1 in 5: Disability and Inclusive Academic Practice at UTS
'I remember my first year at university with enormous delight and affection, because for the first time - I had polio when I was six months old so it's been a lifelong experience - I was in an environment where, as a student, I was there on my own merits and engaged in the same enterprises as anybody else. Nobody said "Oh well, at least it helps to pass the time". This is what they say about my current employment [as Disability Discrimination Commissioner] - "oh it's nice you've got a job dear".
And it's because everyone valued their education, and we all valued it for the same reasons. So I was as ordinary at university as I could ever have hoped to be anywhere, and that's what the Disability Discrimination Act and your action plan seeks to bring, is the extraordinary experience of being ordinary and the unfamiliar taste of belonging, and the opportunity to choose one's path and travel along it to a destination of one's own making.'
- Elizabeth Hastings (1949-1998) at the launch of the
UTS Disability Action Plan 1993.
'1 in 5: Disability and Inclusive Academic Practice' is a professional development package for academic staff that is specifically aimed at improving academic practice for students with disabilities. The need for such a package was identified in the UTS Disability Action Plan.
In 2003, the Equity and Diversity Unit seconded Dr Simon Darcy, a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Business to write a professional development package specifically for this purpose.
The outcome was '1 in 5: Disability and Inclusive Academic Practice at UTS'. The three-hour module has since been delivered to academic staff across several faculties with very positive feedback from the participants.
The module includes discussion and strategies for dealing with a range of disabilities including the growing area of "invisible disabilities" - for example, negative attitudes have been reported towards students and staff requesting accommodations who do not have a readily identifiable disability. This can often be mental health issues and psychiatric illnesses.
Dr Simon Darcy delivered the paper " Don't Call It Training: A Professional Development Module For Disability And Inclusive Academic Practice" (PDF, 60KB) to the Pathways 7 Conference in December 2004, outlining the development and implementation of 1 in 5: Disability and Inclusive Academic Practice at UTS.
For further information in regard to this professional development package please contact the Equity & Diversity Unit at UTS.
Another invaluable guide for practical strategies in assisting students with disabilities is " 'Inclusive Practices for students with disabilities - a guide for academic staff" (PDF, 590KB).
