About reasonable accommodations for disabilities

Waipapa Taumata Rau University of Auckland has developed a new suite of documents that affirm our commitment to equity and inclusion for people with disabilities. These include our Reasonable Accommodations for Disability Policy, accompanying procedures, and detailed guidelines and case studies.

Reasonable accommodations support disabled members of our University community to participate on an equal basis with others. The policy and procedures outline the University's responsibilities, and how to request, assess, and implement reasonable accommodations.

The documents were developed through a collaborative process. The Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor Equity worked closely with:

Interested groups, such as:

• Disabled Staff/Staff with Disabilities Network
• AUSA
• Disability Action Plan Reference Group
• Equity Action Network

Key groups who are involved with decisions and implementation of reasonable accommodations:

• Ratonga Hauātanga Tauira, Student Disability Services
• Inclusive Learning
• Staff Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
• General Counsel and the Risk Office

The University Equity Leadership Committee provided strategic oversight and advice.

To support implementation, the reasonable accommodations for disability guidelines and case studies offer practical information to help people understand and apply the policy and procedures effectively.

These resources mark a significant step in our journey towards an environment where everyone can thrive.  

Why reasonable accommodations may be required

University environments, including its structures, systems, processes and practices, can interact with a person’s disability, creating barriers to their participation. Reasonable accommodations remove or mitigate barriers where it is reasonable to do so.

Failure to provide reasonable accommodations may amount to unlawful discrimination and breach the Human Rights Act 1993.

Common examples of accommodations

Physical adjustments, such as:

• Ensuring access to a building or equipment
• Reorganising workspaces to improve accessibility, or respond to sensitivities such as to noise, light or smell
• Providing appropriate equipment and furniture, such as an ergonomic chair or height adjustable desk.

Modifying the way a job is done, for example by:

• Changing tasks
• Allocating or swapping non-essential aspects of the job to another employee.
•  
• Making adjustments to how we teach, such as:
• Ensuring Canvas courses meet the University’s baseline standards
• Providing for alternative assessment tasks, assignment deadline flexibility, oral assessments, or presentations by video to the lecturer or in a small group only.

What will be appropriate, and can be provided or changed, depends on the circumstances of individual cases.

Creating the policy and procedures

The policy and procedures are based on:

• Current University practices and desktop research
• Collaboration with key staff involved with implementation
• Informal engagement with interested staff and student groups
• Feedback from formal consultation via the Policy Hub

Feedback from staff, students, and interested groups, led to significant improvements to the policy and procedures. These included:

• Making sure that ‘disabled people’ and ‘people with disabilities’ were used interchangeably throughout the document - recognising that some people prefer identify-first language while others prefer person-first language
• Having clear explanatory notes throughout the documents to aid interpretation
• Explaining that external research funding, Research Development Accounts, or funds which staff members typically use to support research and supervision should not need to be used to procure reasonable accommodations
• Ensuring that the policy and procedures apply to events and student recruitment
• Recognising the often significant costs and delays associated with providing information such as medical documentation or other assessments
• Helping ensure the procedures apply across the various courses provided by the University.

Staff, students and interested groups also assisted with the guidelines. They:

• Advocated for a wide range of case study examples to be included, to help people understand the different types of reasonable accommodations and the effect they have on participation for people with disabilities
• Highlighted the varying levels of understanding that people have about reasonable accommodations, and the need for guidance about:
  • What is required from staff responding to accommodations requests
  • Stigma and implicit bias
  • Privacy

Implementation of the policy and procedures

The Office of the Pro Vice-Chancellor Equity will:

• Meet with teams and groups across the University to raise awareness and support implementation of the policy and procedures in their areas
• Issue regular communications about reasonable accommodations to assist understanding
• Work with relevant staff to ensure information is provided in staff recruitment and onboarding, as well as at student orientation
• Encourage staff to undertake Disability Confidence, Hidden Disabilities Sunflower, and Privacy 101 Training, which are available via Hono.

Training and information

Disability Confidence, Hidden Disabilities Sunflower, and Privacy 101 training are available via Hono. They seek to address barriers that perpetuate disability discrimination, and provide a general overview of how to support inclusion of people with disabilities and protect sensitive information.

The reasonable accommodations for disability guidelines and case studies provide detailed information about reasonable accommodations.