The Matter Of Accommodations

Typically, students with disabilities (whether they be physical, learning, sensory, or psychiatric disabilities) will have worked, or need to work, with the UPEI Accessibility Services to coordinate communication of their diagnosis, their accommodation needs and negotiate the necessary accommodations at or near the start of the term. Students in crisis and students with emerging mental health concerns are, in some ways, atypical in this regard as mental health concerns are often (usually, even) episodic and crisis are, by their very nature, unexpected by the person going through the crisis. For this reason, when dealing with a student in distress you or the student may consider the need for some special accommodation.

The process of negotiating accommodation in response to a situation of distress can involve four different roles:

The Student – barring highly unusual circumstances, accommodations should involve the student. There may be times when concerned faculty and staff will make a student aware of this option and maybe even encourage that they pursue it, but ultimately, the student is responsible for their education and they must be an active player in negotiating how it will be pursued.

The Instructor – The duty to accommodate may outweigh an assessment preference (however the accommodations can not impede the academic integrity of the course content). Therefore, the instructor must work with the student, and accessibility services, to meet legal, human rights obligations while continuing to meet academic rigour.

The Registrar’s Office – With a responsibility for academic records and the maintaining of academic regulations, the Registrar can be an important ally in determining how the regulatory framework can be used to help the student be fairly assessed while still maintaining all the standards of our academic regulations.

Expert Consultations – Whether these be in-house supports such as the counsellors at Student Affairs, staff in Accessibility Services or external sources such as physicians, clergy, officers of the court, etc. – consultations can provide material information about how the student is affected by the distressing situation they are in. Whether you are receiving or seeking out such a consultation, you may want to keep the following in mind:

Professionals outside the university itself may not be familiar with what information you need/want to make your decisions. You may want to speak to the professional directly, talk to the student, or ask to have a counsellor from Student Affairs act as liaison to improve the type of information you receive.

Counselling staff at Student Affairs do not provide psychiatric or psychological assessments or diagnoses. However, in working with students Student Affairs can provide information and support about the impact of the distress the student is going through.

As a relationally based process, counselling is more effective in the context of an on-going relationship. As such, consultations provided after a student is sent to Student Affairs (or comes in on their own) for a single session will be less informative than one in which we have known the student for some time.

While counselling staff may support a suggested action or maybe offer suggestions if asked, they will refrain from telling other university staff what to do.