#ACCESS4ALL CAMPAIGN

WHAT IS #ACCESS4ALL?

#Access4All began is an SSD campaign started in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was sparked by a disabled, bedbound, UVic student who feared they wouldn’t be able to complete their degree due to the university’s sudden return to in-person classes, with little to no online or hybrid options available. They were soon joined by other student advocates who recognized that this lack of flexibility affects a wide range of students: disabled students, international students, students who work part– or full-time, and those with caregiving responsibilities. Since our campaign launched in May 2021, UVic has continued to fall short in providing equitable access to education. #Access4All demands meaningful change. We advocate for accessible, inclusive learning at UVic and challenge the ableist structures that limit who can participate in higher education. We are pro in-person, pro-online, and pro-hybrid. We believe every student deserves the right to learn in the format that best fits their needs. Access isn’t optional, it’s a right.  

Mission Statement

#Access4All, or #A4A, is an SSD campaign supporting more inclusive learning by advocating for students to have the flexibility to learn in whichever format suits them best, whether that’s in-person, online, or hybrid. Our goal is to collaborate with UVic to expand hybrid access to education, support students with a range of access needs, and ensure students are not penalized for being ill or needing to self-isolate.

TIMELINE

  • Spring 2021

    Campaign started in April of 2021

    In April 2021 the #Access4All campaign was started by a group of disabled students who were concerned by the University of Victoria’s insistence for solely face-to-face learning.

    The campaign started with four demands of UVic:

    1. Facilitate hybrid course delivery of UVic classes for the fall, 2021.
    2. Actively and continually engage in anti-ableist work on campus for equitable access to higher education.
    3. Mee the university’s responsibility to its community by ensuring the continued safety of UVic students, staff, faculty, stakeholders, and the wider-island population.
    4. Release a clear and specific plan that resolutely mitigates rick for infectious outbreaks and allows agency for all students.

  • Summer 2021

    Instagram Instagram

    Petition Release

    In July 2021 #Access4All released a petition to promote their demands of UVic.

    A webinar on Equitable access to higher education was hosted on July 14th, 2021. The panelists were Julia Denley, Arshpreet Singh, Maren Akyurek, and Dr. Chriss Willmore. The Martlet also released an article on the webinar and #Access4All.

    In August the SSD posted several educational Instagram posts around the campaign including:

    • What is #A4A?
    • What is HyFlex Education?
    • What are the benefits of HyFlex?

  • Fall 2021

    Newspaper Newspaper

    Press Release

    In September 2021 the campaign released a press release that gathered media attention and was reported by multiple news outlets including Check News, and the Times Colonist.

    A letter supporting #Access4All was published in October 2021 that was co-signed by the UVSS, GSS, and Faculty Association.

    Additionally towards the end of the Fall 2021 semester #Access4All met with MLA Grace Lore (PS for Gender Equity) and MLA Dan Coulter (PS for Accessibility).

  • Spring 2022

    Cloud Cloud

    Walk Out!

    In January 2022 the campaign posted an updated statement around the need for hybrid education.

    February 2022 saw the first of the Walk Out campaigns. This stage of campaigning had three demands of UVic:

    • Hybrid access to classes, tutorials, and labs for those unable to attend in-person.
    • That UVic overtly work with the #Access4All committee in advocating for funding from the provincial government to ensure hybrid access to course, lecture, tutorial, and lab materials in a way that professors and students feel supported.
    • Ensure students who are ill or self-isolating will not have marks deducted for doing so, whether or not a medical note is provided.

  • Summer 2022

    Users Users

    Regular Meetings

    In June 2022 the #Access4All Campaign released updated information on why the campaign was making demands of UVic.

    July 2022 saw the formalisation and start of regular meetings that continue to this day.

  • Fall 2022

    Book-open Book-open

    Accessibility Form

    October 2023 saw the release of Instructor’s Accessibility Form used to gauge accessibility of professors at UVic. The form has 50 responses to date.

  • Spring 2023

    Paper-plane Paper-plane

    State of the Schools Tour

    In March 2023 the A4A and SSD Teams hosted the National Educational Association for Disabled Students (NEADS) State of the Schools Tour stop and turned the event into a Post-Secondary Disability Symposium.

  • Fall 2023

    Rebrand

    In 2023 the UVSS team completed a A4A rebrand, giving us our new logo, which we still use today! We also expanded A4A to other universities across BC with the brand new BC Post-Secondary Disability Alliance. We also prioritized tabling for the campaign across campus.

  • 2018

    Tools Tools

    Milestone Title

    Milestone Content goes here

  • 2018

    Tools Tools

    Milestone Title

    Milestone Content goes here

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DEMANDS

Here is the short version of our demands:

  1. Accessible Course Formats – UVic must ensure all required courses have at least one section offered in an online
    or hyflex format. The university must also commit to transitioning all courses, including lectures, labs, and tutorials, across all faculties to be available in online or hyflex formats. If in-person attendance is necessary due to unmet learning outcomes, it must be clearly justified, approved in advance, and minimized wherever possible, following the 2020–2021 standards.
  2. Interim Goals – In the interim, UVic must transparently report which courses will offer lecture recordings for most of the term. UVic must also clarify to instructors that providing recorded lectures does not change the official course delivery mode, unlike HyFlex.
  3. Instructor and TA Support UVic must provide full support and training for instructors and TAs to effectively
    deliver online, hybrid, and HyFlex courses across all faculties. This includes access to necessary technology, instructional design resources, and dedicated technical assistance. UVic must also honour its February 12, 2025 commitment to the #Access4All campaign by actively lobbying for government funding to support flexible, accessible course delivery.
  4. Echo360 Training and Use – UVic must reinstate mandatory, compensated Echo360 training for instructors and TAs, standardize its use, and track adoption through annual public progress reports to support consistent, accessible course delivery.
  5. End Punitive Attendance Policies – UVic must eliminate attendance policies that penalize students for missing class, as they disproportionately harm disabled, ill, working, and caregiving students, and pose health risks by encouraging attendance while sick.
  6. Physically Accessible In-Person Learning – UVic must upgrade classroom accessibility, increase accessible parking, ensure
    timely snow and ice removal, and commit to universal design standards for all new buildings, while closing campus during unsafe weather conditions.
  7. Extended Study Space Access – UVic must extend library hours to provide safe, quiet, and accessible study spaces, particularly during evenings, weekends, and exam periods, to support students who lack access to such environments at home.
  8. PPE and COVID Safety – UVic must provide free PPE at campus entry points and partner with #Access4All to seek provincial funding for campus-wide access to PPE and COVID testing.
  9. Public Accountability from UVic Leadership – The UVic Board of Governors must make a public commitment to dismantling ableist structures and provide regular, transparent updates on accessibility improvements.

We also have this document with our full demands.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

Interested in volunteering? Fill out our sign-up form!

If you’d like to email us, reach out to uvicssd@uvic.ca.

Follow our Instagram, @uvicaccess4all.

You can also stay up-to-date with us on our Linktree.

MEETING MINUTES

Interested in following our meetings? Take a look at the PDF of our running agenda/minutes document (updated periodically).


We demand #Access4All

View our Joint Letter to UVic

See us in the News!

Martlet coverage on the July 2021 A4A panel.

Chek TV coverage.

Times Colonist coverage.

CTV News coverage.

Accessibility