practice (3rd ed.). Jossey-Bass.
• Reference 77: Test, D. W., Fowler, C. H., Wood, W. M., Brewer, D. M., & Eddy, S. (2005). “A Conceptual Framework of Self-Advocacy for Students with Disabilities.” Remedial and Special Education, 26(1), 43–54.
• Reference 3: Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). “Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being.” American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78.
  Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). “Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic…https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.55.1.68

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Responding to Distress and Making a Referral — Accommodation, Wellbeing · 1 shared source
• Designing Out the Disclosure Requirement — Equity
• The Interactive Process in Learning Settings — Accommodation
• Access at Admission and Transition — Accommodation · 1 shared source
• Designing for Episodic and Fluctuating Conditions — Accommodation, Wellbeing

Connected resources

• The Interactive Process in Learning Settings — Accommodation in practice
• Designing Out the Disclosure Requirement — Accommodation in practice
• Responding to Distress and Making a Referral — Accommodation in practice

Responding to Distress and Making a Referral

What the person in the room does first

Practised · resource in development

A student may be in acute distress during a conversation about access, and the person present may not be a clinician. The challenge is to respond well within the limits of a non-clinical role. This resource treats the response as a pathway designed in advance: recognising signs of distress, responding calmly, knowing the limits of the role, referring to counselling, health or emergency services, and recording what was done. It also covers what a teaching team needs to know beforehand, and the support needed afterwards by the person who responded.

Group. Accommodation in practice

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. National Standard of Canada for post-secondary student mental health (CSA Z2003:20); trauma-informed approach (SAMHSA)

Themes. Wellbeing, Accommodation, Capacity

Sources

• Reference 78: CSA Group (2020). CSA Z2003:20: Mental Health and Well-Being for Post-Secondary Students. National Standard of Canada.
• Reference 75: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (2014). SAMHSA’s Concept of Trauma and Guidance for a Trauma-Informed Approach. HHS Publication No. (SMA) 14-4884.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• The Advising Conversation — Accommodation, Wellbeing · 1 shared source
• Designing for Episodic and Fluctuating Conditions — Accommodation, Wellbeing
• Disability Etiquette and Communication in Learning Environments — Capacity
• Peer Mentorship as Access Infrastructure — Accommodation, Capacity
• Training and Supervising Student Access Staff — Accommodation, Capacity

Connected resources

• The Advising Conversation — Accommodation in practice
• Designing for Episodic and Fluctuating Conditions — Accommodation in practice
• Disability Etiquette and Communication in Learning Environments — Grounding

Reasoning Through an Accommodation Request

Illustrative cases, and the record a decision leaves

Practised · resource in development

Accommodation records are confidential, which limits how the reasoning behind a decision can be taught. This resource uses invented cases, each worked from first contact to a recorded decision: what the barrier is, what the documentation and the person’s own account establish, what the course or program requires, which options were considered, and why one was offered. Each case shows the record the reasoning leaves, including what is written down, what is kept out and who may see it. No case is drawn from a real person. These are teaching cases; decisions in real cases rest with accessibility advisors, accommodation offices and legal counsel.

Group. Accommodation in practice

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. The unified test (Meiorin); shared responsibility (Renaud); validity theory (Messick); AHEAD program standards; BC information governance

Themes. Accommodation, Policy, Assessment

Sources

• Reference 36: British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU, [1999] 3 S.C.R. 3, 1999 CanLII 652 (SCC) — the “Meiorin” decision, establishing the unified bona fide requirement test and accommodation to the point of undue hardship.
  British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU, [1999] 3 S.C.R. 3, 1999 CanLII 652…https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1999/1999canlii652/1999canlii652.html
• Reference 56: Central Okanagan School District No. 23 v. Renaud, 1992 CanLII 81 (SCC), [1992] 2 S.C.R. 970 — the shared responsibility of every party to the accommodation process.
  Central Okanagan School District No. 23 v. Renaud, 1992 CanLII 81 (SCC), [1992] 2 S.C.R. 970https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1992/1992canlii81/1992canlii81.html
• Reference 37: Messick, S. (1995). “Validity of Psychological Assessment: Validation of Inferences from Persons’ Responses and Performances as Scientific Inquiry into Score Meaning.” American Psychologist, 50(9), 741–749.
• Reference 57: Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD). Program Domains, Standards, and Performance Indicators.
  Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD). Program Domains, Standards, and Performance Indicatorshttps://www.ahead.org/professional-resources/program-standards-ethics
• Reference 42: Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 165. Province of British Columbia.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• The Interactive Process in Learning Settings — Accommodation, Policy · 2 shared sources
• Essential Requirements and the Limits of Flexibility — Accommodation, Assessment · 2 shared sources
• Reading Disability Documentation — Accommodation, Assessment · 1 shared source
• Essential Requirements Review — Accommodation, Assessment, Policy · 2 shared sources
• Working with Accommodation Offices and Access Advisors — Accommodation, Policy · 2 shared sources

Connected resources

• The Interactive Process in Learning Settings — Accommodation in practice
• Essential Requirements and the Limits of Flexibility — Rights and obligation
• Reading Disability Documentation — Accommodation in practice

Accommodated Exams and Assessment Logistics

Time, setting, format and integrity

Practised · resource in development

An exam accommodation changes the conditions of an assessment. The challenge is to change the conditions without changing what is measured. This resource covers extended time, separate settings, readers and scribes, assistive technology, alternate formats and deferred sittings; when a condition is part of the construct being measured and when it is not; what the research on extended time does and does not show; how an accommodation carries into group, laboratory and applied exams; and how integrity rules are applied without treating accommodation as grounds for suspicion. It then sets out the logistics on which delivery depends: booking, invigilator training, communication with students and instructors, and the decisions required when timing, technology or a person’s health fails during an exam.

Group. Accommodation in practice

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. Construct validity (Messick); research on extended time (Lovett; Sokal & Wilson); Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing; UDL action and expression

Practised in. Flexible assessment timing at a national technology education provider

Themes. Accommodation, Assessment, Access

Sources

• Reference 37: Messick, S. (1995). “Validity of Psychological Assessment: Validation of Inferences from Persons’ Responses and Performances as Scientific Inquiry into Score Meaning.” American Psychologist, 50(9), 741–749.
• Reference 79: Lovett, B. J. (2010). “Extended Time Testing Accommodations for Students With Disabilities: Answers to Five Fundamental Questions.” Review of Educational Research, 80(4), 611–638.
  Lovett, B. J. (2010). “Extended Time Testing Accommodations for Students With Disabilities: Answers…https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654310364063
• Reference 80: Sokal, L., & Wilson, A. (2017). “In the Nick of Time: A Pan-Canadian Examination of Extended Testing Time Accommodation in Post-secondary Schools.” Canadian Journal of Disability Studies, 6(1), 28–62.
  Sokal, L., & Wilson, A. (2017). “In the Nick of Time: A Pan-Canadian Examination of Extended…https://doi.org/10.15353/cjds.v6i1.332
• Reference 73: American Educational Research Association, American Psychological Association, & National Council on Measurement in Education (2014). Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing. American Educational Research Association.
• Reference 2: CAST (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, version 3.0.
  CAST (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, version 3.0https://udlguidelines.cast.org

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Eliminating Construct-Irrelevant Barriers in Assessment — Access, Assessment · 2 shared sources
• Time, Pacing and Deadlines as Design Variables — Accommodation, Assessment · 2 shared sources
• Delivering Accommodated Exams in a Learning Platform — Access, Assessment · 2 shared sources
• Assessment Access and Validity Review — Access, Accommodation, Assessment · 2 shared sources
• Working with Accommodation Offices and Access Advisors — Access, Accommodation

Connected resources

• Eliminating Construct-Irrelevant Barriers in Assessment — Rights and obligation
• Time, Pacing and Deadlines as Design Variables — Designing for variability
• Working with Accommodation Offices and Access Advisors — Accommodation in practice
• Delivering Accommodated Exams in a Learning Platform — Standards and technical practice

Funding Routes for Disability-Related Supports and Equipment

Cost as an access barrier

Practised · resource in development

An approved accommodation can depend on something the student has to pay for: an assessment, equipment, software or a service. The challenge is that cost then decides access. This resource maps the funding routes open to post-secondary students in British Columbia, including federal and provincial grants for services and equipment, equipment loan programs and institutional funds: what each covers, who is eligible, and what documentation and disclosure each requires. It also treats the application as a design problem: where a form acts as a barrier, and what a program can do so that a student is not waiting on funding in order to begin.

Group. Accommodation in practice

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. StudentAid BC and Canada Student Grant programs for students with disabilities; AHEAD program standards; stigma and disclosure (Goffman)

Themes. Accommodation, Policy, Equity

Sources

• Reference 82: StudentAid BC. Canada Student Grant for Services and Equipment – Students with Disabilities. Province of British Columbia.
  StudentAid BC. Canada Student Grant for Services and Equipment – Students with Disabilities.…https://studentaidbc.ca/explore/grants-scholarships/canada-student-grant-services-and-equipment-students-disabilities
• Reference 57: Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD). Program Domains, Standards, and Performance Indicators.
  Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD). Program Domains, Standards, and Performance Indicatorshttps://www.ahead.org/professional-resources/program-standards-ethics
• Reference 41: Goffman, E. (1963). Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. Prentice-Hall.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Working with Accommodation Offices and Access Advisors — Accommodation, Policy · 1 shared source
• Documentation Requirements and Medical Gatekeeping — Accommodation, Equity · 1 shared source
• Accommodation When the Learner Is Also an Employee — Accommodation, Equity, Policy
• Reasoning Through an Accommodation Request — Accommodation, Policy · 1 shared source
• The Interactive Process in Learning Settings — Accommodation, Policy

Connected resources

• Documentation Requirements and Medical Gatekeeping — Accommodation in practice
• Assistive Technology and Adaptive Strategies — Grounding
• Working with Accommodation Offices and Access Advisors — Accommodation in practice

Designing for Learner Variability at Scale

The thesis the other UDL work inherits

Published resource

Designing from the outset for the full, predictable range of human variability, so the environment fits diverse learners rather than a mythical average one. It is the worldview that grounds every other contribution on this branch.

Group. Designing for variability

Home branch. Universal Design for Learning · Well established

Grounding. Universal Design for Learning (CAST; Rose & Meyer)

Practised in. A research university's student employment program (3,000 students); a national technology education provider (1,700 learners)

Themes. Variability, Scale

Sources

• Reference 1: Rose, D. H., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning. ASCD.
• Reference 2: CAST (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, version 3.0.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Onboarding Across Wide Experience Ranges — Variability · 1 shared source
• Engaging Voluntary & Cautious Adult Learners — Variability · 1 shared source
• Scaling Personalization Without Scaling Cost — Scale · 1 shared source
• Time, Pacing and Deadlines as Design Variables — Variability · 1 shared source
• From Accommodation to Proactive Inclusive Design — Variability · 1 shared source

Connected resources

• From Accommodation to Proactive Inclusive Design — Rights and obligation

Engaging Voluntary & Cautious Adult Learners

The engagement principle in practice

Practised · resource in development

Designing multiple pathways into motivation for learners who arrive with very different reasons for being there, including those who would rather not be. Where engagement is not solved, little downstream can land.

Group. Designing for variability

Home branch. Universal Design for Learning · Emerging

Grounding. UDL engagement principle; adult learning

Themes. Motivation, Variability

Sources

• Reference 2: CAST (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, version 3.0.
• Reference 3: Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). “Self-Determination Theory and the Facilitation of Intrinsic Motivation, Social Development, and Well-Being.” American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Designing for Learner Variability at Scale — Variability · 1 shared source
• Onboarding Across Wide Experience Ranges — Variability · 1 shared source
• Time, Pacing and Deadlines as Design Variables — Variability · 1 shared source
• From Accommodation to Proactive Inclusive Design — Variability · 1 shared source
• Scaling Personalization Without Scaling Cost — 1 shared source

Connected resources

• Designing for Learner Variability at Scale — Designing for variability

Onboarding Across Wide Experience Ranges

Multiple entry points and pathways

Practised · resource in development

Designing entry so newcomers and experienced practitioners can each begin where they are, without boring the one or losing the other. It is a representation-principle problem common to every sector.

Group. Designing for variability

Home branch. Universal Design for Learning · Emerging

Grounding. UDL representation principle

Practised in. Onboarding toolkits in a research university's student employment program

Themes. Variability, Access

Sources

• Reference 2: CAST (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, version 3.0.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Designing for Learner Variability at Scale — Variability · 1 shared source
• From Accommodation to Proactive Inclusive Design — Access, Variability · 1 shared source
• Engaging Voluntary & Cautious Adult Learners — Variability · 1 shared source
• Making Accessibility More Than Compliance — Access · 1 shared source
• Accessibility Review — Access · 1 shared source

Connected resources

• Designing for Learner Variability at Scale — Designing for variability

Scaling Personalization Without Scaling Cost

The production economics of flexibility

Practised · resource in development

Making multiple means of engagement, representation, and expression economically feasible at scale, increasingly with AI-assisted production. It is the meta-capability that makes the rest affordable to deliver.

Group. Designing for variability

Home branch. Universal Design for Learning · Emerging

Grounding. Learning technology; AI-assisted design

Themes. Scale, Iteration

Sources

• Reference 2: CAST (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, version 3.0.
• Reference 4: Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia Learning (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Designing for Learner Variability at Scale — Scale · 1 shared source
• Onboarding Across Wide Experience Ranges — 1 shared source
• Engaging Voluntary & Cautious Adult Learners — 1 shared source
• Time, Pacing and Deadlines as Design Variables — 1 shared source
• Accessibility Review — 1 shared source

Connected resources

• Designing for Learner Variability at Scale — Designing for variability

Time, Pacing and Deadlines as Design Variables

Where a time limit is measured, and where it is inherited

Practised · resource in development

Time limits, deadline policy, pacing and cumulative workload across a program, treated as design decisions. A time limit is either part of what an assessment measures or an inherited convention, and the two call for different responses. Generous time as a design choice does not reach every case, so extended time as an individual accommodation remains necessary alongside it.

Group. Designing for variability

Home branch. Universal Design for Learning · Emerging

Grounding. UDL Guidelines (CAST); validity theory (Messick); episodic disability framework

Practised in. A national technology education provider; flexible pacing at a national research laboratory

Themes. Variability, Assessment, Accommodation

Sources

• Reference 2: CAST (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, version 3.0.
  CAST (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, version 3.0https://udlguidelines.cast.org
• Reference 37: Messick, S. (1995). “Validity of Psychological Assessment: Validation of Inferences from Persons’ Responses and Performances as Scientific Inquiry into Score Meaning.” American Psychologist, 50(9), 741–749.
• Reference 43: O’Brien, K. K., Bayoumi, A. M., Strike, C., Young, N. L., & Davis, A. M. (2008). “Exploring Disability from the Perspective of Adults Living with HIV/AIDS: Development of a Conceptual Framework.” Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 6:76.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Eliminating Construct-Irrelevant Barriers in Assessment — Assessment · 2 shared sources
• Access in Intensive, Time-Compressed Programs — Variability · 2 shared sources
• Designing for Learner Variability at Scale — Variability · 1 shared source
• Designing for Episodic and Fluctuating Conditions — Accommodation · 1 shared source
• Assessment Access and Validity Review — Accommodation, Assessment · 2 shared sources

Connected resources

• Designing for Learner Variability at Scale — Designing for variability
• Eliminating Construct-Irrelevant Barriers in Assessment — Rights and obligation
• Designing for Episodic and Fluctuating Conditions — Accommodation in practice

Access in Intensive, Time-Compressed Programs

When the schedule is the barrier

Practised · resource in development

Bootcamps, residencies, and accelerated credentials compress learning into weeks and assume a body and a mind that can hold that pace without interruption. This resource designs for the learners the format excludes first — asynchronous alternatives, executive-functioning scaffolds, flexible assessment timing, and explicit rules for what happens when someone cannot keep the pace — without pretending the intensity is not the point.

Group. Designing for variability

Home branch. Universal Design for Learning · Emerging

Grounding. Time and pacing as design variables; episodic disability framework; executive function in education (Meltzer)

Practised in. A national technology education provider (1,700 learners; 600-hour programs): asynchronous options, executive-functioning scaffolds, flexible assessment timing; peer learning with asynchronous supports

Themes. Variability, Access, Wellbeing

Sources

• Reference 43: O’Brien, K. K., Bayoumi, A. M., Strike, C., Young, N. L., & Davis, A. M. (2008). “Exploring Disability from the Perspective of Adults Living with HIV/AIDS: Development of a Conceptual Framework.” Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 6:76.
• Reference 2: CAST (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, version 3.0.
  CAST (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, version 3.0https://udlguidelines.cast.org
• Reference 70: Meltzer, L. (Ed.). (2018). Executive Function in Education: From Theory to Practice (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Time, Pacing and Deadlines as Design Variables — Designing for variability
• Designing for Episodic and Fluctuating Conditions — Accommodation in practice
• Scaling Personalization Without Scaling Cost — Designing for variability
• Eliminating Construct-Irrelevant Barriers in Assessment — Rights and obligation
• Making Accessibility More Than Compliance — Standards and technical practice

Connected resources

• Time, Pacing and Deadlines as Design Variables — Designing for variability
• Designing for Episodic and Fluctuating Conditions — Accommodation in practice
• Scaling Personalization Without Scaling Cost — Designing for variability

Inclusive Course & Curriculum Design

Access built into the structure of a programme

Published resource

How access is built into a course or curriculum from the start: outcomes, assessment, materials and platform, designed with Universal Design for Learning and backward design, and with the systems knowledge that lets a change outlast the people who made it. Written for faculty, designers and curriculum committees.

Group. Designing for variability

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. UDL; backward design; assessment equity; systems knowledge

Themes. Access, Alignment

Sources

• Reference 2: CAST (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, version 3.0.
• Reference 40: Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design (Expanded 2nd ed.). ASCD.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Accessibility Review — Access · 1 shared source
• Making Accessibility More Than Compliance — Access · 1 shared source
• Essential Requirements and the Limits of Flexibility — Alignment · 1 shared source
• Onboarding Across Wide Experience Ranges — Access · 1 shared source
• Evaluating Whether Design Reduced Barriers — Access · 1 shared source

Connected resources

• Accessibility Review — Standards and technical practice
• Making Accessibility More Than Compliance — Standards and technical practice
• Essential Requirements and the Limits of Flexibility — Rights and obligation

Disability Studies for Learning Designers

The grounding that changes what a designer sees

Practised · resource in development

Social, medical, and interactional models of disability; ableism as institutional structure rather than individual attitude; disability as identity, culture, and political community. It is the grounding that allows a barrier to be named as a design failure rather than a learner’s deficit, and it is what distinguishes accessibility practice from compliance administration.

Group. Grounding

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. Social model (Oliver); academic ableism (Dolmage); Titchkosky; Kafer

Themes. Disability studies, Equity, Access

Sources

• Reference 5: Oliver, M. (1990). The Politics of Disablement. Macmillan — the foundational statement of the social model of disability.
• Reference 6: Dolmage, J. T. (2017). Academic Ableism: Disability and Higher Education. University of Michigan Press.
• Reference 7: Titchkosky, T. (2011). The Question of Access: Disability, Space, Meaning. University of Toronto Press.
• Reference 8: Kafer, A. (2013). Feminist, Queer, Crip. Indiana University Press.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Models of Disability as Design Decisions — Access, Disability, Equity · 1 shared source
• Designing Out the Disclosure Requirement — Access, Disability, Equity · 1 shared source
• Disability Justice and Where It Came From — Disability, Equity
• Partnering with Disabled People in Learning Design — Disability, Equity
• Equity-Centered Learning Design — Equity

Connected resources

• Why Universal Design Never Eliminates Individual Accommodation — Rights and obligation
• Partnering with Disabled People in Learning Design — Grounding
• Equity-Centered Learning Design — Grounding

Partnering with Disabled People in Learning Design

Co-design without extraction

Practised · resource in development

Structuring lived-experience partnership so that it is compensated, early enough to shape decisions rather than ratify them, and accessible in its own conduct. It attends to the pattern in which technical expertise quietly eclipses lived experience, and favours partnership with disability-led organizations already doing this work over convening participants anew.

Group. Grounding

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. Disability justice (Sins Invalid; Berne); nothing about us without us (Charlton); inclusive design; TCPS 2 research ethics

Practised in. User testing and co-design with disabled learners at a national technology education provider; co-design with children, teachers and artists for an arts education non-profit; accessible exhibit pilots at a science centre

Themes. Disability studies, Community, Equity

Sources

• Reference 9: Charlton, J. I. (1998). Nothing About Us Without Us: Disability Oppression and Empowerment. University of California Press.
• Reference 10: Inclusive Design Research Centre. The Inclusive Design Guide. OCAD University — the source of the one-size-fits-one principle and the inclusive design framework.
• Reference 11: Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, & Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (2022). Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans — TCPS 2 (2022).

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Disability Justice and Where It Came From — Community, Disability, Equity
• Disability Etiquette and Communication in Learning Environments — Community, Disability · 1 shared source
• Disability Studies for Learning Designers — Disability, Equity
• Accessible Research Participation and Knowledge Products — Equity · 1 shared source
• Models of Disability as Design Decisions — Disability, Equity

Connected resources

• Disability Studies for Learning Designers — Grounding
• Accessible Research Participation and Knowledge Products — Sectors and participation

Models of Disability as Design Decisions

The frame chosen before any design decision is made

Practised · resource in development

Medical, social, biopsychosocial, economic, functional solutions, social identity or cultural affiliation, and charity — seven models in active circulation, each of which settles in advance what counts as the problem and who is obliged to act on it. This resource sets them beside one another with their strengths and their costs, and treats the choice of model as a design decision rather than a philosophical preference, because the model implicit in a project brief is usually the model that shapes what gets built.

Group. Grounding

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. ICF (WHO, 2001); social model (Oliver); Retief & Letšosa; Shakespeare

Themes. Disability studies, Access, Equity

Sources

• Reference 12: World Health Organization (2001). International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). WHO — the source of the biopsychosocial model of disability.
• Reference 5: Oliver, M. (1990). The Politics of Disablement. Macmillan — the foundational statement of the social model of disability.
• Reference 13: Retief, M., & Letšosa, R. (2018). “Models of Disability: A Brief Overview.” HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies, 74(1).
• Reference 14: Shakespeare, T. (2013). Disability Rights and Wrongs Revisited (2nd ed.). Routledge — a critical reassessment of the strong social model.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Disability Studies for Learning Designers — Access, Disability, Equity · 1 shared source
• Disability Categories and the Barriers People Meet — Access, Disability · 2 shared sources
• Disability Justice and Where It Came From — Disability, Equity
• Designing Out the Disclosure Requirement — Access, Disability, Equity
• Disability Data and the Limits of Prevalence Figures — Disability, Equity · 1 shared source

Connected resources

• Disability Studies for Learning Designers — Grounding
• Why Universal Design Never Eliminates Individual Accommodation — Rights and obligation
• From Accommodation to Proactive Inclusive Design — Rights and obligation

Disability Categories and the Barriers People Meet

The reference layer, written barrier-first

Practised · resource in development

Visual, auditory, deafblind, speech, mobility and body structure, cognitive and learning, seizure, and psychological disabilities, each set against the barriers people actually encounter in digital and physical environments. It is written barrier-first rather than diagnosis-first, so that a designer reaches for the environmental change rather than the label — and it is the reference layer that the more argumentative resources on this branch quietly assume a reader already holds.

Group. Grounding

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. ICF (WHO, 2001); WCAG 2.2; disability studies

Themes. Disability studies, Access, Variability

Sources

• Reference 12: World Health Organization (2001). International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). WHO — the source of the biopsychosocial model of disability.
• Reference 15: W3C (2023). Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2. W3C Recommendation.
• Reference 5: Oliver, M. (1990). The Politics of Disablement. Macmillan — the foundational statement of the social model of disability.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Models of Disability as Design Decisions — Access, Disability · 2 shared sources
• Designing for the Assistive Technology People Actually Use — Access, Disability · 1 shared source
• Assistive Technology and Adaptive Strategies — Access, Disability
• Disability Studies for Learning Designers — Access, Disability · 1 shared source
• Designing for Episodic and Fluctuating Conditions — Access

Connected resources

• Designing for the Assistive Technology People Actually Use — Standards and technical practice
• Models of Disability as Design Decisions — Grounding
• Designing for Episodic and Fluctuating Conditions — Accommodation in practice

Assistive Technology and Adaptive Strategies

What exists, and what it does for a person

Practised · resource in development

Screen readers, magnification, speech input, alternative pointing, augmentative and alternative communication, hearing technologies, and the low-technology and adaptive strategies used at least as often — described by what they accomplish for a person rather than by product name, and paired with the frameworks that structure a selection decision. It is the survey that has to precede the harder question of why conformant content still fails against the technology people actually use.

Group. Grounding

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. HAAT model (Cook & Polgar); SETT framework (Zabala); WHO assistive technology guidance

Practised in. Adaptive technology stations at an art and design university; screen-reader and alt-text practice in a provincial public-sector organisation; AAC support for a client's thesis writing in private home care

Themes. Disability studies, Access, Standards

Sources

• Reference 16: Cook, A. M., & Polgar, J. M. (2015). Assistive Technologies: Principles and Practice (4th ed.). Elsevier — the source of the Human Activity Assistive Technology (HAAT) model.
• Reference 17: Zabala, J. S. (2005). Ready, SETT, Go! Getting Started with the SETT Framework — the Student, Environments, Tasks, Tools framework for assistive technology decision-making.
• Reference 18: World Health Organization & UNICEF (2022). Global Report on Assistive Technology. World Health Organization.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Designing for the Assistive Technology People Actually Use — Access, Disability, Standards · 2 shared sources
• Disability Categories and the Barriers People Meet — Access, Disability
• Accessible Procurement and Vendor Accountability — Access, Standards
• Models of Disability as Design Decisions — Access, Disability
• Disability Studies for Learning Designers — Access, Disability

Connected resources

• Designing for the Assistive Technology People Actually Use — Standards and technical practice
• Disability Categories and the Barriers People Meet — Grounding
• Accessible Procurement and Vendor Accountability — Institutions, governance and change

Disability Data and the Limits of Prevalence Figures

Why the numbers disagree, and how to use one honestly

Practised · resource in development

Measurement by diagnosis, by function, or by self-identification produces materially different populations, which is why global and national prevalence figures diverge so widely and why the choice of instrument is never neutral. This resource covers the major global and Canadian sources and their known undercounts, and how to carry a number into a business case or a funding application without asking it to bear more weight than it can.

Group. Grounding

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. WHO World Report on Disability; WHO Global Report on Health Equity for Persons with Disabilities; Canadian Survey on Disability; ICF

Themes. Research, Disability studies, Equity

Sources

• Reference 19: World Health Organization & World Bank (2011). World Report on Disability. World Health Organization.
• Reference 20: World Health Organization (2022). Global Report on Health Equity for Persons with Disabilities. World Health Organization.
• Reference 21: Statistics Canada (2023). Canadian Survey on Disability, 2017 to 2022. The Daily, 1 December 2023 — the national source for disability prevalence in Canada.
• Reference 12: World Health Organization (2001). International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). WHO — the source of the biopsychosocial model of disability.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Models of Disability as Design Decisions — Disability, Equity · 1 shared source
• Making the Case for Resourcing Accessibility Work — 1 shared source
• Accessible Health and Patient Education — Equity
• Disability Justice and Where It Came From — Disability, Equity
• Disability Studies for Learning Designers — Disability, Equity

Connected resources

• Accessible Health and Patient Education — Sectors and participation
• Institutional Accessibility Planning as a Change Program — Institutions, governance and change

Disability Etiquette and Communication in Learning Environments

Professional practice, not a list of prohibitions

Practised · resource in development

Person-first and identity-first language and why the choice belongs to the person rather than the institution; addressing someone directly rather than their interpreter or support worker; offering assistance without presuming it is wanted or acting before it is accepted. It is written for facilitators and instructors as professional communication practice, on the understanding that the failures that matter in a learning room are rarely failures of intention and almost always failures of default behaviour under time pressure.

Group. Grounding

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. Disability etiquette guidance (United Spinal Association); CRPD; disability studies

Practised in. Private home care; end-of-life care; family caregiver facilitation

Themes. Community, Disability studies, Capacity

Sources

• Reference 22: United Spinal Association. Disability Etiquette: Tips on Interacting with People with Disabilities.
• Reference 23: United Nations (2006). Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
• Reference 9: Charlton, J. I. (1998). Nothing About Us Without Us: Disability Oppression and Empowerment. University of California Press.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Partnering with Disabled People in Learning Design — Community, Disability · 1 shared source
• Inclusive Facilitation & Capacity Building — Capacity, Community
• Disability Studies for Learning Designers — Disability
• Disability Justice and Where It Came From — Community, Disability
• Models of Disability as Design Decisions — Disability

Connected resources

• Inclusive Facilitation & Capacity Building — Institutions, governance and change
• Partnering with Disabled People in Learning Design — Grounding
• Disability Studies for Learning Designers — Grounding

Disability Justice and Where It Came From

A framework with named authors, and where to read them

Practised · resource in development

Disability justice was created in 2005 and 2006 by the Disability Justice Collective, a group of disabled activists, primarily queer and trans disabled people of colour, working in the San Francisco Bay Area. Patty Berne, Stacey Park Milbern, Mia Mingus, Leroy F. Moore Jr., Eli Clare and Sebastian Margaret are among its architects, and the ten principles were set out by Berne and Sins Invalid. It is a distinct framework rather than a further stage of disability rights: it holds that single-issue organising leaves the most marginalised behind, and it originates in performance, mutual aid and community organising rather than in the academy. This resource states that history and sends the reader to the primary texts. The framework is not summarised here in place of its authors, and the sources below are theirs.

Group. Grounding

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. Sins Invalid; the ten principles of disability justice (Berne); Black disability studies

Themes. Disability studies, Community, Equity

Sources

• Reference 62: Sins Invalid (2019). Skin, Tooth, and Bone: The Basis of Movement is Our People — A Disability Justice Primer (2nd ed.). Berkeley, CA: Sins Invalid. ISBN 9781647133658 — the source text of the ten principles, based in the work of Patty Berne.
• Reference 63: Berne, P., & Sins Invalid. 10 Principles of Disability Justice (2nd ed.). Design by Nomy Lamm. Sins Invalid.
• Reference 64: Mingus, M. (2011). “Access Intimacy: The Missing Link.” Leaving Evidence, 5 May 2011 — where access intimacy is named.
• Reference 65: Milbern, S. P. (2019). “On the Ancestral Plane: Crip Hand Me Downs and the Legacy of Our Movements.” Disability Visibility Project, 10 March 2019. Reprinted in A. Wong (Ed.), Disability Visibility: First-Person Stories from the Twenty-First Century (Vintage Books, 2020).
• Reference 66: Clare, E. (2015). Exile and Pride: Disability, Queerness, and Liberation. Duke University Press. Originally published 1999.
• Reference 67: Moore, L. F., Jr., McClung, N. A., & Nusbaum, E. A. (2017). Black Disabled Art History 101. Xóchitl Justice Press. ISBN 9781942001577.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Partnering with Disabled People in Learning Design — Community, Disability, Equity
• Models of Disability as Design Decisions — Disability, Equity
• Disability Studies for Learning Designers — Disability, Equity
• Disability Data and the Limits of Prevalence Figures — Disability, Equity
• Disability Etiquette and Communication in Learning Environments — Community, Disability

Connected resources

• Disability Studies for Learning Designers — Grounding
• Partnering with Disabled People in Learning Design — Grounding
• Models of Disability as Design Decisions — Grounding

Equity-Centered Learning Design

The social and cultural layer over everything

Practised · resource in development

Attending to power, culture, and whose knowledge is treated as legitimate across the whole design, rather than as a separate module. It connects directly to equity evaluation and to equity-centred knowledge mobilization.

Group. Grounding

Home branch. Universal Design for Learning · Well established

Grounding. Equity-centred and culturally responsive design

Practised in. Indigenous Learning Circles and cultural safety in a provincial public-sector organisation; decolonisation strategies at a national research laboratory; hiring and culture transformation at an art and design university

Themes. Equity

Sources

• Reference 24: Ladson-Billings, G. (1995). “Toward a Theory of Culturally Relevant Pedagogy.” American Educational Research Journal, 32(3), 465–491.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Disability Studies for Learning Designers — Equity
• Designing for Learner Variability at Scale —
• Models of Disability as Design Decisions — Equity
• Disability Data and the Limits of Prevalence Figures — Equity
• Disability Justice and Where It Came From — Equity

Connected resources

• Designing for Learner Variability at Scale — Designing for variability

Practising from Inside the Population

Standpoint as method, not disclosure

Practised · resource in development

The Leeds tradition of emancipatory disability research holds that research and practice on disability should be set and governed by disabled people, and be accountable to them. The accommodation resources on this map are written by someone who has been on both sides of the desk. This resource states what that standpoint requires of the practice: accountability to disabled learners, co-design that is not extraction, and a refusal to write disabled people as a population to be served rather than the people who set the questions.

Group. Grounding

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. Emancipatory disability research (Oliver; Barnes & Mercer); nothing about us without us (Charlton); disability justice

Themes. Disability studies, Community, Research

Sources

• Reference 5: Oliver, M. (1990). The Politics of Disablement. Macmillan — the foundational statement of the social model of disability.
• Reference 9: Charlton, J. I. (1998). Nothing About Us Without Us: Disability Oppression and Empowerment. University of California Press.
• Reference 72: Barnes, C., & Mercer, G. (Eds.). (1997). Doing Disability Research. The Disability Press, University of Leeds.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Disability Studies for Learning Designers — Grounding
• Partnering with Disabled People in Learning Design — Grounding
• Disability Justice and Where It Came From — Grounding
• Disability Etiquette and Communication in Learning Environments — Grounding
• Disability Categories and the Barriers People Meet — Grounding

Connected resources

• Disability Studies for Learning Designers — Grounding
• Partnering with Disabled People in Learning Design — Grounding
• Disability Justice and Where It Came From — Grounding

Functional Impact in Academic Tasks

From a diagnosis to what a course actually asks

Practised · resource in development

A diagnosis names a condition. It does not describe what a student will meet in a lecture, a laboratory or a timed exam. The challenge is to move from the label to the task. This resource starts from the tasks a program sets, such as sustained reading, note-taking at speed, timed recall, group work and placement shifts, and relates them to functional impact, in the terms of the International Classification of Functioning, for ADHD, learning disabilities, autism, acquired brain injury, mental health and chronic health conditions, low vision and blindness, and d/Deaf and hard of hearing students. It is task analysis, not a catalogue of conditions: functional impact differs between people with the same diagnosis, and for episodic conditions it changes over time.

Group. Grounding

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. ICF (WHO, 2001); episodic disability framework (O’Brien et al.); executive function in education (Meltzer); AHEAD documentation guidance

Themes. Disability studies, Access, Variability

Sources

• Reference 12: World Health Organization (2001). International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF). WHO — the source of the biopsychosocial model of disability.
  World Health Organization (2001). International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF).…https://www.who.int/standards/classifications/international-classification-of-functioning-disability-and-health
• Reference 43: O’Brien, K. K., Bayoumi, A. M., Strike, C., Young, N. L., & Davis, A. M. (2008). “Exploring Disability from the Perspective of Adults Living with HIV/AIDS: Development of a Conceptual Framework.” Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 6:76.
• Reference 70: Meltzer, L. (Ed.). (2018). Executive Function in Education: From Theory to Practice (2nd ed.). Guilford Press.
• Reference 74: Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD) (2012). Supporting Accommodation Requests: Guidance on Documentation Practices.
  Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD) (2012). Supporting Accommodation Requests:…https://www.ahead.org/professional-resources/accommodations/documentation

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Disability Categories and the Barriers People Meet — Access, Disability, Variability · 1 shared source
• Reading Disability Documentation — Disability · 2 shared sources
• Designing for Episodic and Fluctuating Conditions — Access · 1 shared source
• Access in Intensive, Time-Compressed Programs — Access, Variability · 2 shared sources
• Models of Disability as Design Decisions — Access, Disability · 1 shared source

Connected resources

• Disability Categories and the Barriers People Meet — Grounding
• Designing for Episodic and Fluctuating Conditions — Accommodation in practice
• Reading Disability Documentation — Accommodation in practice

Intersectionality in Accommodation: Who Reaches the Office

The students an accommodation system does not reach

Practised · resource in development

An accommodation system serves the students who register with it. The challenge is to understand who does not register, and why. This resource applies intersectionality and Disability Critical Race Studies to accommodation: how race, Indigeneity, gender, class, migration and language interact with disability in who is identified, who discloses and who is believed. It sets out what the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action ask of post-secondary education, and what an office and a course can examine in their own design, including the cost of documentation and the conditions under which disclosure is safe.

Group. Grounding

Home branch. Accessibility · Emerging

Grounding. Intersectionality (Crenshaw); DisCrit (Annamma, Connor & Ferri); Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action; disability justice (Sins Invalid)

Themes. Equity, Disability studies, Access

Sources

• Reference 92: Crenshaw, K. (1989). “Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory and Antiracist Politics.” University of Chicago Legal Forum, 1989(1), 139–167.
• Reference 93: Annamma, S. A., Connor, D., & Ferri, B. (2013). “Dis/ability Critical Race Studies (DisCrit): Theorizing at the Intersections of Race and Dis/ability.” Race Ethnicity and Education, 16(1), 1–31.
• Reference 94: Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015). Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action.
• Reference 62: Sins Invalid (2019). Skin, Tooth, and Bone: The Basis of Movement is Our People — A Disability Justice Primer (2nd ed.). Berkeley, CA: Sins Invalid. ISBN 9781647133658 — the source text of the ten principles, based in the work of Patty Berne.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Disability Justice and Where It Came From — Disability, Equity · 1 shared source
• Disability Studies for Learning Designers — Access, Disability, Equity
• Models of Disability as Design Decisions — Access, Disability, Equity
• Equity-Centered Learning Design — Equity
• Documentation Requirements and Medical Gatekeeping — Disability, Equity

Connected resources

• Disability Justice and Where It Came From — Grounding
• Equity-Centered Learning Design — Grounding
• Documentation Requirements and Medical Gatekeeping — Accommodation in practice

Accessible Procurement and Vendor Accountability

The decisions made before anything is built

Practised · resource in development

An inaccessible platform, once purchased, sets the ceiling on everything designed inside it. This resource covers reading an accessibility conformance report critically rather than accepting it at face value, using recognised standards as procurement criteria, writing remediation commitments into agreements, and piloting with disabled users before signature.

Group. Institutions, governance and change

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. EN 301 549; WCAG 2.2; VPAT and accessibility conformance reports

Themes. Standards, Policy, Access

Sources

• Reference 25: ETSI/CEN/CENELEC (2021). EN 301 549 V3.2.1: Accessibility Requirements for ICT Products and Services. Harmonised European Standard.
• Reference 26: Information Technology Industry Council. Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) and Accessibility Conformance Reports.
• Reference 15: W3C (2023). Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2. W3C Recommendation.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Selecting Materials, Textbooks and Platforms — Access, Policy, Standards · 2 shared sources
• Accessibility Triage for Existing Course Inventories — Access, Standards · 2 shared sources
• Designing for the Assistive Technology People Actually Use — Access, Standards · 1 shared source
• Assistive Technology and Adaptive Strategies — Access, Standards
• Institutional Accessibility Planning as a Change Program — Policy

Connected resources

• Accessibility Triage for Existing Course Inventories — Standards and technical practice
• Designing for the Assistive Technology People Actually Use — Standards and technical practice
• Institutional Accessibility Planning as a Change Program — Institutions, governance and change

Faculty Development That Changes Accessible Practice

From awareness to what instructors actually do

Practised · resource in development

Institutions have offered accessibility and inclusive design workshops for years, often with limited change in daily teaching practice. This resource diagnoses whether the gap is capability, opportunity, or motivation, then designs accordingly — point-of-need supports, discipline-specific exemplars, and department-embedded work — with any content on legal obligation delivered alongside the accommodation office rather than independently of it. It also covers the orientation sessions, instructor and teaching-assistant guidance, and online tools through which an access service explains itself each term.

Group. Institutions, governance and change

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. COM-B and the Behaviour Change Wheel (Michie et al.); adult learning; UDL

Practised in. An intranet accessibility hub with accommodation strategies for instructors at a national research laboratory; teacher workshops on visual, motor and cognitive accessibility for an arts education non-profit

Themes. Capacity, Change, Access

Sources

• Reference 27: Michie, S., van Stralen, M. M., & West, R. (2011). “The Behaviour Change Wheel: A New Method for Characterising and Designing Behaviour Change Interventions.” Implementation Science, 6:42.
• Reference 28: Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F., & Swanson, R. A. (2015). The Adult Learner (8th ed.). Routledge.
• Reference 2: CAST (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, version 3.0.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Inclusive Facilitation & Capacity Building — Access, Capacity · 1 shared source
• Learning and Training Commitments Review — Capacity, Change · 1 shared source
• Institutional Accessibility Planning as a Change Program — Change
• Closing the Knowing–Doing Gap
• Accessible Live and Virtual Facilitation — Access, Capacity · 1 shared source

Connected resources

• Closing the Knowing–Doing Gap — Institutions, governance and change
• Inclusive Facilitation & Capacity Building — Institutions, governance and change
• Institutional Accessibility Planning as a Change Program — Institutions, governance and change

Institutional Accessibility Planning as a Change Program

From a published plan to demonstrable change

Practised · resource in development

Statutory obligation produces an accessibility plan, a committee, and a feedback mechanism; it does not by itself produce sequencing, ownership, or capability. This resource brings systems design and change management to accessibility governance, and is written for a contributing role on an institutional plan rather than for authorship of an institution’s accessibility position.

Group. Institutions, governance and change

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. Accessible Canada Act; Accessible British Columbia Act; change management; systems thinking

Practised in. EDI Committee and Action Plan at a national research laboratory; HR-to-organisational-learning transformation in a provincial public-sector organisation

Themes. Policy, Systems, Change

Sources

• Reference 29: Accessible Canada Act, S.C. 2019, c. 10.
• Reference 30: Accessible British Columbia Act, S.B.C. 2021, c. 19. Province of British Columbia.
• Reference 31: Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading Change. Harvard Business School Press.
• Reference 32: Senge, P. M. (1990). The Fifth Discipline: The Art and Practice of the Learning Organization. Doubleday.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Making the Case for Resourcing Accessibility Work — Change, Policy, Systems · 2 shared sources
• Learning and Training Commitments Review — Change, Policy · 3 shared sources
• Funding Design for Accessible Learning Programs — Policy, Systems
• The Duty to Accommodate in Learning Design — Policy · 2 shared sources
• Canadian Accessibility and Accommodation Law for Learning Designers — Policy · 2 shared sources

Connected resources

• The Duty to Accommodate in Learning Design — Rights and obligation
• Evaluating Whether Design Reduced Barriers — Standards and technical practice

Making the Case for Resourcing Accessibility Work

The argument after the numbers, and its limits

Practised · resource in development

The arguments available for resourcing this work, and the evidentiary weight each carries: legal obligation, enrolment and retention, institutional reputation, and mission. It covers the cost of retrofit set against the cost of designing for access at the outset, who signs and what they need to see, and the point at which an instrumental case begins to displace the obligation it was assembled to support.

Group. Institutions, governance and change

Home branch. Accessibility · Emerging

Grounding. Accessible Canada Act; WHO and World Bank disability data; change management scholarship

Practised in. Grant development at a science centre; accessibility KPIs in a provincial public-sector organisation

Themes. Policy, Change, Systems

Sources

• Reference 29: Accessible Canada Act, S.C. 2019, c. 10.
  Accessible Canada Act, S.C. 2019, c. 10https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/a-0.6/
• Reference 19: World Health Organization & World Bank (2011). World Report on Disability. World Health Organization.
• Reference 31: Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading Change. Harvard Business School Press.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Institutional Accessibility Planning as a Change Program — Change, Policy, Systems · 2 shared sources
• Funding Design for Accessible Learning Programs — Policy, Systems
• Learning and Training Commitments Review — Change, Policy · 2 shared sources
• Closing the Knowing–Doing Gap
• Disability Data and the Limits of Prevalence Figures — 1 shared source

Connected resources

• Disability Data and the Limits of Prevalence Figures — Grounding
• Institutional Accessibility Planning as a Change Program — Institutions, governance and change
• Closing the Knowing–Doing Gap — Institutions, governance and change

Closing the Knowing–Doing Gap

From understanding to changed practice

Published resource

Designing for the distance between what learners understand and what they actually do — the transfer problem seen through an inclusive lens. It shares its machinery with reflection at the experience level and with change at the systems level.

Group. Institutions, governance and change

Home branch. Universal Design for Learning · Well established

Grounding. Transfer research; Universal Design for Learning

Themes. Transfer

Sources

• Reference 33: Pfeffer, J., & Sutton, R. I. (2000). The Knowing-Doing Gap: How Smart Companies Turn Knowledge into Action. Harvard Business School Press.
• Reference 34: Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (Eds.). (2000). How People Learn: Brain, Mind, Experience, and School (Expanded ed.). National Academy Press.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Faculty Development That Changes Accessible Practice
• Making the Case for Resourcing Accessibility Work
• Designing for Learner Variability at Scale
• Learning and Training Commitments Review
• Accessible Procurement and Vendor Accountability

Connected resources

• Designing for Learner Variability at Scale — Designing for variability

Equity Evaluation of Experiential Learning Programs

Were disabled students included, and did they stay?

Practised · resource in development

Placement programs report participation; they rarely report who was excluded at the gate or who left in the first month. This resource builds evaluation that asks the equity question directly — inclusion and retention of disabled students and students from historically, persistently, or systemically marginalised groups, by employer and by program — and uses funding conditions as the lever that makes employers answer it. It closes the UDL cycle at the scale of a whole institution's placements rather than a single course.

Group. Institutions, governance and change

Home branch. Universal Design for Learning · Well established

Grounding. Transformative evaluation (Mertens); UDL evaluation; grant governance

Practised in. A research university's student employment program: grant-funded equity evaluation of whether disabled students and students from HPSM groups were meaningfully included and retained in placements

Themes. Evaluation, Equity, Scale

Sources

• Reference 69: Mertens, D. M. (2009). Transformative Research and Evaluation. Guilford Press.
• Reference 2: CAST (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, version 3.0.
  CAST (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, version 3.0https://udlguidelines.cast.org
• Reference 55: Kirkpatrick, D. L., & Kirkpatrick, J. D. (2006). Evaluating Training Programs: The Four Levels (3rd ed.). Berrett-Koehler.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Evaluating Whether Design Reduced Barriers — Standards and technical practice
• Institutional Accessibility Planning as a Change Program — Institutions, governance and change
• Accessible Job Design for Student and Early-Career Employment — Rights and obligation
• Scaling Personalization Without Scaling Cost — Designing for variability
• Eliminating Construct-Irrelevant Barriers in Assessment — Rights and obligation

Connected resources

• Evaluating Whether Design Reduced Barriers — Standards and technical practice
• Institutional Accessibility Planning as a Change Program — Institutions, governance and change
• Accessible Job Design for Student and Early-Career Employment — Rights and obligation

Funding Design for Accessible Learning Programs

Writing the grant so access is the deliverable

Practised · resource in development

Accessibility is often funded as an add-on to a program that was designed without it. This resource covers designing funding applications and grant programs in which access to learning by disabled people and people from historically, persistently, or systemically marginalised groups is the funded outcome — the framing, the evidence, the partnerships, and the conditions that carry through to delivery — and administering funds so that the condition is enforced.

Group. Institutions, governance and change

Home branch. Accessibility · Emerging

Grounding. Transformative evaluation (Mertens); nothing about us without us (Charlton); funding conditions as governance

Practised in. A science centre: grant and research development for accessible STEAM outreach to HPSM groups and disabled children; an arts education non-profit: fundraising and program development; a research university's student employment program: administering $6M+ in grants with equity conditions

Themes. Policy, Equity, Systems

Sources

• Reference 69: Mertens, D. M. (2009). Transformative Research and Evaluation. Guilford Press.
• Reference 9: Charlton, J. I. (1998). Nothing About Us Without Us: Disability Oppression and Empowerment. University of California Press.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Making the Case for Resourcing Accessibility Work — Institutions, governance and change
• Institutional Accessibility Planning as a Change Program — Institutions, governance and change
• Equity Evaluation of Experiential Learning Programs — Institutions, governance and change
• Partnering with Disabled People in Learning Design — Grounding
• Disability Etiquette and Communication in Learning Environments — Grounding

Connected resources

• Making the Case for Resourcing Accessibility Work — Institutions, governance and change
• Institutional Accessibility Planning as a Change Program — Institutions, governance and change
• Equity Evaluation of Experiential Learning Programs — Institutions, governance and change

Inclusive Facilitation & Capacity Building

Facilitation as a professional stance

Published resource

Facilitation understood as a professional stance shaped by how power, identity and legitimate knowledge are held, and how to build others' capacity to facilitate inclusively, so the practice continues inside an organisation after an outside facilitator has gone.

Group. Institutions, governance and change

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. Power-aware facilitation; adult learning; equity

Practised in. Province-wide e-facilitation rollout in a provincial public-sector organisation; inclusive facilitation workshops at a national research laboratory; teacher development for an arts education non-profit; inclusion and human-rights workshops for student leaders at a research university

Themes. Community, Capacity, Access

Sources

• Reference 28: Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F., & Swanson, R. A. (2015). The Adult Learner (8th ed.). Routledge.
• Reference 53: Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge University Press.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Faculty Development That Changes Accessible Practice — Access, Capacity · 1 shared source
• Accessibility Review — Access
• Disability Etiquette and Communication in Learning Environments — Capacity, Community
• Inclusive Course & Curriculum Design — Access
• Making Accessibility More Than Compliance — Access

Connected resources

• Accessibility Review — Standards and technical practice
• Faculty Development That Changes Accessible Practice — Institutions, governance and change

Professional Standards for Disability Services

CAS and AHEAD as criteria for a service

Practised · resource in development

A disability service is asked to show that it is effective, and needs agreed criteria to do so. Two sets of professional standards supply them: the CAS standards for Disability Resources and Services, and the AHEAD program standards and performance indicators. This resource reads both as evaluation criteria and shows how a self-study against them is designed: who takes part, including disabled students, what evidence is gathered, and how findings become a plan.

Group. Institutions, governance and change

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. CAS Professional Standards for Higher Education; AHEAD program standards; transformative evaluation (Mertens)

Themes. Evaluation, Policy, Standards

Sources

• Reference 95: Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education (2023). CAS Professional Standards for Higher Education (11th version) — includes the standards for Disability Resources and Services.
• Reference 57: Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD). Program Domains, Standards, and Performance Indicators.
  Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD). Program Domains, Standards, and Performance Indicatorshttps://www.ahead.org/professional-resources/program-standards-ethics
• Reference 69: Mertens, D. M. (2009). Transformative Research and Evaluation. Guilford Press.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Institutional Accessibility Planning as a Change Program — Policy
• Working with Accommodation Offices and Access Advisors — Policy · 1 shared source
• Evaluating Whether Design Reduced Barriers — Evaluation
• Funding Design for Accessible Learning Programs — Policy · 1 shared source
• Accessible Procurement and Vendor Accountability — Policy, Standards

Connected resources

• Institutional Accessibility Planning as a Change Program — Institutions, governance and change
• Evaluating Whether Design Reduced Barriers — Standards and technical practice
• Working with Accommodation Offices and Access Advisors — Accommodation in practice

Training and Supervising Student Access Staff

Invigilators, aides and assistants as a designed program

Practised · resource in development

Where students and casual staff deliver part of an access service, as exam invigilators, note-takers, laboratory and studio aides or peer mentors, the quality of access depends on how they are prepared. This resource designs recruitment, onboarding and training as a program: what a new staff member must be able to do on a first shift, how confidentiality and conduct with a student in distress are taught and practised, how a shift is supervised, how gaps in training are identified, and which decisions belong to the staff member and which to a supervisor.

Group. Institutions, governance and change

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. Adult learning (Knowles); communities of practice (Wenger); peer-assisted learning (Topping); AHEAD program standards

Practised in. An art and design university: training peer mentors in integrated learning and technical support

Themes. Capacity, Community, Accommodation

Sources

• Reference 28: Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F., & Swanson, R. A. (2015). The Adult Learner (8th ed.). Routledge.
• Reference 53: Wenger, E. (1998). Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity. Cambridge University Press.
• Reference 68: Topping, K. J. (2005). “Trends in Peer Learning.” Educational Psychology, 25(6), 631–645.
• Reference 57: Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD). Program Domains, Standards, and Performance Indicators.
  Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD). Program Domains, Standards, and Performance Indicatorshttps://www.ahead.org/professional-resources/program-standards-ethics

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Peer Mentorship as Access Infrastructure — Accommodation, Capacity, Community · 3 shared sources
• Inclusive Facilitation & Capacity Building — Capacity, Community · 2 shared sources
• Accommodated Exams and Assessment Logistics — Accommodation
• Faculty Development That Changes Accessible Practice — Capacity · 1 shared source
• Access at Admission and Transition — Accommodation, Community · 1 shared source

Connected resources

• Peer Mentorship as Access Infrastructure — Accommodation in practice
• Accommodated Exams and Assessment Logistics — Accommodation in practice
• Inclusive Facilitation & Capacity Building — Institutions, governance and change

Why Universal Design Never Eliminates Individual Accommodation

The anchor · why both are permanent, and both are skilled

Practised · resource in development

Individual accommodation is not a residue left behind by imperfect design. Human variability has no outer edge, some barriers are the very thing an assessment is meant to measure, and the duty is owed to a person rather than discharged by a process — which is why proactive design and individual accommodation remain complementary, and why the accommodation encounter is skilled professional practice rather than an administrative step.

Group. Rights and obligation

Home branch. Accessibility · Long-settled practice

Grounding. Inclusive design and one-size-fits-one; the duty to accommodate; construct validity

Themes. Accommodation, Access, Variability

Sources

• Reference 10: Inclusive Design Research Centre. The Inclusive Design Guide. OCAD University — the source of the one-size-fits-one principle and the inclusive design framework.
• Reference 35: Connell, B. R., Jones, M., Mace, R., Mueller, J., Mullick, A., Ostroff, E., Sanford, J., Steinfeld, E., Story, M., & Vanderheiden, G. (1997). The Principles of Universal Design, Version 2.0. Center for Universal Design, North Carolina State University.
• Reference 36: British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU, [1999] 3 S.C.R. 3, 1999 CanLII 652 (SCC) — the “Meiorin” decision, establishing the unified bona fide requirement test and accommodation to the point of undue hardship.
• Reference 37: Messick, S. (1995). “Validity of Psychological Assessment: Validation of Inferences from Persons’ Responses and Performances as Scientific Inquiry into Score Meaning.” American Psychologist, 50(9), 741–749.
• Reference 2: CAST (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, version 3.0.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Assessment Access and Validity Review — Access, Accommodation · 3 shared sources
• From Accommodation to Proactive Inclusive Design — Access, Variability · 1 shared source
• Essential Requirements and the Limits of Flexibility — Accommodation · 2 shared sources
• The Duty to Accommodate in Learning Design — Access, Accommodation · 1 shared source
• Accessible Physical and Hybrid Learning Environments — Access, Variability · 1 shared source

Connected resources

• From Accommodation to Proactive Inclusive Design — Rights and obligation
• Making Accessibility More Than Compliance — Standards and technical practice
• The Duty to Accommodate in Learning Design — Rights and obligation
• Essential Requirements and the Limits of Flexibility — Rights and obligation
• Designing Out the Disclosure Requirement — Accommodation in practice

The Duty to Accommodate in Learning Design

The legal frame, written for those who build and teach

Practised · resource in development

The architecture within which access decisions are made and defended: the procedural and substantive duty, the unified bona fide requirement test, and accommodation to the point of undue hardship, set in the Canadian frame with the cross-border standards that vendor and partnership work require. It is offered as synthesis for designers, faculty, and institutions; determinations in individual cases rest with accessibility advisors and accommodation offices, and with legal counsel where a matter becomes contested.

Group. Rights and obligation

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. Meiorin and the BFOR test; Accessible Canada Act; BC Human Rights Code; Accessible British Columbia Act; ADA and Sections 504/508

Practised in. Accommodation checklists in a research university's student employment program; human-rights content in inclusion workshops for student leaders

Themes. Accommodation, Policy, Access

Sources

• Reference 36: British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU, [1999] 3 S.C.R. 3, 1999 CanLII 652 (SCC) — the “Meiorin” decision, establishing the unified bona fide requirement test and accommodation to the point of undue hardship.
• Reference 29: Accessible Canada Act, S.C. 2019, c. 10.
• Reference 38: Human Rights Code, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 210. Province of British Columbia.
• Reference 30: Accessible British Columbia Act, S.B.C. 2021, c. 19. Province of British Columbia.
• Reference 39: Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended, 42 U.S.C. § 12101 et seq.; Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Sections 504 and 508, as amended.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Canadian Accessibility and Accommodation Law for Learning Designers — Access, Accommodation, Policy · 4 shared sources
• The Interactive Process in Learning Settings — Access, Accommodation, Policy · 2 shared sources
• Working with Accommodation Offices and Access Advisors — Access, Accommodation, Policy · 1 shared source
• Why Universal Design Never Eliminates Individual Accommodation — Access, Accommodation · 1 shared source
• Essential Requirements Review — Accommodation, Policy · 2 shared sources

Connected resources

• Why Universal Design Never Eliminates Individual Accommodation — Rights and obligation
• Essential Requirements and the Limits of Flexibility — Rights and obligation
• Institutional Accessibility Planning as a Change Program — Institutions, governance and change

Essential Requirements and the Limits of Flexibility

What a standard genuinely requires, articulated in advance

Practised · resource in development

The most demanding judgment in the field: when flexibility preserves what is being measured, and when it alters it. This resource supports programs in articulating their essential requirements before any dispute arises — separating what a standard genuinely requires from what it has inherited by convention — so that the reasoning is available to everyone who later needs it.

Group. Rights and obligation

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. Construct validity; constructive alignment; bona fide academic and technical standards

Practised in. Job-posting revision in a research university's student employment program; a 2026 documentary study of essential requirements in post-secondary job postings

Themes. Accommodation, Assessment, Alignment

Sources

• Reference 37: Messick, S. (1995). “Validity of Psychological Assessment: Validation of Inferences from Persons’ Responses and Performances as Scientific Inquiry into Score Meaning.” American Psychologist, 50(9), 741–749.
• Reference 40: Wiggins, G., & McTighe, J. (2005). Understanding by Design (Expanded 2nd ed.). ASCD.
• Reference 36: British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU, [1999] 3 S.C.R. 3, 1999 CanLII 652 (SCC) — the “Meiorin” decision, establishing the unified bona fide requirement test and accommodation to the point of undue hardship.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Access in Clinical and Placement Education — Accommodation, Assessment · 2 shared sources
• Assessment Access and Validity Review — Accommodation, Assessment · 2 shared sources
• Accessible Job Design for Student and Early-Career Employment — Assessment · 2 shared sources
• Essential Requirements Review — Accommodation, Assessment · 2 shared sources
• Why Universal Design Never Eliminates Individual Accommodation — Accommodation · 2 shared sources

Connected resources

• Why Universal Design Never Eliminates Individual Accommodation — Rights and obligation
• Eliminating Construct-Irrelevant Barriers in Assessment — Rights and obligation
• Access in Clinical and Placement Education — Sectors and participation

International and Regional Disability Rights Instruments

The layer above domestic duty

Practised · resource in development

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its General Comments, and the Marrakesh Treaty, together with the regional instruments — the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the Inter-American Convention. It explains why accessibility obligations converge across jurisdictions rather than arising independently in each, and supplies the vocabulary required to work with partners outside Canada.

Group. Rights and obligation

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. UDHR (1948); CRPD (2006); Marrakesh Treaty (2013); regional human rights instruments

Themes. Policy, Standards, Access

Sources

• Reference 44: United Nations (1948). Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
• Reference 23: United Nations (2006). Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD).
• Reference 45: World Intellectual Property Organization (2013). Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled.
• Reference 46: European Union (2012). Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, 2012/C 326/02.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Canadian Accessibility and Accommodation Law for Learning Designers — Access, Policy
• The Duty to Accommodate in Learning Design — Access, Policy
• Accessible Procurement and Vendor Accountability — Access, Policy, Standards
• Selecting Materials, Textbooks and Platforms — Access, Policy, Standards
• Institutional Accessibility Planning as a Change Program — Policy

Connected resources

• The Duty to Accommodate in Learning Design — Rights and obligation
• Institutional Accessibility Planning as a Change Program — Institutions, governance and change
• Partnering with Disabled People in Learning Design — Grounding

Canadian Accessibility and Accommodation Law for Learning Designers

Two separate instruments, in plain language

Practised · resource in development

The Accessible Canada Act, the Accessible British Columbia Act and the BC Human Rights Code duty to accommodate, written for learning designers and faculty. Human rights law and accessibility legislation are separate instruments with different mechanisms, different scope and different remedies, and the distinction determines what an institution owes and to whom. It sets out what binds a public post-secondary institution in British Columbia, where obligations differ for private training providers, and includes the Ontario legislation for comparison.

Group. Rights and obligation

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. Accessible Canada Act; Accessible British Columbia Act; BC Human Rights Code; CRPD

Themes. Policy, Access, Accommodation

Sources

• Reference 29: Accessible Canada Act, S.C. 2019, c. 10.
  Accessible Canada Act, S.C. 2019, c. 10https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/a-0.6/
• Reference 30: Accessible British Columbia Act, S.B.C. 2021, c. 19. Province of British Columbia.
• Reference 38: Human Rights Code, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 210. Province of British Columbia.
• Reference 36: British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU, [1999] 3 S.C.R. 3, 1999 CanLII 652 (SCC) — the “Meiorin” decision, establishing the unified bona fide requirement test and accommodation to the point of undue hardship.
  British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU, [1999] 3 S.C.R. 3, 1999 CanLII 652…https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1999/1999canlii652/1999canlii652.html
• Reference 60: Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005, S.O. 2005, c. 11. Province of Ontario.
• Reference 61: CAN/ASC-EN 301 549:2024. Accessibility Requirements for ICT Products and Services (EN 301 549:2021, IDT). Accessibility Standards Canada, published 31 May 2024, available free of charge.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• The Duty to Accommodate in Learning Design — Access, Accommodation, Policy · 4 shared sources
• International and Regional Disability Rights Instruments — Access, Policy
• The Interactive Process in Learning Settings — Access, Accommodation, Policy · 2 shared sources
• Institutional Accessibility Planning as a Change Program — Policy · 2 shared sources
• Working with Accommodation Offices and Access Advisors — Access, Accommodation, Policy · 1 shared source

Connected resources

• The Duty to Accommodate in Learning Design — Rights and obligation
• International and Regional Disability Rights Instruments — Rights and obligation
• Institutional Accessibility Planning as a Change Program — Institutions, governance and change

From Accommodation to Proactive Inclusive Design

The field's defining reframe

Published resource

Shifting from retrofitting access for individuals after the fact to designing inclusively from the start, so fewer barriers are ever built in. It states the paradigm shift the field rests on, plainly.

Group. Rights and obligation

Home branch. Universal Design for Learning · Well established

Grounding. Universal Design for Learning; inclusive design principles

Themes. Access, Variability

Sources

• Reference 47: Meyer, A., Rose, D. H., & Gordon, D. (2014). Universal Design for Learning: Theory and Practice. CAST Professional Publishing.
• Reference 2: CAST (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, version 3.0.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Why Universal Design Never Eliminates Individual Accommodation — Access, Variability · 1 shared source
• Onboarding Across Wide Experience Ranges — Access, Variability · 1 shared source
• Accessibility Review — Access · 1 shared source
• Designing for Learner Variability at Scale — Variability · 1 shared source
• Eliminating Construct-Irrelevant Barriers in Assessment — Access · 1 shared source

Connected resources

• Designing for Learner Variability at Scale — Designing for variability
• Accessibility Review — Standards and technical practice
• Why Universal Design Never Eliminates Individual Accommodation — Rights and obligation

Eliminating Construct-Irrelevant Barriers in Assessment

Measuring capability, not obstacles

Published resource

Removing features of an assessment that get in the way of demonstrating mastery without being part of what is measured, so results reflect capability rather than incidental barriers. It works alongside assessment designed as experience.

Group. Rights and obligation

Home branch. Universal Design for Learning · Well established

Grounding. Construct validity; UDL action & expression

Themes. Assessment, Access

Sources

• Reference 37: Messick, S. (1995). “Validity of Psychological Assessment: Validation of Inferences from Persons’ Responses and Performances as Scientific Inquiry into Score Meaning.” American Psychologist, 50(9), 741–749.
• Reference 2: CAST (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, version 3.0.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Assessment Access and Validity Review — Access, Assessment · 2 shared sources
• Time, Pacing and Deadlines as Design Variables — Assessment · 2 shared sources
• Essential Requirements and the Limits of Flexibility — Assessment · 1 shared source
• Accessibility Review — Access · 1 shared source
• Accessible Job Design for Student and Early-Career Employment — Access, Assessment · 1 shared source

Connected resources

• Designing for Learner Variability at Scale — Designing for variability
• Accessibility Review — Standards and technical practice
• Essential Requirements and the Limits of Flexibility — Rights and obligation

Accessible Job Design for Student and Early-Career Employment

Essential requirements, applied to postings

Practised · resource in development

A job posting is an essential-requirements document for employment, and it excludes in the same ways admissions documents do: bodily methods written where capabilities were meant, availability clauses nobody has justified, credentials standing in for skills. This resource works with the people who write postings — supervisors, hiring managers, program staff — to revise expectations toward what the role genuinely requires, and pairs the revision with the onboarding and supervision supports that make the revised role real.

Group. Rights and obligation

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. Construct validity (Messick); the bona fide requirement test (Meiorin); disclosure burden

Practised in. A research university's student employment program ($6M+, 900 campus employers, 3,000 student employees): supporting supervisors in revising job postings and expectations for accessibility, with accommodation checklists in onboarding toolkits; a 2026 documentary study of essential requirements in post-secondary job postings

Themes. Access, Equity, Assessment

Sources

• Reference 37: Messick, S. (1995). “Validity of Psychological Assessment: Validation of Inferences from Persons’ Responses and Performances as Scientific Inquiry into Score Meaning.” American Psychologist, 50(9), 741–749.
• Reference 36: British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU, [1999] 3 S.C.R. 3, 1999 CanLII 652 (SCC) — the “Meiorin” decision, establishing the unified bona fide requirement test and accommodation to the point of undue hardship.
  British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU, [1999] 3 S.C.R. 3, 1999 CanLII 652…https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1999/1999canlii652/1999canlii652.html
• Reference 41: Goffman, E. (1963). Stigma: Notes on the Management of Spoiled Identity. Prentice-Hall.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Essential Requirements and the Limits of Flexibility — Assessment · 2 shared sources
• The Duty to Accommodate in Learning Design — Access · 1 shared source
• Eliminating Construct-Irrelevant Barriers in Assessment — Access, Assessment · 1 shared source
• Access in Clinical and Placement Education — Access, Assessment · 2 shared sources
• Assessment Access and Validity Review — Access, Assessment · 2 shared sources

Connected resources

• Essential Requirements and the Limits of Flexibility — Rights and obligation
• The Duty to Accommodate in Learning Design — Rights and obligation
• Designing for Episodic and Fluctuating Conditions — Accommodation in practice

How a University Accommodation Policy Works

Three British Columbia policies read side by side

Practised · resource in development

Human rights law states the duty to accommodate; a university’s policy determines how that duty is carried out. The challenge for instructors and designers is to locate their own obligations in it. This resource reads the accommodation policies of three British Columbia universities side by side: the University of British Columbia, Simon Fraser University and the University of Victoria. It compares them on five questions: who is eligible, what documentation is requested, who decides, what an instructor is responsible for, and how a disagreement is resolved. It is written so that a policy can be treated as the brief a course design has to satisfy.

Group. Rights and obligation

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. UBC Policy LR7; SFU Policy GP 26; UVic Policy AC1205; BC Human Rights Code; Meiorin (SCC, 1999)

Themes. Policy, Accommodation, Access

Sources

• Reference 83: University of British Columbia. Policy LR7: Accommodation for Students with Disabilities.
• Reference 84: Simon Fraser University. Policy GP 26: Accessibility for Students with Disabilities.
  Simon Fraser University. Policy GP 26: Accessibility for Students with Disabilitieshttps://www.sfu.ca/policies/gazette/general/gp26.html
• Reference 85: University of Victoria (2024). Policy AC1205: Academic Accommodation Policy.
  University of Victoria (2024). Policy AC1205: Academic Accommodation Policyhttps://www.uvic.ca/universitysecretary/assets/docs/policies/AC1205_2340.pdf
• Reference 38: Human Rights Code, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 210. Province of British Columbia.
• Reference 36: British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU, [1999] 3 S.C.R. 3, 1999 CanLII 652 (SCC) — the “Meiorin” decision, establishing the unified bona fide requirement test and accommodation to the point of undue hardship.
  British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU, [1999] 3 S.C.R. 3, 1999 CanLII 652…https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1999/1999canlii652/1999canlii652.html

Most related, by shared source and theme

• The Duty to Accommodate in Learning Design — Access, Accommodation, Policy · 2 shared sources
• Canadian Accessibility and Accommodation Law for Learning Designers — Access, Accommodation, Policy · 2 shared sources
• Working with Accommodation Offices and Access Advisors — Access, Accommodation, Policy · 1 shared source
• The Interactive Process in Learning Settings — Access, Accommodation, Policy · 2 shared sources
• The Case Law Behind Accommodation in Education — Access, Accommodation, Policy · 1 shared source

Connected resources

• The Duty to Accommodate in Learning Design — Rights and obligation
• Canadian Accessibility and Accommodation Law for Learning Designers — Rights and obligation
• Working with Accommodation Offices and Access Advisors — Accommodation in practice

The Case Law Behind Accommodation in Education

Six decisions, and what each one settled

Practised · resource in development

The duty to accommodate in education rests on a small number of Supreme Court of Canada decisions. The challenge for people who are not lawyers is to know what each one settled. Meiorin (1999) set the test for whether a standard is justified. Grismer (1999) applied that test to services and required individual assessment. Eldridge (1997) held that equal access to a public service can require positive measures. Renaud (1992) made the search for accommodation a shared responsibility. Hydro-Québec (2008) clarified the standard of undue hardship. Moore (2012) defined the service owed as meaningful access to general education. This resource states each holding in plain language, with the practical question it answers and what it means for the design of a course or an assessment. It is synthesis for people who teach and design, and it is not legal advice.

Group. Rights and obligation

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. Meiorin (1999); Grismer (1999); Eldridge (1997); Renaud (1992); Hydro-Québec (2008); Moore (2012)

Themes. Policy, Accommodation, Access

Sources

• Reference 36: British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU, [1999] 3 S.C.R. 3, 1999 CanLII 652 (SCC) — the “Meiorin” decision, establishing the unified bona fide requirement test and accommodation to the point of undue hardship.
  British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU, [1999] 3 S.C.R. 3, 1999 CanLII 652…https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1999/1999canlii652/1999canlii652.html
• Reference 87: British Columbia (Superintendent of Motor Vehicles) v. British Columbia (Council of Human Rights), [1999] 3 S.C.R. 868 — the “Grismer” decision, carrying the Meiorin test into services and requiring individual assessment.
• Reference 89: Eldridge v. British Columbia (Attorney General), [1997] 3 S.C.R. 624 — sign language interpretation as a condition of equal access to a public service.
• Reference 56: Central Okanagan School District No. 23 v. Renaud, 1992 CanLII 81 (SCC), [1992] 2 S.C.R. 970 — the shared responsibility of every party to the accommodation process.
  Central Okanagan School District No. 23 v. Renaud, 1992 CanLII 81 (SCC), [1992] 2 S.C.R. 970https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1992/1992canlii81/1992canlii81.html
• Reference 88: Hydro-Québec v. Syndicat des employé-e-s de techniques professionnelles et de bureau d’Hydro-Québec, section locale 2000 (SCFP-FTQ), 2008 SCC 43, [2008] 2 S.C.R. 561 — what undue hardship does and does not require.
• Reference 86: Moore v. British Columbia (Education), 2012 SCC 61, [2012] 3 S.C.R. 360 — meaningful access to education as the service a student is owed.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• The Duty to Accommodate in Learning Design — Access, Accommodation, Policy · 1 shared source
• The Interactive Process in Learning Settings — Access, Accommodation, Policy · 2 shared sources
• Canadian Accessibility and Accommodation Law for Learning Designers — Access, Accommodation, Policy · 1 shared source
• How a University Accommodation Policy Works — Access, Accommodation, Policy · 1 shared source
• Accommodation When the Learner Is Also an Employee — Accommodation, Policy · 3 shared sources

Connected resources

• The Duty to Accommodate in Learning Design — Rights and obligation
• Canadian Accessibility and Accommodation Law for Learning Designers — Rights and obligation
• The Interactive Process in Learning Settings — Accommodation in practice

Accommodation When the Learner Is Also an Employee

Two duties, two processes, one person

Practised · resource in development

Student employees, teaching assistants, co-op and practicum students, and medical residents are learners and workers at once. The challenge is that the duty to accommodate applies to both relationships, and the education and employment processes may be administered by different offices. This resource sets out which process applies to which part of a person’s work, what an academic accommodation does and does not carry into a workplace, how supervisors and placement hosts are involved, and how repeated disclosure can be avoided. For the designer, it covers the onboarding and placement materials that carry an accommodation across. It pairs with accessible job design, which removes barriers before any individual request is made.

Group. Rights and obligation

Home branch. Accessibility · Emerging

Grounding. The unified test (Meiorin); shared responsibility, including unions (Renaud); undue hardship (Hydro-Québec); BC Human Rights Code

Practised in. Accommodation checklists in onboarding toolkits in a research university’s student employment program (900 campus employers, 3,000 student employees)

Themes. Accommodation, Policy, Equity

Sources

• Reference 36: British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU, [1999] 3 S.C.R. 3, 1999 CanLII 652 (SCC) — the “Meiorin” decision, establishing the unified bona fide requirement test and accommodation to the point of undue hardship.
  British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU, [1999] 3 S.C.R. 3, 1999 CanLII 652…https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1999/1999canlii652/1999canlii652.html
• Reference 56: Central Okanagan School District No. 23 v. Renaud, 1992 CanLII 81 (SCC), [1992] 2 S.C.R. 970 — the shared responsibility of every party to the accommodation process.
  Central Okanagan School District No. 23 v. Renaud, 1992 CanLII 81 (SCC), [1992] 2 S.C.R. 970https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1992/1992canlii81/1992canlii81.html
• Reference 88: Hydro-Québec v. Syndicat des employé-e-s de techniques professionnelles et de bureau d’Hydro-Québec, section locale 2000 (SCFP-FTQ), 2008 SCC 43, [2008] 2 S.C.R. 561 — what undue hardship does and does not require.
• Reference 38: Human Rights Code, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 210. Province of British Columbia.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• The Duty to Accommodate in Learning Design — Accommodation, Policy · 2 shared sources
• The Interactive Process in Learning Settings — Accommodation, Policy · 3 shared sources
• Accessible Job Design for Student and Early-Career Employment — Equity · 1 shared source
• The Case Law Behind Accommodation in Education — Accommodation, Policy · 3 shared sources
• How a University Accommodation Policy Works — Accommodation, Policy · 2 shared sources

Connected resources

• Accessible Job Design for Student and Early-Career Employment — Rights and obligation
• The Duty to Accommodate in Learning Design — Rights and obligation
• Access in Clinical and Placement Education — Sectors and participation

Access in Clinical and Placement Education

Holding patient safety and access seriously at once

Practised · resource in development

Placement, simulation, precepting, and competency assessment are where essential requirements are most contested and where safety arguments can close conversations that deserve to stay open. This resource works through the design and assessment architecture that allows a program to protect genuine safety requirements while examining the ones it has never had reason to question.

Group. Sectors and participation

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. Technical standards in health professions education (Meeks & Jain); construct validity; duty to accommodate

Themes. Accommodation, Assessment, Access

Sources

• Reference 48: Meeks, L. M., & Jain, N. R. (2018). Accessibility, Inclusion, and Action in Medical Education: Lived Experiences of Learners and Physicians with Disabilities. Association of American Medical Colleges.
• Reference 37: Messick, S. (1995). “Validity of Psychological Assessment: Validation of Inferences from Persons’ Responses and Performances as Scientific Inquiry into Score Meaning.” American Psychologist, 50(9), 741–749.
• Reference 36: British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU, [1999] 3 S.C.R. 3, 1999 CanLII 652 (SCC) — the “Meiorin” decision, establishing the unified bona fide requirement test and accommodation to the point of undue hardship.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Essential Requirements Review — Accommodation, Assessment · 3 shared sources
• Essential Requirements and the Limits of Flexibility — Accommodation, Assessment · 2 shared sources
• Access in Studio, Shop and Lab-Based Learning — Access · 2 shared sources
• Assessment Access and Validity Review — Access, Accommodation, Assessment · 2 shared sources
• Accessible Job Design for Student and Early-Career Employment — Access, Assessment · 2 shared sources

Connected resources

• Essential Requirements and the Limits of Flexibility — Rights and obligation
• Accessible Health and Patient Education — Sectors and participation

Accessible Health and Patient Education

Access beyond the learner, to the person receiving care

Practised · resource in development

Health literacy, plain language, communication access, and accessible patient education and informed consent, set against the documented health disparities disabled people experience. It is the point at which accessible learning design reaches materials intended for patients and the public rather than for students and staff.

Group. Sectors and participation

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. Health literacy (Nutbeam); disability health disparities (Krahn et al.); social determinants of health

Themes. Access, Wellbeing, Equity

Sources

• Reference 49: Nutbeam, D. (2000). “Health Literacy as a Public Health Goal: A Challenge for Contemporary Health Education and Communication Strategies into the 21st Century.” Health Promotion International, 15(3), 259–267.
• Reference 50: Krahn, G. L., Walker, D. K., & Correa-De-Araujo, R. (2015). “Persons with Disabilities as an Unrecognized Health Disparity Population.” American Journal of Public Health, 105(S2), S198–S206.
• Reference 51: WHO Commission on Social Determinants of Health (2008). Closing the Gap in a Generation: Health Equity Through Action on the Social Determinants of Health. World Health Organization.
• Reference 1: Rose, D. H., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age: Universal Design for Learning. ASCD.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Access in Clinical and Placement Education — Access
• Designing for Learner Variability at Scale — 1 shared source
• Disability Data and the Limits of Prevalence Figures — Equity
• Accessible Research Participation and Knowledge Products — Access, Equity
• Designing for Episodic and Fluctuating Conditions — Access, Wellbeing

Connected resources

• Access in Clinical and Placement Education — Sectors and participation
• Designing for Learner Variability at Scale — Designing for variability

Accessible Research Participation and Knowledge Products

Who can take part, and who can read the findings

Practised · resource in development

Consent materials, participant-facing instruments, plain-language summaries, and accessible dissemination — increasingly expected by research ethics boards and funders, and rarely designed for. It sits at the junction of knowledge mobilization and accessibility, where a study’s reach is set as much by its materials as by its recruitment.

Group. Sectors and participation

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. TCPS 2 (2022); knowledge mobilization; WCAG 2.2

Themes. Research, Access, Equity

Sources

• Reference 11: Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council, & Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (2022). Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans — TCPS 2 (2022).
• Reference 52: Graham, I. D., Logan, J., Harrison, M. B., Straus, S. E., Tetroe, J., Caswell, W., & Robinson, N. (2006). “Lost in Knowledge Translation: Time for a Map?” Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions, 26(1), 13–24.
• Reference 15: W3C (2023). Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2. W3C Recommendation.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Partnering with Disabled People in Learning Design — Equity · 1 shared source
• Accessible Health and Patient Education — Access, Equity
• Making Accessibility More Than Compliance — Access · 1 shared source
• Accessibility Review — Access · 1 shared source
• Accessibility Triage for Existing Course Inventories — Access · 1 shared source

Connected resources

• Partnering with Disabled People in Learning Design — Grounding

Access in Studio, Shop and Lab-Based Learning

Safety-sensitive learning that is not clinical

Practised · resource in development

Shops, studios, and laboratories are where hands-on learning meets real hazard, and where access decisions get made at the bench rather than in an office: which tool, at what pace, with what supervision, in which layout. This resource treats equipment-based learning the way the clinical-placement resource treats wards — protecting genuine safety requirements while examining the ones that are only habit — and covers adaptive tooling, paced instruction, workstation design, and the peer and technician roles that make access daily rather than exceptional.

Group. Sectors and participation

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. Essential requirements in safety-sensitive environments; universal design of physical space; technical standards in professional education (Meeks & Jain, by analogy)

Practised in. An art and design university's shop and studio program (seven years): studio accessibility overhaul, adaptive technology stations, layouts for wheelchair use, personalised support to disabled students on complex tools; hands-on STEM kits at a national research laboratory

Themes. Access, Disability studies, Standards

Sources

• Reference 48: Meeks, L. M., & Jain, N. R. (2018). Accessibility, Inclusion, and Action in Medical Education: Lived Experiences of Learners and Physicians with Disabilities. Association of American Medical Colleges.
• Reference 35: Connell, B. R., Jones, M., Mace, R., Mueller, J., Mullick, A., Ostroff, E., Sanford, J., Steinfeld, E., Story, M., & Vanderheiden, G. (1997). The Principles of Universal Design, Version 2.0. Center for Universal Design, North Carolina State University.
• Reference 36: British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU, [1999] 3 S.C.R. 3, 1999 CanLII 652 (SCC) — the “Meiorin” decision, establishing the unified bona fide requirement test and accommodation to the point of undue hardship.
  British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU, [1999] 3 S.C.R. 3, 1999 CanLII 652…https://www.canlii.org/en/ca/scc/doc/1999/1999canlii652/1999canlii652.html

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Access in Clinical and Placement Education — Sectors and participation
• Accessible Physical and Hybrid Learning Environments — Standards and technical practice
• Assistive Technology and Adaptive Strategies — Grounding
• Why Universal Design Never Eliminates Individual Accommodation — Rights and obligation
• Working with Accommodation Offices and Access Advisors — Accommodation in practice

Connected resources

• Access in Clinical and Placement Education — Sectors and participation
• Accessible Physical and Hybrid Learning Environments — Standards and technical practice
• Assistive Technology and Adaptive Strategies — Grounding

Access in Graduate Education

Supervision, comprehensive exams, thesis and defence

Practised · resource in development

Graduate education is organised around supervision and milestones more than around courses. The challenge is that accommodation processes designed for coursework do not map directly onto a supervisory relationship, a comprehensive exam or a thesis. This resource covers access in supervision, comprehensive and candidacy exams, research and fieldwork, thesis writing and the defence, and in funding and time-to-completion rules. It separates the essential requirements of a degree from the conventions that have gathered around them.

Group. Sectors and participation

Home branch. Accessibility · Emerging

Grounding. NEADS National Graduate Experience Taskforce; academic ableism (Dolmage); construct validity (Messick)

Practised in. Augmentative and alternative communication support for a client’s thesis writing in private home care

Themes. Accommodation, Access, Assessment

Sources

• Reference 90: National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS) (2016). Understanding Accessibility in Graduate Education for Students with Disabilities in Canada: Report of the National Graduate Experience Taskforce.
  National Educational Association of Disabled Students (NEADS) (2016). Understanding Accessibility in…https://neads.ca/en/about/projects/graduate-taskforce/index.php
• Reference 6: Dolmage, J. T. (2017). Academic Ableism: Disability and Higher Education. University of Michigan Press.
• Reference 37: Messick, S. (1995). “Validity of Psychological Assessment: Validation of Inferences from Persons’ Responses and Performances as Scientific Inquiry into Score Meaning.” American Psychologist, 50(9), 741–749.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Access in Clinical and Placement Education — Access, Accommodation, Assessment · 1 shared source
• Essential Requirements and the Limits of Flexibility — Accommodation, Assessment · 1 shared source
• Assessment Access and Validity Review — Access, Accommodation, Assessment · 1 shared source
• Accommodated Exams and Assessment Logistics — Access, Accommodation, Assessment · 1 shared source
• Designing for Episodic and Fluctuating Conditions — Access, Accommodation

Connected resources

• Essential Requirements and the Limits of Flexibility — Rights and obligation
• Designing for Episodic and Fluctuating Conditions — Accommodation in practice
• Accessible Research Participation and Knowledge Products — Sectors and participation

Access at Admission and Transition

The first term, before the system knows a student

Practised · resource in development

On entering post-secondary education, responsibility for arranging access moves to the student. The challenge is the interval between admission and the first accommodation being in place. This resource covers admission requirements read as essential-requirements documents, what a student needs to know and do before the first week, orientation and housing, and the peer and staff roles that support the transition, with attention to the self-advocacy and self-determination skills that the transition research identifies.

Group. Sectors and participation

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. Meaningful access (Moore, SCC 2012); self-determination in transition (Getzel & Thoma); self-advocacy framework (Test et al.); AHEAD program standards

Practised in. An art and design university: a peer mentorship program pairing new students with accommodations with trained mentors

Themes. Access, Accommodation, Community

Sources

• Reference 86: Moore v. British Columbia (Education), 2012 SCC 61, [2012] 3 S.C.R. 360 — meaningful access to education as the service a student is owed.
• Reference 91: Getzel, E. E., & Thoma, C. A. (2008). “Experiences of College Students with Disabilities and the Importance of Self-Determination in Higher Education Settings.” Career Development for Exceptional Individuals, 31(2), 77–84.
• Reference 77: Test, D. W., Fowler, C. H., Wood, W. M., Brewer, D. M., & Eddy, S. (2005). “A Conceptual Framework of Self-Advocacy for Students with Disabilities.” Remedial and Special Education, 26(1), 43–54.
• Reference 57: Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD). Program Domains, Standards, and Performance Indicators.
  Association on Higher Education And Disability (AHEAD). Program Domains, Standards, and Performance Indicatorshttps://www.ahead.org/professional-resources/program-standards-ethics

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Peer Mentorship as Access Infrastructure — Accommodation, Community · 1 shared source
• The Advising Conversation — Accommodation · 1 shared source
• Essential Requirements and the Limits of Flexibility — Accommodation
• Access in Clinical and Placement Education — Access, Accommodation
• Access in Graduate Education — Access, Accommodation

Connected resources

• Peer Mentorship as Access Infrastructure — Accommodation in practice
• Essential Requirements and the Limits of Flexibility — Rights and obligation
• The Advising Conversation — Accommodation in practice

Accessibility Triage for Existing Course Inventories

A defensible order of work when everything cannot be fixed at once

Practised · resource in development

Most institutions hold thousands of documents, modules, videos, and pages built before anyone was checking, with no realistic path to full conformance. This resource offers a tiered protocol — what is remediated now, what is rebuilt at next revision, what is retired, and which standard applies to each tier — using high-volume required and compliance training as the worked example.

Group. Standards and technical practice

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. WCAG 2.2; EN 301 549; remediation prioritisation

Practised in. Mandatory-training audits and redesign in a provincial public-sector organisation

Themes. Standards, Access, Scale

Sources

• Reference 15: W3C (2023). Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2. W3C Recommendation.
• Reference 25: ETSI/CEN/CENELEC (2021). EN 301 549 V3.2.1: Accessibility Requirements for ICT Products and Services. Harmonised European Standard.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Accessible Procurement and Vendor Accountability — Access, Standards · 2 shared sources
• Designing for the Assistive Technology People Actually Use — Access, Standards · 1 shared source
• Accessible Documents as Everyday Practice — Access, Standards · 1 shared source
• Selecting Materials, Textbooks and Platforms — Access, Standards · 1 shared source
• Accessibility Review — Access · 1 shared source

Connected resources

• Accessible Procurement and Vendor Accountability — Institutions, governance and change
• Designing for the Assistive Technology People Actually Use — Standards and technical practice
• Accessibility Review — Standards and technical practice

Designing for the Assistive Technology People Actually Use

Why conformant content can still fail in practice

Practised · resource in development

Conformance and assistive-technology fluency are not the same thing, and the difference shows quickly in real use. This resource covers testing with actual assistive technology rather than automated checking alone, and the reasons technically conformant material can still obstruct — while leaving assessment, tool matching, and training to the assistive technology specialists and advisors whose professional work that is.

Group. Standards and technical practice

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. SETT framework (Zabala); HAAT model (Cook & Polgar); WCAG 2.2

Practised in. Screen-reader and keyboard testing in a provincial public-sector organisation; adaptive technology stations at an art and design university; AAC support in private home care

Themes. Standards, Access, Disability studies

Sources

• Reference 17: Zabala, J. S. (2005). Ready, SETT, Go! Getting Started with the SETT Framework — the Student, Environments, Tasks, Tools framework for assistive technology decision-making.
• Reference 16: Cook, A. M., & Polgar, J. M. (2015). Assistive Technologies: Principles and Practice (4th ed.). Elsevier — the source of the Human Activity Assistive Technology (HAAT) model.
• Reference 15: W3C (2023). Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2. W3C Recommendation.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Assistive Technology and Adaptive Strategies — Access, Disability, Standards · 2 shared sources
• Captions, Transcripts and Audio Description — Access, Standards · 1 shared source
• Accessibility Triage for Existing Course Inventories — Access, Standards · 1 shared source
• Accessible Documents as Everyday Practice — Access, Standards · 1 shared source
• Accessible Procurement and Vendor Accountability — Access, Standards · 1 shared source

Connected resources

• Accessibility Triage for Existing Course Inventories — Standards and technical practice
• Accessible Procurement and Vendor Accountability — Institutions, governance and change
• Accessibility Review — Standards and technical practice

Accessible Physical and Hybrid Learning Environments

The part of universal design most often handed to facilities

Practised · resource in development

The seven principles of universal design as they were originally written — for buildings, spaces, and products — and what they require of a classroom, a laboratory, a placement site, and the hybrid arrangements that now carry a large share of teaching. It is the part of universal design that learning designers most often hand to facilities management, and the part that determines whether a person can be present in the room at all.

Group. Standards and technical practice

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. Principles of Universal Design (Connell et al., 1997); CSA B651; Accessible Canada Act

Practised in. Studio layouts and wayfinding at an art and design university; classroom residencies for an arts education non-profit

Themes. Access, Variability, Standards

Sources

• Reference 35: Connell, B. R., Jones, M., Mace, R., Mueller, J., Mullick, A., Ostroff, E., Sanford, J., Steinfeld, E., Story, M., & Vanderheiden, G. (1997). The Principles of Universal Design, Version 2.0. Center for Universal Design, North Carolina State University.
• Reference 54: CSA Group. CSA B651: Accessible Design for the Built Environment. Canadian Standards Association.
• Reference 29: Accessible Canada Act, S.C. 2019, c. 10.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Why Universal Design Never Eliminates Individual Accommodation — Access, Variability · 1 shared source
• Making Accessibility More Than Compliance — Access
• Captions, Transcripts and Audio Description — Access, Standards
• Access in Clinical and Placement Education — Access
• Accessibility Triage for Existing Course Inventories — Access, Standards

Connected resources

• Why Universal Design Never Eliminates Individual Accommodation — Rights and obligation
• Access in Clinical and Placement Education — Sectors and participation
• Making Accessibility More Than Compliance — Standards and technical practice

Accessible Documents as Everyday Practice

Structure at the point of authoring, not repair

Practised · resource in development

Headings, reading order, tables, alternative text and contrast across word processing files, presentations, spreadsheets and PDF, treated as authoring practice. Remediation costs more than creation, which places institutional templates among the highest-leverage points of intervention. It also covers what an automated checker establishes and what it leaves untested.

Group. Standards and technical practice

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. PDF/UA (ISO 14289-1); WCAG 2.2; CAN/ASC-EN 301 549:2024

Practised in. Accessible templates (PDFs, forms) in a provincial public-sector organisation; alt text and simplified layouts at a national research laboratory

Themes. Standards, Access, Evaluation

Sources

• Reference 58: ISO 14289-1:2014. Document Management Applications — Electronic Document File Format Enhancement for Accessibility — Part 1: Use of ISO 32000-1 (PDF/UA-1). International Organization for Standardization.
• Reference 15: W3C (2023). Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2. W3C Recommendation.
  W3C (2023). Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2. W3C Recommendationhttps://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG22/
• Reference 61: CAN/ASC-EN 301 549:2024. Accessibility Requirements for ICT Products and Services (EN 301 549:2021, IDT). Accessibility Standards Canada, published 31 May 2024, available free of charge.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Captions, Transcripts and Audio Description — Access, Standards · 1 shared source
• Accessibility Triage for Existing Course Inventories — Access, Standards · 1 shared source
• Designing for the Assistive Technology People Actually Use — Access, Standards · 1 shared source
• Selecting Materials, Textbooks and Platforms — Access, Standards · 1 shared source
• Making Accessibility More Than Compliance — Access · 1 shared source

Connected resources

• Accessibility Triage for Existing Course Inventories — Standards and technical practice
• Making Accessibility More Than Compliance — Standards and technical practice
• Designing for the Assistive Technology People Actually Use — Standards and technical practice

Captions, Transcripts and Audio Description

Three artefacts, three sets of users

Practised · resource in development

Captions, transcripts and audio description serve different users and do not substitute for one another. This resource covers caption accuracy and the degradation of automatic captioning on the specialist vocabulary that carries the most meaning, the transcript as an independently useful artefact, standard and extended audio description, and where each belongs in a production workflow and a budget.

Group. Standards and technical practice

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. W3C Media Accessibility User Requirements; WCAG 2.2; multimedia learning research

Practised in. Captioning and multimodal STEM modules with transcripts at a national research laboratory

Themes. Standards, Access

Sources

• Reference 59: W3C (2015). Media Accessibility User Requirements. W3C Working Group Note.
• Reference 15: W3C (2023). Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2. W3C Recommendation.
  W3C (2023). Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2. W3C Recommendationhttps://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG22/
• Reference 4: Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia Learning (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Designing for the Assistive Technology People Actually Use — Access, Standards · 1 shared source
• Accessible Documents as Everyday Practice — Access, Standards · 1 shared source
• Making Accessibility More Than Compliance — Access · 1 shared source
• Accessibility Triage for Existing Course Inventories — Access, Standards · 1 shared source
• Accessible Procurement and Vendor Accountability — Access, Standards · 1 shared source

Connected resources

• Accessible Documents as Everyday Practice — Standards and technical practice
• Designing for the Assistive Technology People Actually Use — Standards and technical practice
• Making Accessibility More Than Compliance — Standards and technical practice

Selecting Materials, Textbooks and Platforms

Reading a conformance claim against what a person meets

Practised · resource in development

Publisher platforms, courseware, library resources and open educational resources, and the accessibility settled at the point of selection. It covers reading an Accessibility Conformance Report against what a person using the product encounters, what to ask a vendor, what to ask a colleague already using the tool, and the options remaining when an inaccessible product is already in service.

Group. Standards and technical practice

Home branch. Accessibility · Emerging

Grounding. VPAT and Accessibility Conformance Reports; EN 301 549; CAN/ASC-EN 301 549:2024

Themes. Standards, Policy, Access

Sources

• Reference 26: Information Technology Industry Council. Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) and Accessibility Conformance Reports.
  Information Technology Industry Council. Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT) and Accessibility…https://www.itic.org/policy/accessibility/vpat
• Reference 61: CAN/ASC-EN 301 549:2024. Accessibility Requirements for ICT Products and Services (EN 301 549:2021, IDT). Accessibility Standards Canada, published 31 May 2024, available free of charge.
• Reference 25: ETSI/CEN/CENELEC (2021). EN 301 549 V3.2.1: Accessibility Requirements for ICT Products and Services. Harmonised European Standard.
  ETSI/CEN/CENELEC (2021). EN 301 549 V3.2.1: Accessibility Requirements for ICT Products and Services.…https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_en/301500_301599/301549/03.02.01_60/en_301549v030201p.pdf

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Accessible Procurement and Vendor Accountability — Access, Policy, Standards · 2 shared sources
• Accessibility Triage for Existing Course Inventories — Access, Standards · 1 shared source
• Accessible Documents as Everyday Practice — Access, Standards · 1 shared source
• International and Regional Disability Rights Instruments — Access, Policy, Standards
• Captions, Transcripts and Audio Description — Access, Standards

Connected resources

• Accessible Procurement and Vendor Accountability — Institutions, governance and change
• Accessibility Triage for Existing Course Inventories — Standards and technical practice
• Accessible Documents as Everyday Practice — Standards and technical practice

Making Accessibility More Than Compliance

Access as design quality, not a checklist

Practised · resource in development

Treating accessibility as a dimension of good design rather than a minimum legal standard met at the end. It is the conceptual bridge from inclusive learning design to the accessibility, disability and accommodation branch, and to the engagements offered alongside it.

Group. Standards and technical practice

Home branch. Universal Design for Learning · Emerging

Grounding. WCAG; UDL; inclusive design

Themes. Access

Sources

• Reference 15: W3C (2023). Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2. W3C Recommendation.
• Reference 2: CAST (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, version 3.0.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Accessibility Review — Access · 2 shared sources
• Captions, Transcripts and Audio Description — Access · 1 shared source
• Inclusive Course & Curriculum Design — Access · 1 shared source
• Accessible Documents as Everyday Practice — Access · 1 shared source
• Accessible Physical and Hybrid Learning Environments — Access

Connected resources

• Designing for Learner Variability at Scale — Designing for variability
• Accessibility Review — Standards and technical practice
• Inclusive Course & Curriculum Design — Designing for variability
• Why Universal Design Never Eliminates Individual Accommodation — Rights and obligation

Evaluating Whether Design Reduced Barriers

Closing the UDL cycle with evidence

Practised · resource in development

Measuring whether an inclusive design actually lowered barriers, rather than assuming that it did — ending on rigor rather than aspiration. It belongs to the shared evaluation family that runs across the practice.

Group. Standards and technical practice

Home branch. Universal Design for Learning · Well established

Grounding. Evaluation design; Universal Design for Learning

Practised in. Accessibility KPIs in a provincial public-sector organisation; accessibility-first evaluation at a national technology education provider; iterative program evaluation at a national research laboratory; equity evaluation of placements at a research university

Themes. Evaluation, Access

Sources

• Reference 55: Kirkpatrick, D. L., & Kirkpatrick, J. D. (2006). Evaluating Training Programs: The Four Levels (3rd ed.). Berrett-Koehler.
• Reference 2: CAST (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, version 3.0.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Equity Evaluation of Experiential Learning Programs — Evaluation · 2 shared sources
• Accessibility Review — Access, Evaluation · 1 shared source
• Making Accessibility More Than Compliance — Access · 1 shared source
• Designing for Learner Variability at Scale — 1 shared source
• Onboarding Across Wide Experience Ranges — Access · 1 shared source

Connected resources

• Designing for Learner Variability at Scale — Designing for variability
• Institutional Accessibility Planning as a Change Program — Institutions, governance and change

Accessibility Remediation of Mandatory Training at Organisational Scale

The compliance training everyone must take, made usable by everyone

Practised · resource in development

Required training is the one learning experience every employee meets, and it is usually the least accessible thing the organisation owns. This resource covers auditing high-volume mandatory modules against screen-reader and keyboard use, redesigning them, building the templates that keep the next version accessible, and advising the departments that own the content on what conformance actually requires of them. It is the worked example behind the triage protocol.

Group. Standards and technical practice

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. WCAG 2.1/2.2; EN 301 549 and CAN/ASC-EN 301 549; remediation prioritisation

Practised in. A provincial public-sector organisation during a province-wide service transition: audits and redesign of mandatory safety and privacy training for screen-reader and keyboard compatibility; accessible templates and facilitation toolkits; cross-departmental WCAG 2.1 compliance advising

Themes. Standards, Access, Scale

Sources

• Reference 15: W3C (2023). Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2. W3C Recommendation.
  W3C (2023). Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2. W3C Recommendationhttps://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG22/
• Reference 25: ETSI/CEN/CENELEC (2021). EN 301 549 V3.2.1: Accessibility Requirements for ICT Products and Services. Harmonised European Standard.
  ETSI/CEN/CENELEC (2021). EN 301 549 V3.2.1: Accessibility Requirements for ICT Products and Services.…https://www.etsi.org/deliver/etsi_en/301500_301599/301549/03.02.01_60/en_301549v030201p.pdf
• Reference 61: CAN/ASC-EN 301 549:2024. Accessibility Requirements for ICT Products and Services (EN 301 549:2021, IDT). Accessibility Standards Canada, published 31 May 2024, available free of charge.
  CAN/ASC-EN 301 549:2024. Accessibility Requirements for ICT Products and Services (EN 301 549:2021, IDT).…https://accessible.canada.ca/creating-accessibility-standards/canasc-en-301-5492024-accessibility-requirements-ict-products-and-services

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Accessibility Triage for Existing Course Inventories — Standards and technical practice
• Designing for the Assistive Technology People Actually Use — Standards and technical practice
• Accessible Documents as Everyday Practice — Standards and technical practice
• Selecting Materials, Textbooks and Platforms — Standards and technical practice
• Accessible Procurement and Vendor Accountability — Institutions, governance and change

Connected resources

• Accessibility Triage for Existing Course Inventories — Standards and technical practice
• Designing for the Assistive Technology People Actually Use — Standards and technical practice
• Accessible Documents as Everyday Practice — Standards and technical practice

Accessible Live and Virtual Facilitation

Access in the room, and in the room that is a screen

Practised · resource in development

Facilitation is where accessibility standards meet a person in real time: captions that lag, a chat that a screen reader cannot follow, a breakout that leaves someone behind, a slide that only works in colour. This resource covers accessible design of live and virtual sessions — platform settings, materials, pacing, participation modes, and in-session audits — so that facilitation is accessible by default rather than repaired on request.

Group. Standards and technical practice

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. WCAG for live content; Media Accessibility User Requirements; adult learning practice

Practised in. A provincial public-sector organisation: province-wide e-facilitation rollout supporting remote learners through accessible technology; a national research laboratory: inclusive facilitation workshops with accessibility audits during live sessions

Themes. Access, Standards, Capacity

Sources

• Reference 15: W3C (2023). Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2. W3C Recommendation.
  W3C (2023). Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2. W3C Recommendationhttps://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG22/
• Reference 59: W3C (2015). Media Accessibility User Requirements. W3C Working Group Note.
  W3C (2015). Media Accessibility User Requirements. W3C Working Group Notehttps://www.w3.org/TR/media-accessibility-reqs/
• Reference 28: Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F., & Swanson, R. A. (2015). The Adult Learner (8th ed.). Routledge.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Inclusive Facilitation & Capacity Building — Institutions, governance and change
• Captions, Transcripts and Audio Description — Standards and technical practice
• Disability Etiquette and Communication in Learning Environments — Grounding
• Making Accessibility More Than Compliance — Standards and technical practice
• Accessible Documents as Everyday Practice — Standards and technical practice

Connected resources

• Inclusive Facilitation & Capacity Building — Institutions, governance and change
• Captions, Transcripts and Audio Description — Standards and technical practice
• Disability Etiquette and Communication in Learning Environments — Grounding

Sensory Access in Learning Environments

Noise, light, crowding, and the right to leave

Practised · resource in development

Physical accessibility standards address doors, ramps, and reach ranges; they say little about sound, light, density, and the availability of a place to withdraw. This resource covers sensory-informed design of learning spaces and events — quiet hours, noise indicators, lighting options, rest areas, tactile and non-speaking modes — and the piloting that shows which measures the people concerned actually use.

Group. Standards and technical practice

Home branch. Accessibility · Emerging

Grounding. Relational approaches to access and autism (Davidson); universal design of space; co-design

Practised in. A science centre: sensory-friendly exhibit prototypes and quiet-hours programming; an arts education non-profit working in schools: sensory-informed classroom planning (noise-level indicators, soft lighting, rest areas), tactile art kits, sensory avatars and non-speaking arts co-designed with children and teachers

Themes. Access, Standards, Disability studies

Sources

• Reference 54: CSA Group. CSA B651: Accessible Design for the Built Environment. Canadian Standards Association.
• Reference 35: Connell, B. R., Jones, M., Mace, R., Mueller, J., Mullick, A., Ostroff, E., Sanford, J., Steinfeld, E., Story, M., & Vanderheiden, G. (1997). The Principles of Universal Design, Version 2.0. Center for Universal Design, North Carolina State University.
• Reference 71: Davidson, J. (2010). “‘It cuts both ways’: A relational approach to access and accommodation for autism.” Social Science & Medicine, 70(2), 305–312.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Accessible Physical and Hybrid Learning Environments — Standards and technical practice
• Disability Categories and the Barriers People Meet — Grounding
• Access in Studio, Shop and Lab-Based Learning — Sectors and participation
• Why Universal Design Never Eliminates Individual Accommodation — Rights and obligation

Connected resources

• Accessible Physical and Hybrid Learning Environments — Standards and technical practice
• Disability Categories and the Barriers People Meet — Grounding
• Access in Studio, Shop and Lab-Based Learning — Sectors and participation

Accessibility Review

Four bodies of knowledge held in view at once

Published resource

How to review a learning environment while holding four bodies of knowledge in view at once: conformance standards, Universal Design for Learning, disability studies, and the systems that decide what gets built. It sets out the stages of a review, the decisions it turns on, and why its findings reach further than a surface-level compliance check.

Group. Standards and technical practice

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. WCAG; UDL; disability studies; systems knowledge

Practised in. Mandatory-training audits in a provincial public-sector organisation; live-session audits at a national research laboratory; an accessibility-first evaluation framework at a national technology education provider

Themes. Access, Evaluation

Sources

• Reference 15: W3C (2023). Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2. W3C Recommendation.
• Reference 2: CAST (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, version 3.0.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Making Accessibility More Than Compliance — Access · 2 shared sources
• Inclusive Course & Curriculum Design — Access · 1 shared source
• From Accommodation to Proactive Inclusive Design — Access · 1 shared source
• Eliminating Construct-Irrelevant Barriers in Assessment — Access · 1 shared source
• Evaluating Whether Design Reduced Barriers — Access, Evaluation · 1 shared source

Connected resources

• Making Accessibility More Than Compliance — Standards and technical practice
• Inclusive Course & Curriculum Design — Designing for variability
• Accessibility Triage for Existing Course Inventories — Standards and technical practice

Interpreting, Live Captioning, Note-Taking and Alternate Formats

Access services as service design

Practised · resource in development

Sign language interpreting, real-time captioning, note-taking and alternate-format production each depend on providers, lead times and preparation. The challenge is that a service arranged late, or without the course materials, may not provide the access it was approved to provide. This resource sets out what each service does and for whom, what has to be requested and how far ahead, the legal basis for producing alternate formats in Canada, and what an instructor contributes to making each service effective.

Group. Standards and technical practice

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. W3C Media Accessibility User Requirements; Marrakesh Treaty; Copyright Act (Canada), s. 32; Eldridge (SCC, 1997); PDF/UA

Themes. Standards, Access, Accommodation

Sources

• Reference 59: W3C (2015). Media Accessibility User Requirements. W3C Working Group Note.
  W3C (2015). Media Accessibility User Requirements. W3C Working Group Notehttps://www.w3.org/TR/media-accessibility-reqs/
• Reference 45: World Intellectual Property Organization (2013). Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled.
• Reference 81: Copyright Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-42, s. 32 — reproduction in alternate format for persons with perceptual disabilities.
• Reference 89: Eldridge v. British Columbia (Attorney General), [1997] 3 S.C.R. 624 — sign language interpretation as a condition of equal access to a public service.
• Reference 58: ISO 14289-1:2014. Document Management Applications — Electronic Document File Format Enhancement for Accessibility — Part 1: Use of ISO 32000-1 (PDF/UA-1). International Organization for Standardization.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Adapting Test Papers to Alternate Formats — Access, Accommodation, Standards · 2 shared sources
• Captions, Transcripts and Audio Description — Access, Standards · 1 shared source
• Accessible Documents as Everyday Practice — Access, Standards · 1 shared source
• Working with Accommodation Offices and Access Advisors — Access, Accommodation
• Accessible Live and Virtual Facilitation — Access, Standards · 1 shared source

Connected resources

• Captions, Transcripts and Audio Description — Standards and technical practice
• Accessible Documents as Everyday Practice — Standards and technical practice
• Working with Accommodation Offices and Access Advisors — Accommodation in practice

Delivering Accommodated Exams in a Learning Platform

Timing, attempts and assistive technology

Practised · resource in development

When an exam is delivered in a learning platform, the accommodation has to be configured there as well. The challenge is that platform settings, lockdown browsers and remote proctoring can conflict with the assistive technology a student uses. This resource covers individual time and attempt adjustments, question formats and their compatibility with screen readers, magnification and dictation, and what to verify before an exam opens. It includes a test routine that an instructor or exam team can run in advance with the student’s own set-up.

Group. Standards and technical practice

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. WCAG 2.2; CAN/ASC-EN 301 549:2024; construct validity (Messick); research on extended time (Lovett)

Themes. Standards, Assessment, Access

Sources

• Reference 15: W3C (2023). Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2. W3C Recommendation.
  W3C (2023). Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2. W3C Recommendationhttps://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG22/
• Reference 61: CAN/ASC-EN 301 549:2024. Accessibility Requirements for ICT Products and Services (EN 301 549:2021, IDT). Accessibility Standards Canada, published 31 May 2024, available free of charge.
  CAN/ASC-EN 301 549:2024. Accessibility Requirements for ICT Products and Services (EN 301 549:2021, IDT).…https://accessible.canada.ca/creating-accessibility-standards/canasc-en-301-5492024-accessibility-requirements-ict-products-and-services
• Reference 37: Messick, S. (1995). “Validity of Psychological Assessment: Validation of Inferences from Persons’ Responses and Performances as Scientific Inquiry into Score Meaning.” American Psychologist, 50(9), 741–749.
• Reference 79: Lovett, B. J. (2010). “Extended Time Testing Accommodations for Students With Disabilities: Answers to Five Fundamental Questions.” Review of Educational Research, 80(4), 611–638.
  Lovett, B. J. (2010). “Extended Time Testing Accommodations for Students With Disabilities: Answers…https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654310364063

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Designing for the Assistive Technology People Actually Use — Access, Standards · 1 shared source
• Selecting Materials, Textbooks and Platforms — Access, Standards · 1 shared source
• Accommodated Exams and Assessment Logistics — Access, Assessment · 2 shared sources
• Accessible Documents as Everyday Practice — Access, Standards · 2 shared sources
• Accessibility Remediation of Mandatory Training at Organisational Scale — Access, Standards · 2 shared sources

Connected resources

• Accommodated Exams and Assessment Logistics — Accommodation in practice
• Designing for the Assistive Technology People Actually Use — Standards and technical practice
• Selecting Materials, Textbooks and Platforms — Standards and technical practice

Adapting Test Papers to Alternate Formats

A secure, time-critical document in an accessible format

Practised · resource in development

A test paper has to be converted to an accessible format quickly and without being disclosed. The challenge is to do that while keeping it the same assessment. This resource covers preparing a paper for a screen reader such as JAWS, for text-to-speech such as Kurzweil, for dictation such as Dragon, and for large print and braille; describing a figure without supplying the answer; keeping the paper secure during conversion; and checking that the converted paper measures what the original measures.

Group. Standards and technical practice

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. PDF/UA (ISO 14289-1); WCAG 2.2; Copyright Act (Canada), s. 32; HAAT model (Cook & Polgar); construct validity (Messick)

Themes. Standards, Access, Accommodation

Sources

• Reference 58: ISO 14289-1:2014. Document Management Applications — Electronic Document File Format Enhancement for Accessibility — Part 1: Use of ISO 32000-1 (PDF/UA-1). International Organization for Standardization.
• Reference 15: W3C (2023). Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2. W3C Recommendation.
  W3C (2023). Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2. W3C Recommendationhttps://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG22/
• Reference 81: Copyright Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-42, s. 32 — reproduction in alternate format for persons with perceptual disabilities.
• Reference 16: Cook, A. M., & Polgar, J. M. (2015). Assistive Technologies: Principles and Practice (4th ed.). Elsevier — the source of the Human Activity Assistive Technology (HAAT) model.
• Reference 37: Messick, S. (1995). “Validity of Psychological Assessment: Validation of Inferences from Persons’ Responses and Performances as Scientific Inquiry into Score Meaning.” American Psychologist, 50(9), 741–749.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Interpreting, Live Captioning, Note-Taking and Alternate Formats — Access, Accommodation, Standards · 2 shared sources
• Accessible Documents as Everyday Practice — Access, Standards · 2 shared sources
• Accommodated Exams and Assessment Logistics — Access, Accommodation · 1 shared source
• Designing for the Assistive Technology People Actually Use — Access, Standards · 2 shared sources
• Delivering Accommodated Exams in a Learning Platform — Access, Standards · 2 shared sources

Connected resources

• Accessible Documents as Everyday Practice — Standards and technical practice
• Interpreting, Live Captioning, Note-Taking and Alternate Formats — Standards and technical practice
• Accommodated Exams and Assessment Logistics — Accommodation in practice

Essential Requirements Review

Engagement · Accessible Learning Labs

Offered as an engagement

For health, clinical and professional programmes and the professions they lead into, and for learning programmes of every kind. A requirement-by-requirement review, from admission to completion, that separates what a profession or programme genuinely requires from what has been inherited by convention, and tests each against the justification Canadian human rights law requires. The legal test sets the floor; disabled students and practitioners sit on the review, so their knowledge shapes what counts as essential; and the defensibility file the programme keeps is built to be revised as evidence arrives. Offered in support of accommodation offices and legal counsel, never in place of them.

Group. Engagements

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. Human rights and accommodation law; essential requirements; assessment validity; disability studies

Themes. Accommodation, Assessment, Policy

Sources

• Reference 36: British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU, [1999] 3 S.C.R. 3, 1999 CanLII 652 (SCC) — the “Meiorin” decision, establishing the unified bona fide requirement test and accommodation to the point of undue hardship.
• Reference 37: Messick, S. (1995). “Validity of Psychological Assessment: Validation of Inferences from Persons’ Responses and Performances as Scientific Inquiry into Score Meaning.” American Psychologist, 50(9), 741–749.
• Reference 48: Meeks, L. M., & Jain, N. R. (2018). Accessibility, Inclusion, and Action in Medical Education: Lived Experiences of Learners and Physicians with Disabilities. Association of American Medical Colleges.
• Reference 38: Human Rights Code, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 210. Province of British Columbia.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Access in Clinical and Placement Education — Accommodation, Assessment · 3 shared sources
• Essential Requirements and the Limits of Flexibility — Accommodation, Assessment · 2 shared sources
• The Duty to Accommodate in Learning Design — Accommodation, Policy · 2 shared sources
• Assessment Access and Validity Review — Accommodation, Assessment · 2 shared sources
• The Interactive Process in Learning Settings — Accommodation, Policy · 2 shared sources

Connected resources

• Essential Requirements and the Limits of Flexibility — Rights and obligation
• Access in Clinical and Placement Education — Sectors and participation
• The Duty to Accommodate in Learning Design — Rights and obligation

Assessment Access and Validity Review

Engagement · Accessible Learning Labs

Offered as an engagement

For programmes, testing centres and credentialing bodies. Assessments are examined for construct-irrelevant variance: the time limits, formats and conditions that measure something other than the outcome. Conformance and the duty to accommodate set the floor; the people who take the assessment take part in judging what it measures; and evaluation is built into the redesign so the assessment keeps improving. The result reduces how often individual accommodation is needed, without treating accommodation as lesser, and leaves the assessment more valid for everyone who takes it.

Group. Engagements

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. Educational measurement; validity theory; Universal Design for Learning; accommodation law

Themes. Assessment, Access, Accommodation

Sources

• Reference 37: Messick, S. (1995). “Validity of Psychological Assessment: Validation of Inferences from Persons’ Responses and Performances as Scientific Inquiry into Score Meaning.” American Psychologist, 50(9), 741–749.
• Reference 2: CAST (2024). Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, version 3.0.
• Reference 36: British Columbia (Public Service Employee Relations Commission) v. BCGSEU, [1999] 3 S.C.R. 3, 1999 CanLII 652 (SCC) — the “Meiorin” decision, establishing the unified bona fide requirement test and accommodation to the point of undue hardship.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Eliminating Construct-Irrelevant Barriers in Assessment — Access, Assessment · 2 shared sources
• Why Universal Design Never Eliminates Individual Accommodation — Access, Accommodation · 3 shared sources
• Essential Requirements and the Limits of Flexibility — Accommodation, Assessment · 2 shared sources
• Access in Clinical and Placement Education — Access, Accommodation, Assessment · 2 shared sources
• Essential Requirements Review — Accommodation, Assessment · 2 shared sources

Connected resources

• Eliminating Construct-Irrelevant Barriers in Assessment — Rights and obligation
• Essential Requirements and the Limits of Flexibility — Rights and obligation
• Why Universal Design Never Eliminates Individual Accommodation — Rights and obligation

Learning and Training Commitments Review

Engagement · Accessible Learning Labs

Offered as an engagement

For organisations required to publish an accessibility plan under the Accessible British Columbia Act or the Accessible Canada Act. Every plan commits to learning: staff training, faculty development, accessible onboarding, mandatory courses. Those commitments are where a plan changes practice or does not. Evidence, gathered with the people the training is meant to reach, of where the commitment and what people actually receive have drifted apart, and what to redesign before the next three-year update. The plan and the Act set the floor; the people the training serves judge whether it reached them; and evaluation is built into the training itself, so the next cycle can learn from this one.

Group. Engagements

Home branch. Accessibility · Well established

Grounding. Accessibility legislation; adult learning and faculty development; programme evaluation; organisational change; Fieldwork

Themes. Policy, Capacity, Change

Sources

• Reference 30: Accessible British Columbia Act, S.B.C. 2021, c. 19. Province of British Columbia.
• Reference 29: Accessible Canada Act, S.C. 2019, c. 10.
• Reference 28: Knowles, M. S., Holton, E. F., & Swanson, R. A. (2015). The Adult Learner (8th ed.). Routledge.
• Reference 31: Kotter, J. P. (1996). Leading Change. Harvard Business School Press.
• Reference 55: Kirkpatrick, D. L., & Kirkpatrick, J. D. (2006). Evaluating Training Programs: The Four Levels (3rd ed.). Berrett-Koehler.

Most related, by shared source and theme

• Institutional Accessibility Planning as a Change Program — Change, Policy · 3 shared sources
• Faculty Development That Changes Accessible Practice — Capacity, Change · 1 shared source
• Making the Case for Resourcing Accessibility Work — Change, Policy · 2 shared sources
• Closing the Knowing–Doing Gap
• Accessibility Remediation of Mandatory Training at Organisational Scale

Connected resources

• Institutional Accessibility Planning as a Change Program — Institutions, governance and change
• Faculty Development That Changes Accessible Practice — Institutions, governance and change
• Accessibility Remediation of Mandatory Training at Organisational Scale — Standards and technical practice
• Closing the Knowing–Doing Gap — Institutions, governance and change