By Craig Leroux, Senior Communications Officer

A proposed university policy on accessibility has been posted to the website of the University Secretariat for review and comment by the Queen’s community. The proposed policy would formalize Queen’s commitment to accessibility and contribute to its compliance with the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).

“Queen’s is committed to building a more inclusive community by improving access for persons with disabilities,” says Alan Harrison, Provost and Vice-Principal (Academic). “This policy supports that commitment by prioritizing the removal of barriers for students, employees, volunteers and visitors to the university.”

The policy states that Queen’s will continue to enable access to its goods, services, facilities, accommodations, employment, buildings, structures and premises by meeting the needs of persons with disabilities through the identification, removal and prevention of barriers.

Heidi Penning, Equity Advisor, says that the policy is one of the steps towards compliance with the AODA.

“In addition to the existing accessibility framework, this policy strengthens Queen’s commitment to accessibility and fulfills the university’s requirement under the AODA to have an institution-wide accessibility policy in place,” says Ms. Penning. “As we move forward, we will develop specific procedures to support this policy.”

In addition to this policy, Queen’s has launched a new Accessibility Hub to provide a central online gateway to accessibility information and resources, and recently distributed a blue folder entitled ACCESS Queen’s that also highlights accessibility resources and initiatives, and sets out the university’s multiyear plan.

The accessibility policy is now available for review. Comment is invited from the Queen’s community by Nov. 13, and may be sent by email.