KPU student with disability raises concerns with the university’s Accessibility Services

At Kwantlen Polytechnic University, 46 per cent of domestic students and 22 per cent of international students have a disability or ongoing medical condition, according to the school’s 2022-23 student profile.

One of these students is Jasleen Gill, a creative writing major who The Runner has given a pseudonym. Gill is fully blind and therefore relies on braille and audio materials to complete their course work. 

As someone who often delves into poetry and prose, given their field of study, Gill relies on braille to properly understand the materials as audio readings disrupt the intentional use of spacing, line breaks, and punctuation in these creative works, they say, adding that braille allows them to skim and look at the page, which enhances their learning. 

Over the past few semesters, Gill says they have faced challenges with receiving assigned readings in braille from KPU’s Accessibility Services. This spring semester, Gill says they did not receive the entirety of their assigned course readings until the week before reading break, which is about halfway through the semester. In the fall, Gill says they didn’t receive an assigned book until the latter half of October. 

“I always feel behind my sighted peers,” Gill says. “As a disabled person, the world isn’t meant for you, so you kind of always feel behind. I always feel like I have to work 10 times harder or participate 10 times more in class for things to matter.”

Requesting and processing braille materials can be a lengthy process. Students like Gill are provided early course registration, allowing them to solidify which courses they will be taking in the upcoming semester as soon as possible. From there, the students should reach out to their instructors to ask which reading materials will be assigned in the course.

Gill says connecting with instructors on this matter can take time as some may still be figuring out which materials they plan to assign. Once Gill’s instructors have told them what the assigned reading materials will be, they have to purchase a physical copy of the text and, once received, send it to the Centre for Accessible Post-secondary Education Resources BC (CAPER-BC), which converts the texts into a PDF or e-text.

CAPER-BC then provides the converted materials to both the student and KPU’s Accessibility Services, who sends it out to a third-party supplier for braille conversion, which KPU pays for. The service provider tries to supply the material in batches to accommodate all the requests it receives. This means students may only receive a portion of their assigned readings by the time a semester starts, which Gill says can pose challenges. 

“There’s other parts in the book that we’re expected to read, to do presentations on …. For our portfolio, we can experiment with other poetic forms which are in the book,” they say, adding KPU did provide them with an e-book to use, but it’s not ideal. 

Gill adds they also don’t receive the entire text in braille, only the assigned readings, even though they purchased the entire material in print form. 

“Sighted students don’t just get [access to assigned readings]. There are [recommended] books on my syllabus that other students can actually go read in the library … and having access to those would probably serve me really well in completing my assignments.”

Gill says they had a meeting with KPU’s Accessibility Services earlier this year to speak about their concerns. During the meeting, they brainstormed some ideas to try and receive course materials from instructors ahead of registration, which Gill says was appreciated, and discussed receiving the full braille texts and not just the assigned sections. They say that the university agreed to look into ways to make this happen. 

After the meeting, Gill says KPU let them know it is unable to convert materials that are not assigned course readings to braille as this is the standard procedure across B.C. post-secondary schools. 

“I understand that’s the policy … but that policy is very flawed,” Gill says. “It feels like [they] said one thing at the meeting, and then went and did some digging so that [they] wouldn’t have to do this.” 

Another concern Gill raised is in regard to a braille library that KPU Accessibility Services tried to initiate. Gill says KPU told them they had to return the braille texts they had used the previous semester as they were trying to build a library for other blind students to access if they are assigned the same texts in future courses. 

“Every other student who is sighted gets to keep the textbook that they purchased,” Gill says. “I understand the theory, and it’s a good plan, but you’re not going to do that at my expense. That’s not really fair.” 

Gill adds they did have to give KPU their braille texts in the fall, and Accessibility Services suggested they could sell the print book to get their money back. This year, Gill got their braille materials back from KPU as they could not proceed with the braille library due to copyright law. Gill says they believe that if it weren’t for the copyright law, the braille library would be an ongoing project. 

In an email statement to The Runner, Lynda Beveridge, director of counselling and Accessibility Services at KPU, wrote the university can’t discuss an individual student’s situation for privacy reasons.

Accessibility Services serve more than 900 students who often take multiple courses each semester, she added. 

“Accessibility Services strives for continual improvement and is open to exploring ways to improve practices and processes to meet students’ needs in the most efficient and timely way,” she wrote, adding the braille library was one of these initiatives. 

Earlier this year, KPU announced it had purchased a new braille printer — one of the first open to the public for self-serve use in Western Canada. Using the machine to translate copyright materials into braille is subject to strict legal limits, Beveridge wrote, adding the braille printer has the same legal limits as other on-campus printers, and text-based materials created by instructors are likely safe to print. 

“The university has promoted the printer to raise awareness among the wider Metro Vancouver community that this resource is publicly available, and priced per page,” she wrote. 

Gill says they are grateful for the printer and think it is a great addition to the university, but has concerns about the way KPU is trying to present itself to the public. 

“We’re putting this image out there that [KPU is] breaking down barriers, but honestly, [it’s] really not because look at all these other issues that are happening in the background that we’re not talking about,” they say. “That left such a sour taste in my mouth.” 

Gill says they would like to see KPU move the process of converting printed texts to PDFs and e-texts in house to speed up the process and limit the back and forth with third-party suppliers. They add that they’ve brought the idea up to KPU, which said it doesn’t have the budget or staff to make it happen. 

“I understand we’re understaffed and we don’t have money, but what about student volunteers or student jobs on a smaller wage who could type up documents?” they say. “Plenty of students are looking for jobs.” 

Gill says the challenges they’ve faced with KPU’s Accessibility Services and receiving course materials speaks to the barriers students with disabilities face and the ignorance of able-bodied people. In their classes, Gill says they’ve heard students speak about how there’s too much diversity and told Gill they will “be the first to be chosen” when opportunities arise because they are a minority.  

“I want to take all of this stuff and put it out there for students and staff to see and say, ‘Hey, no, look at the bigger picture. We still have all these challenges.’ We are nowhere close to where people think we are.” 

Needing to advocate for themselves also makes Gill worry about how they are perceived, adding that they don’t want to be seen as a complainer, but change needs to come from somewhere. 

“The biggest thing I’ve learned is that my institution is prohibiting me from succeeding, and it’s really soured my mood in classes,” Gill says. 

“This is the place I’m supposed to feel the most comfortable. It’s literally called Accessibility [Services]. And the irony [is] how this is the place I face the most challenges — that, I think, gets me the most.”

Beveridge wrote that Accessibility Services tries to meet a student’s accommodation request or needs, and while this isn’t always possible, the department works with all registered students to troubleshoot issues when they arise. 

“All members of Accessibility Services engage regularly with students, and the wider disability services network in BC and across the country. We prioritize scholarly practice, committees, and connection with a wide range of individuals and service providers to stay informed of needs and innovations in service.”