UW is taking steps to make education more accessible. What started with the launch of Accessible Education Day last fall has grown into a broader project focused on building a more inclusive teaching and learning environment.

Accessible Education Day brought together students, staff, and faculty to talk openly about barriers in the classroom. This year, the event will return on Oct. 15, featuring a “Lived Experience Panel” to highlight the voices of students and community members navigating accessibility challenges. These conversations are shaping what happens next.

According to Kyle Scholz, a member of the Accessible Education Project team, the initiative is rooted in recommendations from the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). “The Accessible Education Project was created to ensure that [UW] is a leader in promoting accessibility in our teaching and learning,” he explains. “A core message of this work is that effective teaching is accessible. Instructors can create a more accessible learning environment for disabled learners that will ultimately result in a better learning environment for all learners.”

Over the past year, the project has rolled out several key initiatives. Scholz points to milestones such as the Accessible Teaching website, the draft Student Academic Disability Accommodations Policy, and resources like the Postsecondary Course Accessibility Guide. The team has also partnered with academic support units, guided programs in identifying “Essential Requirements,” hosted retreats and workshops, and even piloted an accessibility stream within the WE Accelerate program.

“Our work is largely centered around supporting instructors by empowering them to make their teaching accessible,” Scholz says. “The cascading effect then is that students will see noticeable changes in their learning experiences and environments that are more inclusive and accessible.”

He adds that upcoming policies will strengthen accommodation guidelines, while projects like creating repositories of pre-vetted accessible software will reduce the burden on students asked to use new technologies that may not meet accessibility standards.

Student feedback has influenced the design in Postsecondary Course Accessibility Guide and informed the drafting of policies under development. Scholz notes, “Student voice has also been sought in the drafting of the aforementioned policy to ensure that it speaks to their experience and is reasonable for students to adhere to.” As UW continues this work, the hope is that accessibility becomes not just a project but a more permanent part of the university’s identity.