Universities Australia: The peak body representing Australia's Universities

AVCC guidelines relating to students with a disability

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The Australian Vice-Chancellors' Committee (AVCC) believes that self-regulation in the higher education sector is both appropriate and effective. In seeking to advance higher education through voluntary, cooperative and coordinated action, the AVCC continues to develop a range of codes and guidelines for the university sector which serve as benchmarks for good practice. Such documents include the AVCC's generic Universities and their Students: Principles for the Provision of Education by Australian Universities, which incorporates guidelines for maintaining and monitoring academic quality and standards in teaching and learning, and in higher degrees, and the code and guidelines relating to the provision of education to international students by Australian universities in Australia and offshore.

The release of the first edition of AVCC guidelines relating to students with disabilities (December 1996) was testament to the sector's recognition of the need to provide students with a disability with the opportunity to realise their individual capabilities, and that universities should strive to fulfil their responsibilities in this regard. Subsequently, the complementary AVCC Guidelines on Information Access for Students with Print Disabilities were developed in 2004.

This second edition of the AVCC Guidelines relating to students with a disability (May 2006), has been framed in the light of a number of major legislative and regulatory developments since 1996 with import for universities and their students with disabilities. The 2006 Guidelines retain the overall intention of assisting universities to fulfil their responsibilities to students with a disability through strategies and arrangements appropriate to each university's local circumstances. They are underpinned by a set of key general principles and encompass guidelines relating to university policy and administration, teaching and learning, and campus life and services.

The AVCC acknowledges with appreciation the constructive contributions of the AVCC Disabilities Guidelines Steering Committee, comprised of representatives from across the sector, and other key stakeholders including disability stakeholders in the development of this publication.

To read the complete guidelines, download the PDF below.