Support Services for Persons with Disabilities
The University Secretariat is committed to achieving barrier-free accessibility for persons with disabilities who are participating in the appeal process, including but not limited to students, faculty, and representatives of the parties to an appeal.
Reasonable Accommodations for Students/Appellants with Disabilities
Accessible Education (AE) is a confidential service on campus to help students with disabilities identify and arrange for reasonable accommodations to support their participation in the appeal process, if needed.
If a student with a disability believes that they will need a reasonable accommodation to participate in any aspect of the appeal process, then they must submit written notice to the University Secretariat (Secretariat) in the form of a letter addressed to the Chair of the Senate Review Board Academic (SRBA), Chair of the University Discipline Appeal Committee (UDAC), or the Adjudicator of Gender-Based and Sexual Violence appeals, depending on the applicable appeal policy. This written notice must be submitted before the deadline to file an appeal. For academic appeals, this means no later than six (6) weeks of the date of the Dean’s decision. For non-academic appeals, this means no later than two (2) weeks of the date of the Vice-Provost (Students) decision.
Written notice should be submitted electronically to the Secretariat at secretariat-appeals@uwo.ca.
The Secretariat shall notify AE and the student of its receipt of the written notice. If needed, the Secretariat will share information on hearing procedures with AE to assist in AE’s determination of reasonable accommodations for the student. AE shall provide written notice to the Chair or Adjudicator and the student regarding its determination. If a student disagrees with AE’s decision, then they shall follow the appeal procedures set out in the policy on Academic Accommodation for Students with Disabilities and provide written notice to the Chair or Adjudicator that they have initiated that appeal procedure.
Please note that an academic accommodation that has been previously recommended by AE for other purposes does not automatically extend to the appeal process. For example, if AE has recommended additional time to submit assignments or assessments in a given course or courses, this recommendation does not mean that the student will automatically receive additional time to submit an academic or non-academic appeal. The student and AE will need to follow the procedures set out in the policy on Academic Accommodation for Students with Disabilities for establishing a student’s need for a reasonable accommodation in the context of an academic or non-academic appeal.
It is important to contact AE as soon as possible to discuss the accommodation(s) that a student may need to participate in the appeals process. A student can schedule a confidential appointment with an AE Counsellor. AE can be reached by calling 519-661-2147 or emailing aew@uwo.ca. AE is part of the Student Development Centre on the 4th floor of Western Student Services Building (WSSB).
Questions or concerns regarding these procedures may be submitted to the Secretariat by emailing secretariat-appeals@uwo.ca.
