Allowing Accommodations
This article is an instalment of the MUSE online team’s 2022 back to school theme week.
Something bad happened during my third year at Queen’s. From that moment, I wasn’t functioning the way I was required to anymore. My mental health, wavering in its stability and flimsy as ever, didn’t hold up well against newfound pressures. I didn’t attend classes for a period, pulling myself out of school and away from any activities for as long as my bedroom felt like the safest place to be. I paused my job search and cancelled my semester abroad as I attempted to cope with daily tasks. School assignments slowly piled up when I decided to start sending out emails to my professors explaining my absence. Re-entrance into the world meant that the world was waiting for me with piles of assignments and deadlines.
When something bad happens and you need extra help because of it, you often end up having to explain that bad thing repeatedly.
I had to inform my professors and teaching assistants of my absence, and its reasons. The re-explanation of my trauma, on the premise that it would provide validity to my claim, wasn’t necessarily helpful for me, having recently received a new trauma-based diagnosis to add to my collection. This diagnosis from my psychiatrist wasn’t solely based upon the recent event, but rather an accumulation of events that have come to explain my behaviour and how it interrupts my day-to-day life. I began to copy and paste my emails, as typing out the words of what happened, even in the gentler way you do when informing a stranger of your trauma, became near impossible behind the pounding in my chest and tears swelling in my eyes. As I returned to class and my assignments themselves, I found myself still requiring assistance.
Intending to find the easiest option, I began taking out academic considerations at the recommendation of some of my professors. I had taken one or two out before, for previous mental health junctures in my earlier years at Queen’s. Now, a three-day academic consideration would allow me precisely three days to recover from an event that drastically altered my ability to function day-to-day. Seventy-two hours didn’t support my healing, and I found myself taking out consideration after consideration.
Regardless, I was ill-informed about my options and didn’t do enough research. I can forgive myself for these misgivings, however, as being in an active crisis meant my desire to compare and contrast academic considerations and accommodations was quite low. My considerations were accepted, as I had the required supporting doctors’ notes or supplemental forms, and it was on to confirming my consideration with my professors.
Professors don’t have to accept academic considerations. Three of the four professors I had that semester approved my considerations, understanding that what happened was out of my control and that I needed a bit more than three days to pull the pieces of my mental health back together. After explaining my situation to one of my TAs and professor, rehashing what had happened and its aftermath, and thus that I required assistance, I was denied from using my officially accepted academic consideration on the basis that it would change the syllabus too much. I remember receiving the apologetic email from the TA relaying this information to me and having to unravel why exactly that was. I compared the syllabus between classes, and nothing came up. It seemed to me like the professor didn’t feel like making time for accessibility concerns.
Academic accommodations were right there the whole time. My previous diagnoses would have been enough to receive official accommodations. I need not take three-day consideration after consideration, in the presumption that each one would be my last, when longer-term solutions were available. To get myself into the academic accommodation's office, or rather to call their phone number, I had to accept that my future at Queen’s and my success here depended on it. I have a right to be in the classroom, despite how much I might have struggled to be there.
“I found ease in applying for long-term accommodations where I couldn’t in applying for considerations. Having an appointment with an advisor flattened out many of the ruffles I found when applying for academic considerations.”
Having to accept that there was a problem to begin with is never something I’ve been fond of doing. Accepting that there was then a tangible solution to the issue at hand was the next phase. It was difficult to maneuver, but once I got there with time and compassion, I found reassurance. After figuring out the specifics of my accommodations two months ago, I told my accommodations advisor about the professor who denied my consideration, and she assured me that such a situation likely wouldn’t occur under the accommodations system.
Accommodations aim to understand, “how specific courses and course work may/may not exacerbate a student’s uniquely experienced barriers,” while academic considerations tend to aim to meet the course’s structure and needs. Within the Queen’s accommodations system itself, there are permanent and interim accommodations, which are appointed during your first appointment with your accommodations advisor. There are a wide array of possible accommodations available, given based on the student’s needs. From audio-recorded note-taking to private exam rooms, the options for students seeking accessibility support attempt to remove a variety of barriers from the classroom for individual students. I found ease in applying for long-term accommodations where I couldn’t in applying for considerations. Having an appointment with an advisor flattened out many of the ruffles I found when applying for academic considerations. Rather than the process being exhausting and ongoing, my accommodations were settled within one appointment with my psychiatrist and one with my advisor.
The process of getting accommodations compared to considerations is jarring, and applying for either at Queen’s is not an easy process. To begin applying for academic accommodations, access the new Ventus Student Portal and fill out the intake form. Then, you must meet with a doctor to have the appropriate forms filled out. This step isn’t necessarily simple, however, appointments with the Queen’s Student Wellness Services are available at your request. Once all forms are submitted, you will receive an email with information on your QSAS Accessibility Advisor and the steps for booking your intake appointment. My advisor guided me through the process from there with ease and kindness, providing me with a degree of security not found in my previous applications.
In the few instances I’ve used my accommodations in summer courses thus far, I’ve found safety in the understanding that I have a right to be in the classroom, even when my needs vary from other students on the premise of my diagnoses. The accommodations system at Queen’s isn’t perfect, however. The process itself could use greater accessibility measures. Among a wider array of issues, information from the Queen’s Student Accessibility Services is a maze to find. As locating information stands particularly difficult for students in active crisis, accessibility to academic accommodations and considerations themselves must be improved.
In one email from a placements coordinator inquiring about my previous considerations, I was asked if the course utilized UDL, or Universal Design for Learning. For many of my courses throughout my time at Queen’s, I deeply struggled with their inaccessibility and, in consequence, professors’ interest in keeping their courses inaccessible to those with a variety of disabilities and varied needs. UDL is a course structure that aims to recognize each student’s unique way of understanding as well as highlight their strengths, instead of weaknesses in the way so many of our current courses are configured to do. It must be implemented into the course from the ground up, becoming an ongoing process as the course evolves to expand an instructor’s reach, in order to aid more students. UDL doesn’t negate the need for other accessibility services and academic accommodations, however, courses utilizing UDL allow students to implement their academic considerations and accommodations with greater ease.
It has been almost a year since I began functioning at a different degree than I had the rest of my life. I wish I had signed up for academic accommodations at the first sign I might need extra help in my first year at Queen’s so that I would have been prepared when a crisis occurred. I had always qualified for accommodations, and yet I thought I was better off seeing myself and my grades struggle than asking for help. I quickly learned here that when something bad happens within a community, not everyone in the community is going to offer support. You must ask for help yourself, instead of waiting around for it to come to you. Even when you meet with those unwilling to help, know that you have a right to the support you need.
Mental Health Resources
Student Wellness Services
(613) 533 – 2506
wellness.services@queensu.ca
69 Union St.
Kingston, ON
K7L 2N9
For appointments with Queen’s mental health professionals and general practitioners
Call 613-533-2506 from 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Monday to Friday
For Queen’s same-day crisis services
Call 613-533-2506 from 8:00 am - 4:30 pm Monday to Friday
Visit in person at Côté Sharp Student Wellness Centre, 1st floor, Mitchell Hall, 69 Union Street
For appointments with KFL&A mental health professionals and general practitioners
Call 613-544-1356 from 8:30 am - 4:30 pm Monday to Friday
For the KFL&A crisis phone line
Call 613-544-4229 or 1-866-616-6005
Walk-in services in the emergency department:
Kingston General Hospital
76 Stuart Street
Kingston, ON
K7L 2V7
Hôtel Dieu Hospital
166 Brock Street
Kingston, ON
K7L 5G2
Header by: Tiana Lam
