Accessibility Plan Annual Progress Update 2023-24

The Accessible BC (ABC) Act requires BCIT to create an accessibility committee, an accessibility plan, and an accessibility feedback mechanism. BCIT released our Accessibility Plan in 2023 and as part of the plan, committed to delivering annual updates.

This progress update covers the period of June 1, 2023, to May 31, 2024, and is intended to be read in conjunction with the more fulsome Accessibility Plan. It provides a high-level overview the work to date, achievements, and lessons learned.

Community feedback

An online feedback mechanism was created allowing folks to easily submit feedback regarding, accessibility and barriers at BCIT. A campaign to promote the feedback mechanism through social media, and posters on campus was launched in December 2023.

An accessibility feedback working group was created with membership from the following areas: facilities, academic, student life, human resources and labour relations. The working group has met periodically throughout the year to review the feedback provided.

During the reporting period just under 40 reports were received.
Approximately half of the reports were submitted anonymously.
Approximately half of the reports related to barriers folks encountered in the built environment and/or physical campus spaces including outdoors and parking areas, the majority, but not all, were referred to the Burnaby campus.
Other reports related to concerns regarding accessibility of services, communication, and confusion around the process for accommodation of students with disabilities and the role of the BCIT’s Accessibility Services department.

In many cases, barriers identified through the feedback mechanism were addressed quickly by the working group.

Actions taken

Examples of actions taken to remove barriers and improve accessibility include:

Created a Campus Design Guideline document for all future campus development to follow that includes accessibility and inclusivity requirements.
A Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Community of Practice was established through a strategic partnership between Accessibility Services and the Learning and Teaching Centre. The Community includes representation from multiple departments and is designed to advance institution-wide engagement with UDL principles.
Concerns regarding the accessibility of the online form used to book student medical appointments were addressed through a comprehensive review and revision process. This process included engagement with student users, including those with accessibility needs, whose insights provided valuable perspectives on user experience and accessibility barriers.

Automatic door openers have been added in several places.
Locations of accessible parking has been modified to be closer to the campus core.
Communication has increased regarding accessible parking on BCIT campuses.
The grounds team has switched to battery operated equipment in many cases to mitigate noise concerns that were impacting accessibility of those in classrooms close to where grounds work was performed.
Conversion of existing washroom facilities to all gender, single-use washroom with new signage and washroom accessory upgrades across the Burnaby campus (approximately 50 washrooms).
Washroom renovations in NE1 and the Downtown Campus are being done with accessibility for folks of all genders as a priority.

The Director of Respect, Diversity, and Inclusion and the Associate Director of Student Wellbeing and Accessibility hosted three targeted Dialogue on Accessibility sessions with Program Heads, Department Heads, and Associate Deans, designed to gather direct feedback on the key barriers to implementing universally inclusive and accessible learning environments at BCIT. These sessions focused on hearing directly from academic leaders about the challenges they face and the supports they believe would make a meaningful difference in advancing accessibility. Insights from these sessions are informing ongoing accessibility planning.
BCIT has offered many workshops and presentations during this period for staff and students on accessibility and barriers including topics such as increasing inclusion in the classroom, supporting folks on the Autism spectrum, and body inclusivity and anti-fat bias.
Accessibility Services introduced an annual Student Open House, informed by student feedback, to enhance access to information about accessibility supports and the accommodation process.
The RDI office received a $50,000 EDI grant from CRC to offset costs associated with engaging a consultant to lead the development of the accessibility plan.

Ongoing & future actions

Although some barriers were able to be quickly remedied, other barriers require ongoing mitigation and/or longer-term planning to address. Examples that BCIT has committed to include:

The Accessibility Committee has established four working groups, in addition to the feedback working group, aligned with the key priorities of the Accessibility Plan: Built Environment; Education; Communication, Information, and Technology; and Employment. These groups are engaging in consultation and collaboration to develop specific goals and objectives that will drive the next phase of the Accessibility Plan. This work is currently underway, with finalized goals expected in 2025.
BCIT has created an IDEAS (Indigenization, Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, Sustainability, Student well-being) working group with representatives from Respect, Diversity, and Inclusion, Student Success (Accessibility), Indigenous Initiatives and Partnerships, and Sustainability. IDEAS provides a lens and an orientation for our work at BCIT and represents an ethic of care. The group will work to educate and assist BCIT employees in further embedding IDEAS into all aspects of their work at BCIT.
Additional external sources of funding are being explored to accelerate adoption of additional projects.

The RDI office received a $50,000 EDI grant from CRC to offset costs associated with providing workshops and training to staff on accessibility related topics such as neurodivergence and universal design. The RDI office along with the Accessibility Services office will be offering new workshops to further support instructors in accommodation of students with disabilities.