Types of academic accommodations

Academic accommodations

Academic accommodations are intended to provide students with a disability or ongoing medical condition access to the academic environment. To request an academic accommodation, you must register with the Centre for Accessibility. An Accessibility Advisor will determine the accommodations you are eligible for.  

Types of academic accommodations can include:

  • Alternate format materials beyond print
  • Assistive technology (e.g., software and specialized equipment)
  • Captioning and ASL interpretation

Alternate format materials

Alternate format materials allow students with print disabilities to access academic materials in other formats such as digital audio, braille, and electronic text.

Requesting alternate format materials

  1. Contact your instructor for reading lists and course syllabi ahead of time.
  2. Complete an Alternate Format Request Form for each item you need in an alternate format.
  3. Upload and submit your materials to Crane Library as directed by the Request Form, including proof of purchase when applicable. 
  4. E-text and audio files are emailed directly to the email address you provided in the Student Service Centre (SSC). Timelines for production of materials can vary.

Dates and deadlines

You should register with the Centre for Accessibility at least 2 or 3 months before the start of the term.

Please submit requests for alternate format materials 4 to 6 weeks before the start of the term.

Assistive technology

Captioning and ASL interpreting

ASL interpreting, real-time captioning, and captioning media are available for eligible Deaf and hard of hearing students.

If you are eligible for this accommodation

If you require this accommodation, you must register with the Centre for Accessibility as early as possible or as soon as you have been offered admission and before the start of your program.

You'll be required to submit a Request for Classroom Captioning or Interpreting Form if you are eligible. 

Faculty and staff

Please complete the Workplace Accommodation Fund Form or email workplace.accessibility@ubc.ca to request ASL interpretation or live captioning.

Requesting a note taker

Note takers can help students who are not able to take sufficient notes or their own notes during class due to a disability or ongoing medical condition. Note taking does not replace your attendance requirements.

Please consider whether you need a note taker for courses where lectures are asynchronous, meaning lectures are self-paced for students and recordings are available at any time during the term.

Requesting a note taker

  1. Submit a request online by logging into the platform with your CWL account. You cannot request your note takers until the data sync is active, which is usually a few days before classes start.
  2. Similar to booking your exams, you must first generate an accommodation letter for each course you need a note taker.
  3. Once your letter has been generated, go to Course Notes on the homepage and select the correct term. Click “Refresh”.
  4. Find your course. Under the column title I require a note taker, click on “Change this”. It will ask you to confirm. Once you confirm, the “No” will change to “Yes”.
  5. Continue to check the platform for updates to see if a note taker has been assigned to you.
  6. Once you have a note taker, you will be able to access the notes on “Course Notes”. Click on the “Notes” button beside the course to download the notes onto your computer.

The Centre does its best to fulfill notetaking requests, but not all requests are guaranteed to be filled.

Dates and deadlines

Note taker requests must be completed by the third week of the term or one week after the add/drop date. Late requests will not be accepted. 

If you drop a class or no longer need a note taker, please email access.assistants@ubc.ca as soon as possible.

If you have questions

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