Dispute Resolution
The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) defines accommodations as appropriate when they provide students with disabilities meaningful access to education.
Accommodation planning begins with an identification of relevant disability related barriers to learning specific to the student. This then allows the student and advisor to work together in identifying and considering a range of accommodation options that could address these challenges. While student preference for certain accommodations is always strongly considered, it may not always be the deciding factor, especially when multiple accommodation options are available. The goal of accommodation is reasonableness, not perfection.
Occasionally, there may be situations where no accommodation can be identified that will effectively or fully mitigate a disability related barrier, particularly where an accommodation is in conflict with an academic standard/essential competency or the accommodation gives rise to safety concerns.
The University of Toronto provides students with a dispute resolution process which encompasses conflicts that may arise in the accommodations process. Questions, concerns, and issues should first be managed at the local, divisional, faculty, and college level as appropriate to the situation. For more information about policies, guidelines, publications, and resources that relate to your work and conduct as a student at the University of Toronto can be found through the Office of the Vice, Provost, Students.
Concerns About Prohibited Discrimination
If you believe an act of discrimination has taken place in violation of The University of Toronto’s Statement on Prohibited Discrimination and Discriminatory Harassment, these steps will assist you in reporting your concerns and finding a resolution. Please find more information about Complaints & Concerns about Discrimination & Harassment.
Disputes Within Accessibility Services Regarding Accommodations
- If you have a concern about your accommodations, the first step is to discuss this with your Accessibility Advisor. If you still have concerns after this meeting, you may discuss further with the Advisor’s Team Lead (if concern is with a Team Lead, please bring concerns forward to an Assistant Director or Director of Accessibility Services for further discussion.
- In certain cases a third-party review of documentation and appropriate accommodations may be offered as a pathway forward for resolution. Please refer to the Third-Party Review section for more details.
- If the matter is not resolved at this point, the second step is to contact the Executive Director, Student Life Programs & Services. Find an updated list of St. George Student Life contacts.
- If the matter is still not resolved, the third step should be to contact the Office of the Vice-Provost, Students at vp.students@utoronto.ca.
Accommodation Disputes in Relation to Academic Standards
Core competencies, essential requirements, and critical learning outcomes are pedagogical in nature and are established by academic programs and departments. They define the fundamental objectives and expectations a student must meet to receive credit for a course or program. Accommodations cannot be implemented if they compromise a student’s ability to demonstrate these competencies or limit the academic unit’s ability to assess learning in relation to these standards.
Professional standards are set by external regulatory bodies (e.g., the Ontario College of Social Workers, the Ontario College of Physicians and Surgeons). In some cases—particularly in clinical or experiential learning settings—these standards may limit the types of accommodations that can be implemented.
These standards are pedagogical in nature and Accessibility Services does not have authority to determine what constitutes an essential competency or requirement.
The following process is put in place to help navigate accommodation and academic standard conflicts when they arise:
Office of the Ombudsperson
- The University of Toronto Office of the Ombudsperson offers confidential advice and assistance to students, faculty, and staff on all three campuses of the University of Toronto.
- You may reach out to the office to discuss your concerns/problems at any point to get information about relevant policies and procedures and to help identify options. However, please note that the Ombudsperson cannot start an investigation until all other University avenues have been exhausted.
- For more information about their services and how to contact the office, visit the U of T Ombudsperson webpage.
Third-Party Review (LD, ADHD, ASD, Intellectual Disability, ABI)
In certain instances, the University will collaborate with the student to seek a neutral third-party review of submitted documentation of neurodevelopmental (Learning Disabilities, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Intellectual Disability) and acquired brain injury disabilities.
These third-party reviews are typically sought when there is a mismatch between disability-related functional impairments documented and accommodations being sought/recommended (even after additional documentation has been reviewed and discussions with the medical practitioner have taken place).
Third party reviews are undertaken by the Regional Assessment Resource Centre (RARC), a centre funded by the Ministry of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security to promote equity and access for students with neurodevelopmental disorders in post-secondary education. As part of their services, RARC offers independent documentation reviews for Accessibility Services offices in Ontario’s post-secondary institutions to provide an opinion on reasonable accommodations and supports to address disability-related functional impairments anticipated in the student’s academic program.
With the student’s consent, a de-identified version of their assessment report/documentation is sent to RARC and reviewed by one of their psychologists/neuropsychologists. The de-identified report is reviewed and direct responses to the questions posed are addressed and sent back to the originating referral source. There is no cost to the student for this review to take place.
When the institution’s Accessibility Services office determines that an independent documentation review is warranted to inform their provision of services/supports (or a student does not agree with the plan) the following procedure is followed:
- The student is informed about the reason an independent documentation review is being sought, the specific questions being posed to the reviewer, and the process for de-identifying the report/documentation to ensure their anonymity. Students are additionally informed of their ability to refuse this process and/or withdraw from their participation in this process at any time.
- Students are able to ask any questions that they may have about the request for review and be provided with a Personal Health Information Protection Act (PHIPA) Form to sign to give their written consent for the disclosure of their assessment report and any other information deemed pertinent to the review (which must be clearly specified to the student).
- With the student’s documented consent, the accessibility advisor sends a copy of the de-identified documentation (with names, date of birth, student number, and any other information that would allow identification of the student, their family, or practitioner and assessment centre who completed the report removed or blacked out) to RARC using the institutional password used to send secure documents, along with the specific questions being posed to the reviewer. The student is able to submit any further information or documentation they wish as part of the process, however, this information will also need to be on file with Accessibility Services as part of the student’s record (and this will also be de-identified).
- After reviewing the submitted documentation, a registered clinical psychologist or neuropsychologist with expertise in adult disability assessment in a post-secondary educational context from RARC will evaluate the submitted information, but the specific name of the reviewer will not be provided. The practitioner provides a written report which includes a summary of the documentation provided as well as the response to direct questions posed from the referral source. This written response is then sent back to the referral source using the institutional password. While best efforts will be made, both processing time to send reports forward and timeline for receipt of reports back from RARC can vary. In the meantime, accommodation plan generally remain unchanged until the review is completed.
- On request, the written response is made available to the student to aid with the ongoing discussion on appropriate accommodations/supports to ensure equitable access to the curriculum. Of note: The opinion provided by RARC is advisory rather than determinative, and the ultimate decision on accommodations implemented ultimately rests with the institution’s accessibility services office.
Students are not required to proceed with a third-party review, however, in most instances (particularly where a discussion has already taken place with the health care provider) this will result in the accommodation plan recommended by the University being the final outcome with no changes being considered. If students wish, they may discuss the situation with an Assistant Director or Director. It is expected that as part of these discussions the student will propose an alternative means of resolution for consideration. While best efforts will be made, timelines for these discussions may vary.
Connect with our team
We experience a high volume of inquiries coinciding with key dates, particularly registration deadlines, exam accommodations, and other critical registrarial dates.
Please visit us in person if you have a time-sensitive need. We are located at:
455 Spadina Ave, 4th floor, Suite 400 and open Monday – Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
(except during scheduled closures)
Learn more about when to connect with Accessibility Services staff >
Use the Accessibility Services Portal to submit requests, track your inquiries and get answers faster. You’ll find everything you need to get support in one place, including forms, FAQs and a place to connect with the reception team.
Learn more about the programs, services and supports we offer on the Accessibility Services homepage >
