About Us
Accessible Education is responsible for the determination and coordination of academic accommodation for students with permanent, temporary and suspected disabilities.
We honor disability as one of the many forms of diversity on our campus and as such, we actively collaborate with faculty, staff, and students to support an accessible campus.
We work to establish best practices for disability inclusion by identifying barriers to education and problem solving to create equitable learning environments.
Our Vision
All Western Students ... Belong. Learn. Thrive.
Our Mission
As part of Leadership & Learning, Accessible Education has a campus wide mandate to ensure that graduate and undergraduate students with disabilities attending Western, the Affiliates and Continuing Studies have a reasonable opportunity to engage in academic activities to fulfill essential course and program requirements.
Accessible Education supports and empowers students with disabilities by collaborating with the university community to ensure equal access to fully participate in the academic learning environment. With a strengths-informed approach and a focus on relationships, we support students as they navigate transitions, pursue their academic goals, and build a meaningful life and career.
Accessible Education assists members of the University understand their rights and obligations to fulfill this mission.
Our Values
Accessible Education plays a central role in Western’s efforts to ensure that its academic programs are accessible for all students at all levels. Understanding that the provision of academic accommodation is a shared responsibility, Accessible Education will work closely with students, teaching faculty and campus partners to develop and implement academic accommodation.
Accessible Education seeks make Western a fully accessible and barrier-free institution. With this guiding principle accommodation plans and eligibility will be designed with the following in mind:
- Empathy & Diversity: Disability is one of the many forms of identities that contributes to a thriving campus community. As students learn to navigate post-secondary and beyond we support the development of self-advocacy and self-determination skills.
- Collaboration & Integrity: Work proactively with our campus colleagues to serve as a resource that focuses on creating a welcoming, accessible environment in all aspects of university life. Representation of disability in dialogue and decision-making processes across the institution.
- Community: Inclusion for all is a shared responsibility. Partnering with the Western University community to ensure equal access.
- Growth & Innovation: Implement creative and forward-thinking solutions informed by universal design in our classrooms, labs, experiential learning and the campus community.
Acknowledging the Huron-Wendat Peoples
The Western University community has the privilege of being located on the traditional lands of the Anishinaabek, Haudenosaunee, Lūnaapéewak, and Chonnocton (Neutral) peoples. The Huron-Wendat peoples also have a history of living in this territory. This land continues to be home to diverse Indigenous Peoples (First Nations, Métis and Inuit) whom we recognize as contemporary stewards of the land and vital contributors to our society. By recognizing First Nations peoples’ relationships to land, we make explicit Indigenous Peoples’ presence and rights to self-determination.
The lessons and lived experience of these nations serves as an example that people from diverse backgrounds can live together and thrive while sharing the vision to create a welcoming and equitable society. Accessible Education has the honor to uphold best practices for disability inclusion by identifying barriers to education. We pledge to infuse these principles in our culture with every individual we have the privilege to support.
