www.adcet.edu.au/cats

Creating Accessible Teaching and Support

The CATS project

OZeWAI ConferenceDecember 2005

Tony Payne

www.adcet.edu.au/cats

The legislative imperative

Disability Discrimination Act 1992 – requires institutions to be proactive in identifying and removing discriminatory barriers and practices

Disability Standards for Education 2005 clarifies legal obligations in relation to education

Rights of students in relation to education and training

Responsibilities of education providers

Measures which will provide evidence of compliance and provide a defence against legislation

www.adcet.edu.au/cats

Funded by AUTC and Carrick InstituteCross institutional project teamInitial focus vision impairment - now all disabilities Targets academics, administrators & managersResearch methodology:

Literature review – international collaborationFocus groups of studentsSurveys of equity academics & practitioners

The Project

www.adcet.edu.au/cats

Whilst there are pockets of good practice …

Outcomes for students are poor Research limited & resources not widely used Good practice often individualised not systemic “Reasonable” rights/responsibilities not defined Teacher understanding & strategies are limited Practitioner knowledge & skills are limited

The research findings

www.adcet.edu.au/cats

Series of booklets :Vision Impairment, Hearing impairment (available)

Mental Illness, Learning Disability (in development)

Framework for good practice & benchmarks Web based information/resource database Self audit tool with reporting functions

The outcomes

www.adcet.edu.au/cats

Searchable database of resourcesNews, FAQs, Web links & ArticlesPractical strategies & case studiesGood practice statements and benchmarksSelf audit functionality - report and action planUpdates through integration with ADCETAccessibility & useability

Website features

www.adcet.edu.au/cats

Evidence based – social model of disability Inclusive – responding to the needs of all students Comprehensive – covers all core activities Explicit – clear and realistic strategies and reporting Consultative – engage staff/students affected Resourced – adequate staff/funds to implement Systemic – embedded within planning & QA processes Owned – leadership/accountability by senior staff Equitable – respects all parties rights/responsibilities

Underlying principles

www.adcet.edu.au/cats

Policy & Administration

Recruitment

Admission & Enrolment

Policy & Planning

Quality Assurance

Grievance Procedures

Safety and Security

Professional Development

Privacy & Communication

Information Access

Learning & Teaching

Preparation & orientation

Course review & design

Learning resources

Course delivery

Assessment

Learning support

Learning environment

Postgraduate study

Campus life

Physical access

ICT access

Specialist services

General services

Housing

Library

Graduation/employment

Student diversity

The framework

www.adcet.edu.au/cats

Good practice statements for each key areaSeries of indicators of good practiceBenchmark statements Information/resources to assist operationalisationInteractive self audit & report functionality

Self Ratings

Evidence Report

Action Plan

The audit tool

www.adcet.edu.au/cats

The audit report

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A CATS tour…

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University & legislative context

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Teaching strategies

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Discipline specific resources

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FAQs & Hot Topics

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News & events

www.adcet.edu.au/cats

Assessment benchmarks

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Making it happen tips - assessment

www.adcet.edu.au/cats

resources - assessment