The standard for accommodation that the College will strive for at all times will be accommodation short of undue hardship to the College. Input from students and other significant constituents of the college system are incorporated. It is the intention of the policy to reaffirm the original Task Force document since it represents the morals, ethics, realities and legalities of service provision to students with disabilities. Ontario's Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology are charged with the responsibility of equalizing access and providing opportunities for students with disabilities to learn and demonstrate competence. This philosophy must be accomplished through direct assistance to students, encouragement of independence, maintenance of an accessible environment so that students with disabilities may achieve their educational objectives.
Colleges are responsible for effectively providing services to applicants and qualified students.
Equal treatment means meeting the differentiated needs of individuals with disabilities so that they have the same opportunity to achieve results as other students. Such treatment takes on different forms and may differ from the treatment of non-disabled students. Reasonable accommodation can be made by adapting the conditions or requirements or providing alternative ways for qualified students or applicants to meet conditions or requirements. This constitutes equal treatment. Accommodation of a disability is not preferential treatment.