UBC Accessibility Committee

The mandate of the Committee is to: 

• assist the UBC Executive to identify barriers to individuals studying at, working for, or interacting with the university; 
• advise the UBC Executive on how to remove and prevent barriers to individuals studying at, working for, or interacting with the university; 
• advise the UBC Executive on the development and implementation of the UBC Accessibility Plan in accordance with section 11 of the Accessible British Columbia Act; 
• advise the UBC Executive on the processes it establishes for receiving comments from the public in accordance with section 12 of the Accessible British Columbia Act; 
• provide input to the UBC Executive on accessibility priorities; and 
• provide constructive feedback to the UBC Executive on the impact and effectiveness of university accessibility initiatives. 

The Committee will have 19 members who are, to the extent possible, selected in accordance with the following goals: 

1. The members are from the UBC community (student, faculty, and staff) representing both the Vancouver and Okanagan campuses; 

2. At least half of the members are persons with disabilities, or individuals who support, or are from UBC organizations that support, persons with disabilities¹; 

3. The members described in (2) reflect the diversity of persons with disabilities in British Columbia; 

4. At least one of the members is an Indigenous person; 

5. The committee reflects the diversity of persons in British Columbia. 

The Committee will be co-chaired by two Committee members. One of the co-chairs will be elected by and from the Committee members. The other co-chair will be selected by the UBC Executive from the Committee members. 

The UBC Executive appoints six members of the Committee from faculty and/or staff in units that are responsible for understanding and enhancing disability inclusion and justice issues and/or supporting persons with disabilities. Members will be appointed from the following units:  

• Centre for Accessibility (UBC Vancouver) 
• Disability Resource Centre (UBC Okanagan) 
• Centre for Workplace Accessibility (System-wide) 
• Equity & Inclusion Office (System-wide) 
• Centre for Teaching, Learning & Technology (UBC Vancouver) or Centre for Teaching and Learning (UBC Okanagan) 
• Facilities – Infrastructure Development (System-wide) 

All appointed members who are in positions serving persons with disabilities will hold a two-year term, and may be renewed for additional two-year terms. All appointed members who do not hold a position serving persons with disabilities will hold a one-year term and may be renewed for up to two additional one-year terms.  

The Alma Mater Society (AMS), the Graduate Student Society (GSS) and the Students’ Union Okanagan (SUO) each appoint a member with the requisite office and/or lived experience to effectively contribute to the Committee. AMS, GSS and SUO representatives will hold 1-year non-renewable terms. 

The remaining nine members are selected by the UBC Executive from among nominees received through an open call to the university community.  

An open call will be circulated to the UBC community inviting students, faculty, and staff to submit an online expression of interest that includes an opportunity to share relevant academic, professional, community, and/or lived experiences. The Executive will select nine of the nominees with an aim to meet the five required compositional diversity goals outlined above, while also selecting at least two students, two staff, and two faculty members. 

At-large members will hold a one-year term, and may be renewed for up to two additional one-year terms. 

All appointees, nominees, and candidates expressing interest in membership will be invited to complete a voluntary self-identification, questionnaire. The results of this questionnaire will be made available to the AVPEI and the UBC Executive for the purpose of ensuring the diversity of the Committee as required under Section 9(2) of the Accessible British Columbia Act. 

In addition, data analysts within the Equity and Inclusion Office will use the data to prepare anonymized aggregate reporting to the Committee. 

In recognition of the time and energy committed by the co-chairs, the UBC Executive will issue letters of thanks, communicate with supervisors, and provide a small financial stipend as appropriate for co-chairs not employed by the University. 

From time to time, the Committee may assemble working groups or special subcommittees to receive feedback from communities, conduct research into a specific topic, undertake a particular piece of work, or provide specific guidance or expertise in decision-making. The Committee may choose to establish separate working groups to focus on issues that may be unique to the Okanagan or the Vancouver campuses. 

The Committee will develop appropriate terms of reference and other documentation to frame the composition, scope of work, timelines, and roles and responsibilities of these working groups and subcommittees. 

Committee meetings shall occur bi-monthly. Meetings may be in-person or virtual (e.g. over Zoom or Teams). The co-chairs will develop the agenda for the meeting in consultation with Committee members. Requests from members to place an item on the agenda may be submitted to the co-chairs, ideally at least 1 week ahead of the meeting. 

Meeting minutes will be prepared by the co-chairs with support from the administrative resource, circulated to the Committee members via email, and approved at a subsequent meeting. 

Subject-matter experts may be invited to the Committee meetings as guests, with the permission of the co-chairs. 

The Committee, through the co-chairs, reports to the UBC Executive as represented by the Executive Sponsors, being the Vice-President Human Resources, Vice-President Students, and Vice-President, Finance & Operations. 

The Committee is convened by the UBC Executive and these Terms of Reference are issued by the UBC Executive.  These Terms of Reference will be reviewed at the conclusion of the inaugural year of operation and at least once every 4 years. The function of the Committee should be adapted to reflect evolving needs and circumstances. 

The Committee will be considering ways to further engage disabled students, faculty and staff in their work. At this time, UBC community members can share feedback on accessibility planning and disability equity issues at UBC with the Committee using the following email address: accessibility.committee@ubc.ca