Policy supported:
Equity and Inclusion Policy.
Purpose
Adelaide University aspires to create an inclusive and equitable environment that promotes and supports full access and participation for all students. This document outlines the specific procedures and mechanisms that the University will implement to support the successful participation of students who have disabilities, chronic health conditions or mental health conditions and students who are unpaid carers of people with disabilities in university study.
Scope
Unless specifically indicated otherwise, the procedures contained in this document relate to all students enrolled with Adelaide University, irrespective of campus or study mode. Support services and reasonable adjustments may relate to a wide range of areas related to study at Adelaide University, including but not limited to, physical access to buildings, access to specialist technology resources, adaptation of teaching materials, adjustments to teaching methodology and assessments.
For the purposes of this document:
- The term “disability” is a broad term that includes a range of impairments, medical conditions, chronic illnesses, and injuries which have an ongoing impact on a person’s daily function or activity. It includes all disabilities as defined within the Disability Discrimination Act 1992.
- The term “unpaid carer” refers to an individual as defined in the Carer Recognition Act 2010 and includes an individual who provides significant unpaid personal care, support and assistance to another individual who has a disability, medical condition (including a terminal or chronic illness), mental illness, or is frail and aged. A person is considered an unpaid carer when the needs of the person they care for are significant, regular and above what is considered to be general parenting or family duties.
Procedure
1. Prospective students
1.1. Adelaide University recognises that people may have experienced educational disadvantages as a result of their disability, chronic health condition, mental health condition or unpaid caring role and will implement and monitor a flexible range of entry pathways to encourage greater participation of these groups in higher education.
1.2. The University will ensure information about services and reasonable adjustments are provided to prospective students in a variety of accessible formats.
1.3. All marketing and promotional information, activities and events will comply with recognised accessibility guidelines.
2. Admission and enrolment
2.1. Adelaide University will ensure that all aspects of admission and enrolment processes are inclusive and enabling through a process of continual review, identification and removal of systemic barriers.
2.2. All students are given the option to indicate they have a disability, chronic health condition, or mental health condition during the enrolment process. This is a confidential national dataset that all Australian universities are required to collect and report on. A student may elect to change or update this field at any time during their program of study.
2.3. Selecting the student support needs indicator during the enrolment process does not initiate any further disclosure to other parts of the University, nor does it lead to the automatic provision of reasonable adjustments, supports or services by the University.
2.4. If a student selects the student support needs indicator during the enrolment process, they are subsequently asked if they wish to be contacted about university support services. Where a student selects “yes”, they will be provided with information regarding the Inclusion & Accessibility Service. If a student selects "no", no further action will be taken.
2.5. A student who elects not to select the student support needs indicator during enrolment may choose to update these details at any later stage during their studies. Consequently, the provision of Inclusion & Accessibility Service is not dependent on a student selecting the student support needs indicator during or post enrolment.
3. Services and disclosure
3.1. The Inclusion & Accessibility Service will have specific responsibility for the assessment and arrangement of services for individual students who identify a medical or mental health condition, disability, or an unpaid caring role that may impact them and for recommending reasonable adjustments. These assessments and approvals are based on appropriate supporting documentation and an interview with the student. Services and individual adjustments will be documented in a formal plan, referred to herein as an Access Plan (refer to Section 6).
3.2. Responsibility for identifying the elements of a program or course that affect an individual’s ability to participate on the same basis as others is shared between Adelaide University and the student. The University will not be required to implement individual adjustments unless a student has an approved Access Plan in place (refer to Section 6). Correspondingly, an Access Plan will be developed collaboratively with the student.
3.3. Students do not need to provide evidence or formally disclose a disability, medical or health condition in order to discuss or receive advice from the Inclusion & Accessibility Service.
3.4. Students will only need to provide formal evidence of their disability, medical or mental health condition or unpaid caring role to the Inclusion & Accessibility Service if seeking funded supports or formal academic adjustments as part of an Access Plan (refer to Section 6).
4. Evidence of impact/supporting documentation
4.1. Students with disabilities, medical or mental health conditions or unpaid caring responsibilities who request funded supports or academic adjustments as part of an Access Plan will be required to provide evidence of their condition or unpaid caring role and its likely impact on studies. This requirement for evidence is not intended as a barrier to services but is designed to protect the integrity of the eligibility process and ensure equitable and ethical allocation of resources to students.
4.2. Students must provide the Inclusion & Accessibility Adviser with documentation from an appropriate registered medical or health professional, which includes:
- confirmation of the condition or circumstances; or
- evidence the student has a condition that meets the definition of disability as defined in the Disability Discrimination Act 1992; and
- a description of the current functional impact of the condition on their ability to study and any specific recommendations for adjustments and services that may be required. The documentation must clearly identify the health professional and their credentials, and be legible, on letterhead, dated, and signed.
4.3. Students may elect to provide copies of relevant medical reports already in their possession, or they may request their relevant treating practitioner to complete an [Inclusion & Accessibility Health Practitioner Form].
4.4. The following conditions require separate, specific documentary evidence to ensure consistency and compliance with nationally recognised criteria:
4.4.1 Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD):
a. an ASD/ADHD specific clinical diagnostic report.
4.4.2 Specific Learning Disability:
- a psychometric educational assessment report undertaken by a registered clinical psychologist or speech pathologist, completed at the age of 12 or over
- evidence of a diagnostic assessment completed before the age of 12 with a letter from the student’s high school confirming that learning adjustments were required throughout the student’s secondary education; or, a statement or letter from the relevant state/territory education authority or examination board (e.g., SACE Board) specifying the accommodations and adjustments permitted during examinations.
5. Confidentiality
5.1. Disability, medical, and any other personal information provided by students to the Inclusion & Accessibility Service will be treated in accordance with the University’s Privacy Policy. Information will not be disseminated without the student’s explicit consent. Information will only be disclosed without the student’s consent if there is a legal requirement to do so.
6. Access Plan
The Access Plan will be the primary method by which the University documents the impact of the student’s disability, medical or mental health condition and the details of reasonable adjustments recommended in relation to assessment, teaching practice and resources.
6.1. An Access Plan can only be created, approved and issued by an Inclusion & Accessibility Adviser, in consultation with the student. An Access Plan will not be approved or issued until the student has provided appropriate supporting documentation (refer to Section 4).
6.2. In the case of Graduate Research students a plan outlining any services and adjustments should be established in consultation with the student, the Inclusion & Accessibility Adviser and the [Graduate Degree Research academic lead] and/or Supervisor. Access Plans should be developed to support both the proposal and research components for the degree.
6.3. The student is responsible for contacting each Course Coordinator and providing copies of their Access Plan.
6.4. Wherever possible, students are encouraged to advocate on their own behalf, informing teaching staff about the adjustments they require and using their Access Plan as a basis for negotiation. Upon request, Inclusion & Accessibility Advisers can provide students with assistance in discussing and negotiating their disability related needs with university staff.
6.5. Students are required to make any requests for disability related services and adjustments to academic staff in a timely manner, such that academic participation can be planned over the duration of a study period.
6.6. Some adjustments and services need to be organised prior to the semester commencing, as they may take some time to organise. Students with complex requirements (where the provision of an adjustment is likely to require time to organise or where the Inclusion & Accessibility Service may need to engage an external provider e.g., professional captioning, Auslan interpretation, alternative format materials, purchase of equipment) must advise Inclusion & Accessibility of their course enrolment at least four weeks prior to the start of each teaching period or there may be a delay.
6.7. Academic staff are expected to use the information contained in the Access Plan as a basis for discussion with the student about their individual requirements. Further information and advice may be sought from the Inclusion & Accessibility Service in relation to understanding and exploring the impact of adjustments on particular course content.
6.8. Students will not need to provide additional medical certification to academic staff for approved reasonable adjustments as outlined in their Access Plan. Additional supporting evidence may be required for extensions and/or variations beyond those included in the Access Plan.
7. Reasonable adjustments to teaching and assessment
7.1. Adjustments to teaching and assessment will be made to accommodate the impact of disability without compromising the academic standard, integrity or inherent requirements of a program, course or assessment requirements or processes.
7.2. Teaching practice
7.2.1 Academic staff are required to make reasonable adjustments to teaching methodology to enable the full participation of students with disabilities in in-class learning activities.
7.2.2 Students are responsible for advising teaching staff about their individual needs as soon as possible, using their Access Plan as a basis for this discussion. Teaching staff, in consultation with the student and, where needed, the Inclusion & Accessibility Adviser, will work collaboratively to clarify and implement the required adjustments. Students must allow teaching staff a reasonable time to organise and implement any adjustments that are required.
7.2.3 The Inclusion & Accessibility Service will liaise with Course Coordinators to identify and organise the conversion of teaching materials and resources to certain alternative formats if required as part of an individual student’s Access Plan. Examples of alternative formats include braille, large print, audio transcriptions and video captioning.
7.2.4 The Inclusion & Accessibility Service will fund the costs of transcription, braille and captioning by external providers for individual students only. Academic staff should contact the Learning, Teaching & Innovation team for assistance with embedding universally accessible course content within the [University’s Learning Management System].
7.3. Assessment adjustment
7.3.1 It is the responsibility of the Course Coordinator to arrange and implement required adjustments to in-class tests and assessments as outlined in a student’s Access Plan, such as the provision of hard copy test papers in enlarged font or any other changes to the physical layout or methodology of the test or task.
7.3.2 It is the responsibility of the relevant School to arrange and supply suitable alternative rooms and individual invigilation for in-class tests or tasks if required as part of a student’s Access Plan.
7.3.3 Reasonable adjustments for examinations and other centrally managed assessments will be implemented in accordance with the University’s examinations/assessment arrangements and the student’s Access Plan.
8. Responsibilities
8.1. Promulgation, Monitoring and Review
8.1.1 Overall responsibility for the review of this procedure resides with the Responsible Officer.
8.1.2 All [Academic and Central Units] have a responsibility to promulgate and monitor the implementation of this procedure.
8.1.3 The University will regularly evaluate the effectiveness of Access Plans and associated support services, in line with the Higher Education Standards Framework (HESF, Standard 6.2.1), to ensure they continue to meet student needs and support equitable participation.
8.2. Education and Training
8.2.1 Relevant student experience, teaching and learning, and people and culture functions will work together to identify and lead appropriate training and education initiatives for staff and students that improve disability awareness and understanding of inclusive practices.
8.2.2 All staff have a responsibility to participate in training and education in order to understand and fulfil their obligations and embed a culture of inclusion across the University.
9. Resolving concerns should they arise
9.1. Should concerns arise with the implementation of this procedure, staff and students are encouraged to resolve matters locally in the first instance whenever possible. This will usually involve relevant staff such as the Program Director, Dean Academic and Inclusion & Accessibility Adviser.
9.2. If a problem escalates to a complaint, students should refer to the University’s Student Complaints Resolution Procedure.
9.3. Assistance in understanding and navigating the complaints procedure can be sought from the Student Complaints team, Adelaide University Student Association, the Student Ombud or external advocacy agencies.