Student Accessibility Services (SAS) at OCADU provides support to students with temporary and permanent disabilities. After an initial intake appointment with an Accessibility Advisors, students have access to accommodations to support them with their course work, including Alternate Formats.
Telephone: 416-977-6000 ext. 339
Email: sas@ocadu.ca
For general inquiries, please contact newformats@ocadu.ca
Requests for alternate formats are forwarded to the library directly from Student Accessibility Services (SAS). We are happy to help with any questions along the way.
For OCADU Faculty and Staff, requests must be forwarded to the library from People & Culture (formerly Human Resources).
The Alternate Formats service is intended to help and support students with print and other perceptual disabilities access their course readings and other materials in a format that best supports their learning needs.
“Perceptual disability” means a disability that prevents or inhibits a person from reading or hearing a literary, musical, dramatic or artistic work in its original format, and includes such a disability resulting from (a) severe or total impairment of sight or hearing or the inability to focus or move one’s eyes, (b) the inability to hold or manipulate a book or (c) an impairment relating to comprehension (8) (Copyright Act C-42, 2017).
To receive accessible formats of required readings and other materials, users must:
Be registered with Student Accessibility Services. (For OCADU non-student staff, requestors need to have an accommodation plan in place with People & Culture, formerly Human Resources.)
Be actively registered for courses at OCAD U. At this time, we cannot find or create accessible file types for alumni or students on a leave of absence.
Requests should be for required readings, (e.g., resources listed on syllabus). In addition, we can help you find accessible versions of supplemental material. We can also redirect you to resources that can help you find accessible versions of leisure reads.
Let your SAS advisor know that you need an alternate/accessible format for your course readings.
You and your SAS advisor will fill out the Alternate Formats Request form in an appointment. This form is then forwarded to the Library’s Alternate Formats Service. You will receive an automated reply from newformats@ocadu.ca, and someone from the library will respond within two business days.
You will receive a direct line of communication with the library’s Alternate Formats Coordinator, who will give you progress updates, as well as book time with you to pick up your accessible file(s). (Please share your communication preferences, and we will communicate with you accordingly – e.g., no emails exceeding 300 words, virtual meetings in Microsoft Teams with follow up instructions via email, meet in person on Monday and Wednesday afternoons, etc.).
Before you can use your accessible file(s), you must review and sign the E-File Statement Agreement. The Alternate Formats Coordinator will ensure you can open and use your accessible file(s). We will also do our best to troubleshoot access issues with you that you may encounter.
Tagged PDF.
Word (For screen readers).
Large print.
MP3.
Kurzweil (KES).
Braille.
We can also support users with screen readers and other accessibility software (e.g., JAWS, Zoom Text, accessibility features in Windows and Mac OS).
Textbooks and class readings.
Library books and articles.
Classroom handouts, syllabi, rubrics, etc.
Webpages and pieces of online content in Canvas that are inaccessible with screen readers and other assistive technologies.
Don’t see your request type listed? Contact newformats@ocadu.ca for support.
Library users requesting accessible formats should:
Provide course selections (course codes, titles, section numbers, and preferred text formats) to SAS staff as soon as registration opens.
Notify staff of changes in course selections that will impact alternate format text requirements (e.g., dropping/adding courses), or if your required readings change.
Register their accommodation with Student Accessibility Services (SAS) and meet in person with their accessibility advisor to place a Request for Alternate Formats.
Provide proof of purchase for course texts/readers.
Review and sign E-File Statement Agreements and following any publisher and copyright restrictions on alternate format materials (e.g., agree not to reproduce or redistribute the material).
Students are encouraged to register and connect with Student Accessibility Services (SAS) as early as possible. While we can process requests at any point of the semester, some request types may take several weeks to source from publishers.
OCAD U Library’s Alternate Formats service will let you know as soon as possible if a request turnaround time spans multiple weeks. In this case, we highly recommend that students seek additional accommodation via SAS and with each instructor to support them until their materials are available. Students who are seeking speech to text conversions of their required readings can use Kurzweil's Read the Web Google Chrome extension to screen read PDFs and HTML until a converted file is available. You can learn more about Read the Web in the Read the Web (Kurzweil's Browser Extension) tab of this subject guide.
Need help with an alternate formats request? Have questions about the service, eligibility or other accessibility needs? Contact newformats@ocadu.ca for support.