Subject to financial and other resource constraints, the University is committed to providing equal access and reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities and to do so in a manner which promotes as much as possible self-determination. However, it remains an individual’s decision  whether to request an accommodation or whether to self-identify as a person with a disability.

The University respects the rights of privacy of the individual. To this end, information on students with disabilities will be treated as confidential. Only information necessary for programme development and implementation or for determining reasonable accommodations will be collected or shared. No information will be shared without the informed consent of the person with a disability who is involved.

Mount Allison is aware that the campus is not currently as physically accessible as desirable. The University is committed to improving access to academic programmes, to campus buildings and to support services for students with disabilities.

The Office of Student Services and the Meighen Centre (Learning Disabilities) offer a range of services to support the academic needs of students with disabilities. The Meighen Centre offers a range of  services to students with learning disabilities to which office all inquiries related to learning disabilities should be addressed. Student Services coordinates services to students with disabilities other than learning disabilities. Inquiries should be addressed to the Advisor to Students With Disabilities.
 
1. Equal opportunity.
Mount Allison is committed to the academic and non-academic development of students. The University seeks to remove attitudinal and environmental barriers which may hamper or prevent academically qualified students with disabilities from participating fully in University life.  The University understands that persons with disabilities may have different methods for achieving success  and acknowledges that performance is not inferior merely because it is different.

2.  Access.
The University recognizes that academically qualified students with disabilities will have access to its educational programmes, facilities and services.

3.  Individualised Assistance.
The University recognizes that academically qualified students with disabilities may require individualised assistance. However, with individualised assistance, it is expected that students with disabilities will maintain the University’s academic standards.

4. Fairness.
It is recognized that students with documented disabilities may require certain accommodations not required by other students in order to have an equal opportunity to
demonstrate their achievement of academic objectives.
 
5. Responsibilities of the University.
To ensure that academically qualified students with disabilities may pursue a post-secondary education of quality, the University will:

•  5.1       create and maintain a barrier-free environment by:
• (a) the provision of support services; and
• (b) promoting an attitude of respect for persons with disabilities; and
• (c) promoting sensitivity to the needs of persons with disabilities;
•  5.2     inform the University community about the services available to students with disabilities and seek to ensure that    such services are delivered in ways that promote equity;
• 5.3     where warranted and without compromising academic standards, provide reasonable accommodations.
• 5.4      in terms of  informed consent, take reasonable steps to consult students with disabilities about decisions relating to matters affecting them.
• 5.5     provide an appropriate level of  administrative support.
• 5.6     ensure that the provision of services to students with disabilities is provided by advisors with academic qualifications and professional expertise specific to the area of disabilities.

• 6.1 initiate contact with the appropriate office on campus as early as possible and make the nature of their disabilities and needs known, and
• 6.2  undertake a reasonable amount of self-advocacy to ensure that they are provided with an equal opportunity by the University.

7. Confidentiality.
Confidentiality means that only people who have a legitimate need for information should have access to it and that  they should only have access to as much information as they need to have. Information will only be shared with others if the student has consented to that information being shared with those other individuals.

8.  Provision of Documentation.
It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that comprehensive, current  documentation is provided to the University regarding his/her specific disability before services can be provided. Current documentation is deemed to be that which is no more than three years old. Comprehensive documentation means appropriate medical or psycho-educational verification by a recognised professional, including, but not limited to, the nature of the disability, a detailed explanation of the functional impact of the disability on the pursuit of post-secondary education and, where possible, explicit recommendations for remedial and coping strategies. A diagnosis alone ( e.g. “visually impaired”, “hearing impaired” or “ learning disability” ) is not sufficient.

9. Appeals Process.
Academic: Students who believe that they have not been treated fairly  in accordance with this policy in an academic matter are expected first to discuss the matter with the instructor. Any matters unresolved by discussion between students and instructors may be appealed to the department Head, then to the academic Dean, and then to the Vice-President (Academic).

Non-academic: Students who believe that they have not been treated fairly  in accordance with this policy in a non-academic matter are expected first to appeal to the Manager or Director of the non-academic department in question, then to the Dean of Students, then to the Vice-President (Academic).

10. Future directions.
The University is committed to improving  access to academic programmes, to campus buildings and to support services for students with disabilities.

11. Implementation.
The responsibility to implement these policies throughout the University rests on all members of the University community including faculty, administration, staff and students. Regarding implementation, the following should be considered:

• As the Meighen Centre and Student Services both provide services to students with disabilities, the provision of services and the decision making processes affecting students with disabilities at Mount Allison should occur along parallel paths:

• A Committee On Disabilities will be formed.  Membership will comprise:

• One student with a learning disability from the Meighen Centre student group
• One student with a disability other than a learning disability
• One of the Academic Deans ( this position to rotate)
• Two faculty members from faculties other than that of the incumbent Academic Dean
• The Coordinator of Admissions
• The Dean of Students or designate
• The Director of the Meighen Centre or designate
(See also Terms of Reference and Membership for Senate Committees at http://www.mta.ca./~rsummerb/senate1.htm)
• The Committee will report annually to the President on the activities of the Committee and on progress on improvements to the physical accessibility of the campus.
• Other resource people to be consulted from time to time should include a person from within or  outside the University community with legal training, the Director of Facilities Management, and  the Director of Computing Services.
• One member of the Committee should have professional expertise in disabilities. If the regular membership of the Committee did not include such a person, one should  be added from within or outside the University.
• The Chair of the Committee should  be recommended from among and by its members and be appointed by the President.
• The mandate of the Committee would be to review annually this policy and the services available to students with disabilities and to make recommendations concerning policy,  services, and removal of barriers.