If you have a disability and are seeking academic accommodation, the Centre for Accessible Learning can help. We encourage you to connect with CAL 8-12 weeks prior to the start of your classes.
Step 1: Prepare your documentation
To register with CAL, you'll need to provide documentation of your medical condition or disability. Your medical docs are key in helping the CAL team make good decisions when developing an accommodation plan for you.
Expenses related to obtaining documentation are your responsibility, however there may be resources available to help you with costs such as:
- existing health plan coverage
- sources of low or reduced-cost medical assessment scaled to income
- federal grant funding (learning disability assessment specific)
- Camosun Student Society assistance for students in financial hardship
A CAL instructor may be able to refer you to one or more of these sources.
Documentation does not need to have been created specifically for Camosun. If you have documentation that was obtained for another purpose (e.g., for another institution or for applying for disability grants), the Centre can accept a copy if it contains sufficient information.
While an IEP from high school is not in itself sufficient, it may may provide enough information for CAL to implement interim accommodations until you can obtain more fulsome docs. Meeting with a CAL instructor to discuss and explore this would be an important step if this applies to you.
Medical documentation should be prepared by a professional qualified to diagnose in the area of your disability, should be recent (typically completed within the past 3-5 years) and provide:
- the professional's name, title, phone number and address, official stamp or letterhead and signature/license number and date the medical was prepared
- a statement of the nature of the disability including the DSM or ICD code and expected duration
- an explanation of the functional impact(s) of the disability on your education
- students with Specific Learning Disabilities should submit a Psycho-Educational Assessment completed by a registered psychologist, registered psychological associate or a certified school psychologist
If you have a disability but don't have current medical documentation, or if you're not sure if your medical docs will be sufficient to register with CAL, please submit them and we will let you know if we require further documentation. We can often assist with some options for obtaining medical documentation and/or providing interim accommodations while you access further documentation.
Our recommendation is to complete the online-pre intake below and CAL will reach out to you to schedule a consultation appointment with a CAL instructor to discuss.
* Students who are also wishing to apply for provincial post secondary disability grants can streamline the process of applying with the funder by requesting their medical assessor provide disability and functional impact information required by using one of these helpful downloadable forms:
- Brain Injury
- Hearing
- Mental Health (same form can also be used for ADHD and Autism Spectrum)
- Permanent or Chronic Disability
- Visual
- Students with Specific Learning Disabilities should submit a Psycho-Educational Assessment completed by a registered psychologist, registered psychological associate or a certified school psychologist.
Step 2: Submit your pre-intake form online
Scan your medical documentation and save as PDF or .jpeg file(s) and be prepared to upload securely through the CAL online Pre-Intake web form which you can access using your Camosun student number and password.
- for those who cannot log into the pre-intake form with a Camosun student login, please contact our front desk to discuss options for providing the required information to CAL.
Once we have reviewed your pre-intake info, we will contact you by email to schedule a phone, virtual or in-person appointment or request more information.
*If you submit pre-intake information to CAL but are not yet accepted to study at Camosun or do not have course enrolment confirmed, CAL may pause the intake process and request you let us know closer to the time that you will begin classes.
Your supporting documentation is confidential and kept securely with the Centre for Accessible Learning. It is used for the purpose of determining eligibility for academic accommodation.
Step 3: Attend a 'prospective-to-CAL' or 'intake' appointment
At the intake appointment, we will discuss academic accommodations designed to lower disability-related barriers to access in your course work and services you may be eligible for. Considerations of taking a reduced course load, funding options and other access-related educational issues may also be discussed.
Plan ahead
We recommend you contact us 12 weeks prior to the start of your classes.
Services requests take time to implement. You may require a visual language interpreter or real time transcriber. The sooner we connect, the smoother your transition to Camosun will be. Planning and scheduling sign language interpreting/or transcribing or visual access services take months to plan. Students requesting these need to connect with CAL as early as possible so arrangements can be made.
*In cases where adequate notice is not provided, CAL will make every reasonable effort to arrange the requested accommodations and related services, but we cannot guarantee their availability.
Transition to College, Students with Disabilities and Supporters
Accommodations
We work with students on a case-by-case basis to determine academic accommodations that fit their unique situation. One student’s academic accommodations might be different from another’s and the relationship of those accommodations may intersect with essential learning outcomes in each course differently.
Academic accommodations decision making is a dynamic and consultative process guided by key concepts, key content and some limitations.
Classroom accommodations examples:
- digital audio recorder
- peer note sharer
- visual language interpreter or real time transcriber
- use of a digital device to take notes
- FM amplification system
- accessible seating
Exam accommodations examples:
- extra time to complete exams (e.g., 1.25x or 1.5x)
- separate setting (shared or separate space as available)
- breaks taken typically within the approved extra time
- adaptive software (e.g., voice to text, text to speech, screen enlargement)
- adaptive hardware (e.g., CCTV enlarger, refreshable braille display)
- accessible seating
- word processor with or without spell check
- calculator where basic numeracy is not being assessed