Plans & Policies

Where as the Ontario Human Rights Code requires that we "accommodate to undue hardship", the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) takes a proactive approach and requires that a standard of accessibility is put in place. At Toronto Metropolitan University we are striving to go beyond the minimum standards of the AODA in order that we may achieve the highest level of accessibility from the start, thereby reducing the need for accommodation.

About the AODA

Enacted in 2005, the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (external link)  aims to identify, remove and prevent barriers for people with disabilities. Based on the four principles of Dignity, Independence, Integration, and Equality of Opportunity; the AODA lays the framework for the development of province-wide mandatory standards on accessibility in all areas of daily life. It is comprised of various accessibility standards and general requirements that all public and private sector organizations must meet.

Accessibility Plans

Access TMU is the university’s cross campus accessibility initiative with a goal to identify, remove and prevent barriers to the full inclusion of persons with disabilities. In 2012, as per AODA requirements, we moved to a multi-year accessibility plan format.

View Access TMU Multi Year Accessibility Plan.

Policies

• Accommodation Policy for Persons with Disabilities: The policy applies to any university employee with a disability, and to job applicants that may require accommodation during the selection process.
• Academic Accommodation of Students with Disabilities: This policy establishes guidelines for the academic accommodation of students with disabilities in order for them to access learning while maintaining the integrity of course content and objectives, and ensuring fairness for all students.
• Accessibility Statement of Commitment: The Statement of Commitment outlines the university's commitment to providing accessible goods and services that allow persons with disabilities to fully participate in community activities.
• Animals on Campus Policy: This policy outlines the use of animals on campus that are essential for service of persons with disabilities.
• Library & Archives Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities: The library's Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities Customer Service Policy outlines their commitment to excellence in serving the community, including persons with disabilities.
• Discrimination and Harassment Prevention Policy: The university's Discrimination and Harassment Prevention Policy and Procedures is informed and guided by the Ontario Human Rights Code. The Ontario Human Rights Code applies and prevails over all provincial legislation (with few exceptions), University policies and collective agreements.
• Respectful Workplace Policy: This policy establishes the university's commitment to the maintenance of a civil workplace.
• Employment Equity: This policy is intended to outline the principles of equity and diversity in the workplace underlying the university's employment equity program, to define the accountabilities the employment equity program, and to establish the policy framework within which the university's employment equity program will be managed and implemented.

Website Accessibility

All websites at Toronto Metropolitan University must adhere to Level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 (external link)  as of January 1st, 2021. This is a mandatory legal requirement (external link)  stipulated by the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). This law also applies to anything you upload to your website such as PDF documents, forms, and other media. These requirements are designed to make your website accessible for people with disabilities and people who use assistive technology.

• Level AA: Guidelines are categorized into three levels of conformance in order to meet the needs of different people: A (lowest), AA (mid range), and AAA (highest). Level AA conformance is required in Ontario (excluding live captioning and audio descriptions for videos). Your website must satisfy all Level A and AA Success Criteria in order to be compliant. 
• Websites: Any web page on the torontomu.ca domain, or any official Toronto Metropolitan University website that is affiliated to the university’s programs, services, activities or employees.

Statistics from the 2019 Student Diversity Self-ID Report and 2020 Employee Diversity Data Centre.