Accommodation Appeal Process

Purpose    

To provide an accessible, effective appeal process for students with disabilities dissatisfied with accommodation decisions made by Accessible Learning.

Preamble

Accessible Learning is a unit within Student Affairs and reports to the Dean of Students with a mandate to: (a) assess student requests for academic accommodations, (b) approve academic accommodations needed to ensure a student’s equitable access to the learning environment, (c) approve stuident applications for provincial and university bursaries established specifically for students with disabilities, and (d) students and the university on all matters pertaining to the accessibility and accommodation needs of students with disabilities.

Students with disabilities have the right to a transparent and fair accommodation process in which their access needs are assessed in a dignified manner.

Students with disabilities also have a right to appeal Accessible Learning decisions about their accommodation plan without reprisal and to have their appeal addressed promptly.

Nothing in this accommodation appeal procedure precludes students from seeking redress of Accessible Learning decisions through other appeal or complaint mechanisms available to them on or off-campus, including through Laurier’s Office of Human Rights and Conflict Management or the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal.

Terms

Academic Accommodation: Adjustments to the learning environment or specific elements of academic tasks and activities that facilitate equitable access for students with disabilities.

Accessible Learning Online: Accessible Learning’s client management system.

Appeal: Oral or written statement by a student communicating their dissatisfaction with an accommodation(s) granted or denied by Accessible Learning. 

Regional Assessment and Resource Centre (RARC): The RARC, a Centre of Excellence located at Queen’s University and independent of Laurier, employs a team of clinical psychologists with expertise in administering and interpreting psycho-educational and neuropsychological assessments. Funded by the Government of Ontario, the RARC is mandated to deliver assessment services and conduct research in using psycho-metric assessments for understanding the learning and access needs of students with learning, attention, autistic, and mental health disabilities.

Roles

Accommodation Consultant (Consultant): Accessible Learning professional responsible for approving individualized academic accommodation plans and assessing students’ disability-related need for access to bursary programs. Leads First - Level appeal process.

Associate Director, Academic Accommodations: Supervises the work of Accommodation Consultants and advises on decisions related to academic accommodation and bursary applications. Leads second-level appeal process.

Director: Responsible for the overall strategic direction of Accessible Learning and ensuring delivery of accessible, dignified services that facilitate equitable access to the learning environment at Laurier. The Director conducts Third-Level appeal reviews and issues final decisions regarding academic accommodations and ALAB or ALAG bursary decisions. 

Accommodation Appeal Process

Timeline for Appeal Submission

Students can appeal their accommodations at anytime during academic year. However, Accessible Learning may or may not be able to apply changes resulting from the appeal, if applicable, in time for imminent academic deliverables. For example, accommodations changes may not be applied in time for December final exams if a student submits their appeal late in November.

The University acknowledges its obligations under the Code to consider accommodation appeals submitted after the end date of course, also known as retroactive accommodation requests. The Director of Accessible Learning engages with the student, the instructor(s), department head, dean, and Office of the Provost in considering these requests and the faculty will communicate decisions directly to the student.

First-Level Appeal
Second-Level Appeal
Independent Documentation Review
Third-Level Appeal

First – Level Appeal

Students must engage directly with their Accommodation Consultant first when appealing their accommodation before proceeding to Second-Level Appeal. Students who have significant concerns about the quality of service they received during the accommodation development process can contact the Associate Director, Academic Accommodations, for guidance.

Students may submit their accommodation appeal to their Accommodation Consultant in one of two ways: through email, or during an accommodation appeal appointment.

Students should communicate the following in their accommodation appeal: 

1. The accommodation for which they believe they were eligible but were denied.
2. Information about their disability they believe the Consultant did not consider or considered incorrectly when determining their accommodation needs.
3. Whether the information referred to in “2.” was provided to Accessible Learning (a) in their disability documentation, or (b) through a self-reported description of their disability.
4. Any additional disability documentation they have that supports their appeal, if available.
5. The impact of being denied this accommodation on their equitable access to the learning environment. 

First – Level Appeal Granted

If the Consultant determines that the requested accommodation or a variation of the accommodation can be granted based on information in the student’s appeal, they will make the change in Accessible Learning Online within 10 business days and email confirmation to the student along with their updated letter of eligibility. 

First- Level Appeal Denied

If the requested accommodation is denied, the Consultant must communicate their decision in writing to the student within 10 business days of having received the appeal. Consultants must communicate the following information to the student in their written decision to deny a student’s appeal: 

1. Information about the student’s disability they considered and/or reconsidered, including documentation currently on file and any additional documentation the student submitted (if applicable)
2. Information about the student’s disability that is missing or unavailable that may have impacted the decision.
3. Input they sought from the Associate Director in considering their decision, if applicable.
4. Next steps available to the student in appealing this decision. 

Second – Level Appeal

Students who remain unsatisfied with an accommodation decision made by their Consultant can request a second level review by the Associate Director via email. 

Students should communicate the following in their accommodation appeal: 

1. The accommodation for which they believe they were eligible but were denied.
2. Information about their disability they believe the Consultant did not consider or considered incorrectly when determining their accommodation needs.
3. Whether the information referred to in “2.” was provided to Accessible Learning (a) in their disability documentation, or (b) through a self-reported description of their disability.
4. Any additional disability documentation they have that supports their appeal, if available.
5. The impact of being denied this accommodation on their equitable access to the learning environment. 

The Associate Director will review the student’s file, including all information and communication gathered in the first level appeal. The Associate Director may ask to meet with the student to obtain additional information as required. The Associate Director may also initiate an independent documentation review (see below). 

Second – Level Appeal Granted

If the Associate Director determines that the requested accommodation or a variation of the requested accommodation can be granted, they will make the change in Accessible Learning Online within  and email confirmation to the student and the Consultant. The Consultant will then issue an updated eligibility letter to the student within 10 business days. 

Second- level Appeal Denied

The Associate Director will communicate their decision to deny the requested accommodation in writing to the student and the Consultant within 10 business days of having received the student’s appeal. 

The Associate Director will communicate the following information in their written decision when denying a requested accommodation upon appeal: 

1. Information about the student’s disability they considered.
2. Information about the student’s disability that is missing or unavailable that may have impacted on their decision.
3. Additional information they sought from the student in considering their decision, if applicable.
4. Next steps available to the student in appealing this decision. 

Independent Documentation Review

Appeals that centre around interpretation by Accessible Learning of a student’s disability documentation, such as psycho-educational assessments, neuropsychological assessments, or complex mental or health assessments will be submitted for third-party review. 

When Accessible Learning determines it needs to pursue a documentation review before issuing a final decision on the student’s accommodation request, the Associate Director will communicate this to the student before carrying out the process outlined below.

Please see the RARC Documentation Reveiw Email Templates for more details on the commuication process.

The documentation review will be conducted by the Regional Assessment & Resource Centre (RARC)

The following process will be employed: 

1. Associate Director will notify the Director of Accessible Learning and the student of the referral.
2. Accessible Learning will anonymize the student’s documentation, removing all information that may identify the student, their family members, and the issuing professional.
3. Accessible Learning will securely transmit the student’s anonymized disability documentation with a written request to the RARC with a copy to the student, stating the Accessible Learning seeks the following:
   1. Their qualified interpretation about whether the assessment confirms if the student is a person with a disability and the disability diagnosis(es). 
   2. A description of the student’s functional limitations that stem from their disability as indicated by the assessment results.
   3. A professional opinion about how the identified functional limitations impact on the student’s access to the learning environment at university.
   4. A list of recommended academic accommodations based on their interpretation of the assessment results.
4. The RARC will communicate to the Associate Director the results of the review in writing. Accessible Learning will share a copy of the review with the student.

The Associate Director will decide on granting the student’s accommodation request based on the independent documentation review. In granting the request, the Associate Director will also consider whether to apply any other accommodations recommended in the documentation review which may include adding, removing, increasing or reducing accommodations. The Associate Director will implement this change immediately in Accessible Learning Online, and email confirmation to the student and Consultant. Accessible Learning will also issue an updated eligibility letter to the student and their instructor.

If the Associate Director denies the requested accommodation following the documentation review, they will communicate their reasons for this decision in writing within 10 business days upon receipt of the review report and will inform the student of the next steps available to them in their appeal.  

Third – Level Appeal

If the Associate Director denies the student’s appeal on its own, or following an independent documentation review, they will inform the student that they may appeal to the Director.In cases involving significantly complex accommodations, accommodations in placement or decisions that may alter university policies or processes, the Associate Director may also bring the student’s appeal directly to the Director for response. 

The Director will review information in the student’s Accessible Learning file gathered by the Consultant and the Associate Director, including results of an independent documentation review (if applicable) and the rationale given for each decision. The Director may also meet with the student personally to gather additional information. 

If the Director decides to grant the requested accommodation, they will implement this change in Accessible Learning Online within 10 business days and email confirmation to the student, with a copy to the Consultant and Associate Director. The Consultant will issue an updated eligibility letter to the student. 

If the Director denied the student’s appeal, they will communicate to the student the reasons for their decision via email within 10 business days upon receipt of the appeal. The Director’s decision is final.