The 2024 AMS Academic Experience Survey (AES) revealed that only 30 per cent of students with one or more disabilities are registered with UBC’s Centre for Accessibility (CFA).
This figure has remained consistent across surveys since 2019, and according to the 2024 report, “the [reason] for the vast majority of students not registered with the CFA … was not choice or preference.”
The survey showed that 22 per cent of students with disabilities found the CFA registration process too inconvenient and another 22 per cent were unaware of the services offered. A further 19 per cent reported not knowing how to navigate the registration process.
In an interview with The Ubyssey, former AMS VP Academic and University Affairs Drédyn Fontana highlighted the scope of the issue and emphasized the CFA’s need for better data collection strategies.
“It’s a larger issue than just the CFA. It's the entire infrastructure of UBC,” Fontana said.
“Feedback mechanisms are really important and not just … for students registered, but … for any student that comes to the front desk and asks for a service and then isn't able to get that service.”
Fontana also said UBC units need to collaborate to ensure a more holistic approach to accessibility is taken.
“There should be more collaboration, and there should be more units with the ability to enforce human rights legislation with a more intersectional lens,” he said. “That’s something that people really have been asking for, and … UBC can step up.”
Systemic change needed
CFA Director Wendy Norman spoke to The Ubyssey about the problems highlighted in the AES and said the accessibility issues faced at UBC mirror broader trends throughout Canada.
“Significantly more students report … having a disability than there are students accessing centres like the CFA [across Canada],” she said.
Norman pointed to growing challenges within the Canadian healthcare system and evolving cultural and legal definitions of disability as key factors contributing to this gap.
“Finding appropriate care, … finding a family doctor, wait times and cost for assessments, etc, have gotten increasingly challenging for everybody, including students,” Norman said.
Norman also outlined several short-term strategies the CFA is working on in an attempt to address barriers to care. These range from developing orientation materials and infographics to creating an information toolkit for students.
“We are [also] exploring online booking for students …. and identifying mechanisms for student feedback,” she added.
Norman also said the CFA is working to improve accessibility for specific student groups, such as international students, as a part of its broader strategy to expand accessibility and support across UBC’s diverse student population.
Looking ahead, Norman emphasized the need for systemic solutions.
“Long-term, we really need to look at our broader communication strategy and how that connects to other resources and channels at the institution,” she said.
“Systemic work is really critical to the future direction of both the CFA and really accessibility as a whole at UBC and elsewhere.”
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