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Graduate Students with Disabilities
Accommodations Policy (PDF)
Overview
The School of Graduate Studies welcomes graduate students with disabilities. In March 2012 the School of Graduate Studies officially adopted the following policy:
“Queen’s University is committed to providing accommodation for students with disabilities who are enrolled in any of its graduate programs. University administration, faculty, staff and other students are expected to support, to the point of undue hardship, all reasonable individualized and appropriate accommodation plans that preserve the program’s academic standards and adhere to the principles of academic integrity.”
This policy rests on several guiding principles:
1. Queen’s University is committed to creating a community that respects the dignity and worth of all persons who seek to participate in the life, work and mission of the University and to maintaining a culture that is welcoming, accommodating and supportive of persons with disabilities.
2. The essence of accommodating graduate students with disabilities is individualization and there is no set formula to be applied in developing accommodation plans. Each student’s needs are unique and must be considered afresh when an accommodation request is made. The University has an obligation to provide the most appropriate accommodation; that is, the accommodation that most respects the dignity of the individual with a disability, meets individual needs, and promotes integration and full participation.
3. The University, under the Ontario Human Rights Code, is required to accommodate graduate students with disabilities to the point of undue hardship. It is important to recognize that inconvenience, potential negative reaction from faculty or other students, third party preferences, collective agreements or contracts are not considered in the test of undue hardship.
4. Accommodations must preserve the academic standards and uphold the essential requirements of a program while adhering to the principles of academic integrity
(See: http://www.queensu.ca/sgs/facultystaff/policies/SGSAcademicIntegrityPolicyasofFeb2012.pdf). Essential requirements refer to the knowledge and skills that must be acquired and/or demonstrated in order for a student to successfully meet the learning objectives and the degree level expectations of a course or program of study.
Mediating individual accommodation requests takes into consideration a student’s disability and program-specific requirements. There can be no legitimate claim that academic standards would be compromised by requested accommodations unless it can be demonstrated that the provision of the accommodation would alter the essential requirements of a degree program.
Responsibilities of Graduate Students with Disabilities
If students feel accommodation of any kind would assist them in their graduate degree program, students are responsible to seek out the advice and assessment of Queen’s University Disability Services Office (DSO), and to maintain contact with that office as and when necessary. The Disability Services Office (DSO) in Health, Counselling and Disability Services (DSO) is the key organization at Queen’s that support students with disabilities.
Students are expected to:
- Notify the University about their disability and need for accommodation. The student does this by contacting the DSO about the need for accommodation as early as possible and by providing appropriate documentation in confidence as required by the University that verifies the presence of a permanent disability and indicates the student’s functional limitation in relation to their activities as a graduate student. Incoming students are advised to contact the DSO as early as possible at the start of their program, preferably in advance of their arrival at Queen’s.
- Actively engage with Disability Services Office staff, graduate supervisors, graduate coordinators and others as necessary to develop and implement an appropriate accommodation plan. Be willing to provide sufficient detail, in confidence to the Disability Services Advisor, about the disability and the impact it is expected to have on all of their activities as a graduate student, including academic and research-related activities.
- With support from the DSO, the student may confer if necessary with the graduate coordinator or supervisor about accommodation. The student retains the right to disclose or not to disclose disability-related information to the academic unit. Before asking the School of Graduate Studies for an accommodation, students are encouraged to consult with the DSO about the request.
- Renew his or her accommodations with the DSO on an annual basis or in the event of changes in the required accommodation.
All students must meet the degree requirements of their program, regardless of accommodation plans. All students must acquire and/or demonstrate the requisite knowledge and skills of their graduate degree and degree components, in order for a student to successfully meet the learning objectives and the degree level expectations of a course or program of study.
Resources
- Queen’s University Disability Services Office: http://www.queensu.ca/hcds/ds/about/index.html