Removing barriers for students with disabilities
The University of South Australia marked the International Day of
People with Disability on Wednesday December 3 with the launch of a new
policy supporting the inclusion of students with disabilities.
The new policy enhances UniSA's well-established support services to
ensure students with disabilities can participate in tertiary education
on an equal footing with other students.
UniSA's Senior Disability Adviser, Stephen Manson said the new policy
will help the University in its quest to remove barriers to education
for people with disabilities.
"Improving physical access on the campuses and online accessibility are
just two of the more practical ways the Uni support students with
disabilities," he said.
"The new policy aims to ensure that students have every opportunity for
success in university education, by providing specialised support
adaptations when students encounter barriers."
Manson said many students with serious back injuries, for example,
cannot sit for a three hour exam.
"The University has modified exam arrangements to allow the use of
specialised equipment and extra time to ensure these students are
treated fairly," he said.
"Above all, the policy aims to eliminate any form of discrimination that
may deter or prohibit students with disabilities from taking part in any
aspect of university life."
UniSA, which has the highest number of students with disabilities of all
Australian universities, has disability advisers on every campus and
state-of-the-art facilities including adaptive technology suites.
"We encourage students who are having difficulty resulting from
disability or chronic medical conditions to get in touch with our
service. There is nearly always support that can assist and it is
usually the simple things that can make a difference," Manson said.
Deputy Vice Chancellor, Academic, Professor Peter Lee said the revamped
policy is one example of UniSA's commitment to access and equity.
"The University's commitment goes well beyond simply recognising its
legal obligations. Respecting the right of every person to the
opportunity to a tertiary education is a fundamental aspect of UniSA's
charter," Prof Lee said.
UniSA's new Students with Disabilities policy can be found at
http://www.unisa.edu.au/policies/policies/corporate/C07.asp
For more information about the International Day of People with
Disability visit http://www.idpwd.com.au/