As part of One Accessibility advocacy, we share information about disability issues, inclusion, and or accessibility features on Maps. Look out every week for this enlightening post.
Hello everyone and welcome to this week’s Accessibility Uncovered post!
As you might already know, this month’s topic is: Accessible Campus. So this month, we will be talking about Accessibility of University Campuses around us ! The Accessible campus I chose for this article is University of Greenwich. I recently visited the campus for my friend’s graduation ceremony and I was amazed to see and know about so many accessible , inclusive and diverse education facilities they have ! The University of Greenwich is one of the oldest Universities in the UK with high teaching quality, research excellence and has a beautiful and historic campus which is fully accessible.
The promotion of equality, diversity and inclusion are at the heart of the University. They have a Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy 2019-2022 , which is a declaration of the University of Greenwich’s commitment to the same. The policy outlines that the University will take steps to encourage staff, students and visitors to the University to:
- Treat others with respect at all times, and promote an environment free of all kinds of bullying and harassment.
- Actively discourage discriminatory behaviours or practices.
- Participate in training and learning opportunities that would enable them to adopt best practice.
Going to university can be challenging for anyone ; But for specially-abled and diverse university students, these challenges can be more extensive. To support a smoother transition, the University has a Disability and Dyslexia Centre at the Campus which runs STAART , a disability and diversity focused initiative that provides information and guidance to disabled and diverse students – both future and current – who have concerns about going to university or completing their studies. The University also has an established network of staff in each faculty and department acting as local contacts who provide support for students with a disability, specific learning difficulty, mental health or long term medical condition. The Disabled Staff Community at the University represents Academic and Professional Services staff and welcomes anyone who considers themselves as having a disability or those who support someone with a disability as defined in the Equality Act 2010.
Below are some of the Accessible features of this campus :
- There is an accessible path and the entrance is accessible with assistance members at each entrance to support PwDs.
- Most buildings have level access and lift facilities, but some doors are heavy, and the routes can be long for wheelchair users.
- There is a lack of clear routes for visually impaired students. Good orientation is necessary.
- Accessible toilets are available in all teaching buildings.
- There are good transport links and parking is available for Blue Badge holders.
- Special assistance member is present in each building to assist in case if required.
- When viewing the campus; audio guides , braillle guides and even British Sign Language interpreters are available.
A Detailed accessibility guides for Greenwich Campus can be found here.
Even the University’s website supports Accessibility . You can read more about their website accessibility here. They also use the assistive technology at the University. Assistive Technology is specialist IT equipment and software to help those with disabilities, or suffering from various health issues, to work or study. Below are few Assistive technology features at Avery Hill Campus of this University :
- Height adjustable desks are located in both the Mansion Computing Lab and the Library.
- A text magnifier, “Large Key” keyboard & SuperNova, screen magnification software, are installed in the Mansion Library and the Computing Lab.
- Mind Manager - Mind mapping software is available at all Avery Hill computing labs.
- Each station has a twenty-two inch flat screen LCD monitor.
Most of the University Campuses are beautiful ,serene and calm,but this campus not only is beautiful inside but also has many tourist sites , World Heritage Site ‘Cutty Sark’ and the famous ‘Royal Observatory’ near it ! Many film shootings have been done here and many tourists too visit this campus as it even has historic importance ! In case you are in London, make sure to make a day trip here !
Is there an Accessible Campus near you ? What features make it one of the best accessible campuses? We would love to know more , do mention in the comments below ! If you have a question, suggestion, or contribution, feel free to comment below. You can read last week’s roundup article here and check the list of our other articles under “Accessibility Uncovered”.
