Successes

Over the last three years we have made meaningful progress. We hope that these accomplishments will lead to even more learning and removal of barriers.

These changes include, but are not limited to:

• The University Senate created a standing Accessibility Committee, with a representation of at least 50% of whom are people with disabilities.
• Through a survey and focus groups, we have sought the guidance and expertise of people with disabilities, people who are Deaf and hard of hearing, and neurodiverse people.
• New full-time roles within the University include Accessibility Lead and Return to Work and Accommodation Advisor.
• The Patrick Power Library and the Studio for Teaching and Learning have created accessibility working groups.
• The Studio for Teaching and Learning and Accessibility Lead have hosted training opportunities for the campus community. In addition, several external opportunities have also been shared.
• Work has started on the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission (MPHEC) Online Conceptual Framework to include accessibility lens.
• The Patrick Power Library has been working to improve accessibility across all services.
• Research has begun on what accommodations need to be in place for graduate students. The researchers are students who identified as having one or more disabilities.
• We have begun reviewing the procurement process to embed accessibility considerations.
• We have started reviewing external accessible customer service training.
• A new student accommodation policy was approved by Senate and the Board of Governors in 2024.
• The Fred Smithers Centre for Student Accessibility has started using Accommodate software to simplify accommodation requests.
• Active transportation plan has been developed and shared with Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM).
• Audit of built environment conducted, and final report received in 2022. The Facilities Management team consults the report when approaching new projects.
• In collaboration with various stakeholder groups, the development of the Campus Map App covering accessible elements of the campus is in progress and launched in 2025.
• A text-based resource which highlights accessible features of academic buildings on the campus was drafted in 2024.
• Two employees have completed the Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification within the last year.
• New Saint Mary’s University Strategic Plan speaks to including Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in everything we do.
• Enterprise Information Technology (EIT) have adopted the approach that new EIT projects must hold details about accessibility.
• EIT added a Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) compliance field to its project intake form, as a first step to amending the intake process.