Each month we invite you to join us for conversations and learning opportunities. We will share our collective knowledge and invite guests to talk about creating learning experiences where students and employees thrive and learn without barriers.

We will use the Eventbrite platform for registration and Zoom for our virtual learning platform. Our events are inclusively and accessibly designed, but please let us know of any individual accommodations you would like by emailing us at info@AccessibilityConsulting.ca.

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AODA Proposed PSE Standards: Physical and Architectural

Thursday, January 25, 2024 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM EDT

Event Details

Join us on January 25 2024 at 1:00 PM EDT for a free virtual chat with Ontario’s Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee members Join us on January 25, 2024 at 1:00 PM EDT for a free virtual chat with Ontario’s Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee members for Barrier Area Seven: Physical and Architectural.

During this event, we will be joined by the Physical and Architectural committee members – Ben Poyton (Lead), Julia Kowal, and Karen Csoli.

Recommendations in this section are focused on identifying and addressing barriers to accessibility in the built environment of postsecondary institutions. We took an expansive view of the “built environment”, acknowledging that access should not be limited to buildings but include all the human-made environments in which we live, work and study on a routine basis. In developing our recommendations, we focused on building on existing standards already in use at many postsecondary institutions and shaped our recommendations to address any gaps.

Our recommendations were developed by individuals with lived experience of barriers to the built environment, and those with oversight of providing accessible services and addressing systemic barriers in diverse postsecondary settings. These experiences helped us begin our work from the understanding that our institutions are not universally accessible.

We will provide an overview of the barrier area and the proposed recommendations in the following five key areas:

• technical requirements – specifications for creating an accessible built environment
• scope – where these standards apply
• maintenance and upkeep – ensuring what is accessible stays accessible
• planning, operations, decision-making, oversight – creating transparency, disability-informed decisions and sustained changes
• awareness, user experience and transparency – improvement projects, signage, training for architects.

Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and engage in a discussion about the proposed recommendations.

This event is open to anyone interested in accessibility and inclusion in postsecondary education.