Rights & Responsibilities

Students in Ontario are guaranteed the right to equal treatment in post-secondary education, without discrimination on the grounds of disability. Several pieces of federal and provincial legislation ensure that post-secondary students with disabilities are entitled to appropriate accommodations, services, and supports in their post-secondary programs any time the impairments that arise from their disability interfere with equal participation or with equal opportunity to demonstrate knowledge and skill.

Post-secondary education providers have a duty to accommodate students with disabilities up to the point of undue hardship. Universities and colleges meet the right to equal treatment by providing accommodations and other services to students with disabilities. Publicly funded colleges and universities operate an Accessibility Services (AS) office as a centre to coordinate and provide accommodations and services to students with disabilities. More information on AS offices can be found on the Accessibility Services page. 

For more detailed information about the legislation that outlines the rights for individuals with disabilities, please refer to the following:

• Human Rights Commission
• Charter of Rights and Freedoms
• Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act

The regulations outlined above mean that students with disabilities have the right to equal access to education at post-secondary institutions. Universities and colleges meet these rights by providing accommodations and other services to students with disabilities through their Accessibility Services (AS) office. While students have the right to equal treatment, they also have responsibilities. For students who wish to receive formal accommodations from the AS, it is their responsibility to:

• Self-identify to AS staff;
• Provide appropriate documentation of their disability to AS staff; and
• Follow the rules and guidelines set out by the AS.

For example, a common accommodation is for students to write exams in a Test Centre; however, it is often the responsibility of the student to book a place in the testing room in advance of each exam. If a student were to arrive 10 minutes before the exam without booking ahead, the institution may not be able to accommodate the student on such short notice.

Students in post-secondary school must take a larger role in arranging and implementing their own accommodations than they did in high school. It can sometimes be difficult for incoming students to take on the challenge of becoming more independent and advocating for themselves.

It is important to remember that the laws that regulate accommodations at college and university are different than those for high school. Many post-secondary institutions require more specific and comprehensive documentation to show proof of a disability than is required in high school (especially for learning disabilities and ADHD). In addition, a diagnosis, in and of itself, does not necessarily justify the provision of accommodations, even if that person was given special education services in the past. Instead, at the post-secondary level, special education per se is not available, and accommodations are only provided when the impairments that flow from a disorder interfere with equal ability to access and use the educational system. Therefore, incoming students will not automatically receive the same accommodations at college or university that they received at high school. To discuss available accommodations, students should contact the AS at their post-secondary school directly.

Chart of Differences between High School and College/University (PDF)