Conference session

I will provide a history of the increase in students identifying as having a disability across post-secondary institutions in BC over more than two decades, the composition of this increase in terms of disability types and the unique accessibility services demands associated with this diverse population. I will go into detail on the creation and implementation of most of these cross-sectoral partnerships and how they acted to directly inform the creation of federal and provincial post-secondary education related policy and programs. I will provide direct examples of how interdisciplinary partnerships at the operational level informed and influenced provincial and federal agency policy and programs, as well as how decisions made at the federal agency level were translated to direct policy and program delivery changes at the operational level. My presentation will provide a history of this process over the last two decades, both successes and failures, and will conclude with a series of lessons learned and recommendations for future considerations moving forward.