Multi-Year Accessibility Plan

Accessibility and Inclusion at Centennial College

View our Accessibility and Inclusion Commitments

At Centennial College, we are committed to creating accessible and inclusive learning, working, and living environments for people with disabilities.

Over the years, the College has taken a strategic approach toward implementation the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) towards its goal of achieving accessibility for Ontarians with disabilities with respect to goods, services, facilities, accommodations, employment, buildings, structures and premises on or before January 1, 2025.

Centennial College recognizes that cultivating and sustaining a truly accessible and inclusive community does not end with compliance with the AODA’s requirements. It requires ongoing monitoring, evaluation, and co-creation with people with disabilities and broader community. We also recognized that ensuring accessibility is a shared responsibility across all members of the College community.

The Multi-Year Accessibility Plan 2021-2025 captures:

The College’s ongoing commitment to identifying and removing barriers experienced by people with disabilities
The College’s accessibility objectives and key priority actions toward barrier-free College where all members with disabilities feel valued, welcomed, and a sense of belonging and have equitable opportunities to contribute to shaping of the College.

Centennial College’s ongoing commitments to accessibility

Centennial College is committed to make inclusive, accessible learning the norm in all that we do (Academic Plan 2021-2025, p. 51)
Centennial College is committed to continuously updating and providing training in accessible practices, the requirements of Ontario’s accessibility laws and the Ontario Human Rights Code as it applies to people with disabilities.
Centennial College is committed to providing accessible customer service to people with disabilities. This means that we will provide goods and services to people with disabilities with the same high quality and timeliness as others.
Centennial College is committed to making our information and communications accessible to people with disabilities.
Centennial College is committed to fair and accessible employment practices.
Centennial College is committed to accessible procurement processes.
Centennial is committed meeting accessibility laws when building or making major changes to public spaces.

Guiding Principles for the Accessibility Plan

View our Guiding Principles for Accessibility Plan

Proactive. The Plan prioritizes proactive rather than reactive accessibility efforts by embracing inclusive design and universal design for learning (UDL) approaches in all that we do.

Co-designed. Ensuring accessibility is a shared responsibility. Therefore, the Plan must engage diverse perspectives in its creation and implementation. Co-designing with people with disabilities is especially important as what is accessible for one person in one context may not be accessible for another person or even for the same person in another context.

Iterative. The path toward accessibility is not always linear. Accessibility and inclusion are constantly evolving with ever-changing technologies and economic realities (e.g., COVID-19 pandemic). The College will review the Plan every year and make changes as needed (e.g., addition of new goals or ley priority actions). We will inform each iteration with careful assessment and evaluation of our progress.

The current iteration of the Plan was co-designed with Centennial College’s students and employees with disabilities as well as other members who will act as changemakers. The key priority actions for each accessibility goal outlined in the Plan will continue to engage people with disabilities as co-designers who actively participate in identifying barriers and designing solutions.

The development of the Plan was informed by:

Centennial College students and alumni through existing feedback instruments documenting accessibility such as Student Pulse Survey, CALCS End-of-the-Year Survey and accessibility focus groups in Fall 2020. Read report of the analysis prepared by the Centre for Global Citizenship Education and Inclusion in Appendix A.
The initial recommendations from the Postsecondary Education Standards Development Committee. The committee works to ensure publicly funded postsecondary education is more accessible to people with disabilities.
Consultations with Centennial College’s AODA Committee and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Advisory Group.

Progress and accomplishments of accessibility goals will be captured and widely shared in our Annual Accessibility Status Report.

Accessibility Goals and Key Priority Actions

Goal 1: Dismantle systemic ableism and discriminatory practices and approaches

Key Priority Actions	Timeline	Responsibility Department(s)
Review and revise our policies to identify and remove any ableist assumptions, and then rebuild these policies with inclusive design principles at the core.	Ongoing	-Centre for Global Citizenship Education and Inclusion (GCEI) -Centre for Accessible Learning and Counselling Services (CALCS)
Update and expand on trainings on accessibility tailored to different roles across the College.	Ongoing	GCEI
Integrate Ableism in Higher Education into the Equity and Inclusion Perspectives Program	December, 2021	GCEI
Redesign the Accessibility Barriers Identification form to engage in ongoing identification, assessment, and evaluation of systemic barriers and inequitable institutional practices and research of evidence informed practices	March, 2022	GCEI
Each department/School to identify one or more accessibility goals with measurable outcomes and clear timeline.	September, 2022	Liaised by GCEI
Review departmental policies and procedures (for Libraries and Learning Centres) related to space and resource access in collaboration with staff and students from an inclusive design perspective	2022-2023	Library and Learning Centres (LLC)

Goal 2: Establish a student-centred approach to accessible teaching learning

Key Priority Actions	Timeline	Responsibility Department(s)
Continue embedding Quality Matters, UDL framework, WCAG, in all course development projects and resources for course development	Ongoing	Academic Excellence and Program Quality (AEPQ)
Adopt user-centred methodologies to assess and evaluate the accessibility and usability of learning technologies	Ongoing	-Centre for Faculty Development and Teaching Innovation (CFDTI) -AEPQ -GCEI -CALCS
Use data student course feedback surveys towards more accessible course design and delivery	Ongoing	AEPQ
Provide information about accessibility and UDL through recommendations to faculty about course resources and assessments to ensure accessibility to all students during our day-to-day support and throughout sessions where applicable	Ongoing	CFDTI
Complete the manual accessibility audit of Hire Centennial to improve the access to experiential learning opportunities for students with disabilities	March, 2023	Career and Co-op Education
Support faculty in embedding Universal Design for Learning in their courses through the creation of a Recording Studio in the Progress Library Makerspace and engage faculty in all schools in the development of an alternative assessment or online learning content that uses Makerspace recording equipment	2022-2023	LLC
Ensure that information literacy and learning skills instruction is reviewed from a UDL lens	2022-2024	LLC

Goal 3: Increase engagement experiences for students with disabilities

Key Priority Actions	Timeline	Responsibility Department(s)
Increase leadership and research/innovation opportunities for students with disabilities by supporting the Enabling Accessibility Fund: Youth Innovation component	Ongoing	Liaised by GCEI
Enhance the peer-to-peer support and mentorship programs for students with disabilities	Summer, 2022	Liaised by GCEI

Goal 4: Build institutional capacity to implement emerging best practices for accessible employment

Key Priority Actions	Timeline	Responsibility Department(s)
In partnership with community organizations (disability support), develop resources and host annual events promoting accessible employment practices among industry partners	Ongoing	GCEI
Develop a guide to support managers’ capacity to implement accessible employment practices in collaboration with Disability Consultant	September, 2022	GCEI

Goal 5: Increase institutional effectiveness in advancing the goals of digital accessibility

Key Priority Actions	Timeline	Responsibility Department(s)
Update training and resources to support creation of accessible websites and web content, including documents, social media, Open Educational Resources	Ongoing	GCEI
Ensure that accessibility information and how it relates to the educational technology is included in each faculty training session by including accessibility and UDL design standards	Ongoing	CFDTI
Procure accessible digital technologies	Ongoing	-CFDTI -Information Technology
In collaboration with other College libraries, evaluate the accessibility of library e-Resources and contribute to a joint repository of accessibility assessment reports	Ongoing	LLC
Work with partner agencies to ensure they are trained on AODA guidelines and/or implement a system to have work they provide reviewed and approved for accessibility (this includes work done for social media, advertising, etc.)	Ongoing	Marketing and Communications
Develop accessible templates for College’s Guidebooks	Summer, 2022	Marketing and Communications
Create an Accessibility Evaluation process for creative assets	Summer, 2022	Marketing and Communications
Create a series of technology Quick Tips and ensure accessibility information is included, beginning January 2022.	January, 2022	CFDTI
Launch of the new accessible College website	January, 2022	Marketing and Communications
Designate an accessibility and accommodation coordinator/champion per School who will act as a changemaker to promote accessibility in their own department/School	March, 2023	Liaised by GCEI
Employ inclusive design principles to review the structure of and re-design the library website and related platforms to empower students in accessing library resources	2022-2024	LLC

Goal 6: Ensure every physical space we create or redesign are free of barriers

Key Priority Actions	Timeline	Responsibility Department(s)
Conduct accessibility audit of built environment (every 3 years) and address any physical barriers	Ongoing	Real Estate Strategy and Facilities Operations
Continue to meet accessibility laws when building or making major changes to public spaces.	Ongoing	Real Estate Strategy and Facilities Operations
Put procedures in place to prevent service disruptions to the accessible parts of our public spaces	Winter, 2022	Real Estate Strategy and Facilities Operations

Goal 7: Strive to become a leader of accessibility research and innovation in higher education

Key Priority Actions	Timeline	Responsibility Department(s)
Share our learnings and best practices with other Colleges, Universities and Community/Industry Partners	Ongoing	Liaised by GCEI
Launch of the External Website with all teaching and learning resources and documentation, including accessible teaching and learning, available for public access.	Fall, 2022	CFDTI

Past Accessibility Plans

View Our Past Accessibility Plans