AODA and accessibility at Georgian College

Georgian College is committed to improving access to all college premises, facilities and services at all campuses. The information on this page focuses on Georgian College’s overall accessibility plan.

Looking to learn about the accessibility services we provide to students? Visit our Accessibility Services webpage.

Accessibility at Georgian

The aim of Georgian’s Accessibility Plan is to identify, remove and prevent barriers to persons with disabilities and establish priorities for future accommodations.

We welcome and appreciate comments on how Georgian provides services to people with disabilities. You can contact us with questions or concerns. If you’re a current or potential student, you can also inquire about your own specific needs or arrange a meeting with a representative from Georgian’s Accessibility Services. You can use the AODA online feedback form or contact us directly.

When transportation is offered by the college for school trips, accessible alternatives will be provided upon request to staff and students with disabilities. Staff and students requiring these services will work with the faculty or department responsible for the trip to make arrangements and must provide as much advance notice as possible when requesting these services.

Information available to the public is provided in alternate formats upon request through Campus Safety Services at 705.722.1586.

an accessibility advisor assisting a student with adaptive technology
Georgian College logo

Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA)

About AODA

The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act became law on June 13, 2005. Its goal is to make Ontario accessible for people with disabilities by 2025. This act lays the framework for the development of province-wide mandatory standards on accessibility in all areas of daily life.

The purpose of the act is to:

  • develop, implement and enforce accessibility standards with respect to the goods, services, facilities, accommodation, employment, buildings, structures and premises by Jan. 1, 2025
  • provide for the involvement of persons with disabilities, the Government of Ontario and representatives of various sectors of the economy in the development of accessibility standards

Accessibility standards

Accessibility standards are the rules that businesses and organizations in Ontario will have to follow to identify, remove and prevent barriers to accessibility. There are six accessibility standards in Ontario that fall under the Integrated Accessibility Standard Regulation (IASR).

The six accessibility standards are below:

  1. Integrated Accessibility Standards
  2. Information and Communications Standards
  3. Employment Standards
  4. Transportation Standards
  5. Design of Public Spaces Standards
  6. Customer Service Standards

AODA Advisory Committee

The Georgian College AODA Advisory Committee is comprised of senior leaders or designates representing all areas of the college who champion and are accountable for the successful implementation of the accessibility initiatives as they relate to the AODA accessibility standards.

The committee is responsible for reviewing the annual status report which addresses the outcomes of the deliverables and activities as stated in the college’s Multi-Year Accessibility Plan.

If you would like more information, please feel free to contact us:

Web standards

Georgian College’s website is being developed based on the standards of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and other standards bodies.

We are working toward a fully developed web standards site. The goal of web standards is to ensure accessibility and usability of all web content to all users. This includes cross-browser and cross-platform compatibility.

Web content accessibility guidelinesGeorgian College Chevron
  • Guideline 1: Provide equivalent alternatives to auditory and visual content
  • Guideline 2: Don’t rely on colour alone. Ensure that text and graphics are understandable when viewed without colour
  • Guideline 3: Use markup (XHTML) and cascading style sheets (CSS) and do so properly
  • Guideline 4: Clarify natural language usage
  • Guideline 5: Create tables that transform gracefully. Tables should be used for tabular information (“data tables”), and should not be used to lay out pages (“layout tables”)
  • Guideline 6: Ensure that pages featuring new technologies transform gracefully. Ensure that pages are accessible even when newer technologies are not supported or are turned off
  • Guideline 7: Ensure user control of time-sensitive content changes
  • Guideline 8: Ensure direct accessibility of embedded user interfaces
  • Guideline 9: Design for device-independence
  • Guideline 10: Use interim accessibility solutions so that assistive technologies and older browsers will operate correctly
  • Guideline 11: Use W3C technologies and guidelines
  • Guideline 12: Provide context and orientation information
  • Guideline 13: Provide clear navigation mechanisms
  • Guideline 14: Ensure that documents are clear and simple

View the complete web content accessibility guidelines documentation.

Accessibility plan

Commitment to accessibility planning

Georgian College is committed to continually improving access to all college premises, facilities, and services which spans across three main campuses and four regional campuses located throughout Central Ontario, Canada.

The aim of Georgian’s annual Accessibility Plan is to identify, remove and prevent barriers to persons with disabilities and establish priorities for future accommodations. The plan impacts many different aspects of the college, and was created and reviewed by educators, students, community, managers, union representatives and Facilities Management personnel on all campuses.

View Georgian College’s 2020-2023 Multi-Year Accessibility Plan or review past plans and status reports.

Alternate formats of Georgian’s Accessibility Plan are available by calling 705.722.1586 or emailing accessibility@georgiancollege.ca.

Archives

All documents are available in alternate format upon request.

*Please note, status reports may be protected documents that your web browser may not be able to open. If clicking the link opens the report instead of downloading it, please right-click on the link and choose the “Save link as…” option. Once saved, open the report with Adobe Acrobat Reader – not your web browser or other PDF readers – in order to access it.

Additional resources

Accessible Campus

  • Find the latest information about accessibility at Ontario universities
  • Training resources, adaptable templates, sample best practices, and suggested approaches for meeting compliance for administrators
  • Resources that support the accessible delivery and instruction of programs and courses for educators

Accessible Digital Office Document (ADOD) Project

  • Find out how to create accessible office documents and choose accessible office applications

Provide your feedback

Share your feedback with us about accessibility at Georgian

  • If you’re currently experiencing a barrier to access at the college (i.e., a broken elevator), please contact security for immediate assistance at 705.722.5100.
  • If you’re unable to complete this online form, or require assistance or accommodations to provide feedback, please contact Campus Safety Services at 705.722.1586 or email accessibility@georgiancollege.ca. For in-person assistance, you can also visit student services at the Barrie Campus in room B110.

Responses to feedback will be communicated in a way that is accessible to the person with the disability.

To express your comments or concerns, please complete the online form below or contact Campus Safety Services by phone at 705.722.1586.

Thank you for taking the time to share your feedback with us!

Complete our online feedback form

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Contact us

General inquiries about accessibility at Georgian

If you have questions about accessibility at Georgian, including Georgian’s Accessibility Plan, please contact Campus Safety Services:

Inquiries about individual accessibility needs

To inquire about your specific needs or to arrange a meeting through Georgian’s Accessibility Services (for students or potential students ONLY):

  • Georgian encourages academically qualified people with disabilities to apply for admission to its programs
  • While all students must satisfy the usual admission and graduation requirements, the college recognizes that students with disabilities may require individualized assistance
  • This assistance is also available to students with short-term disabilities
  • View contact information to discuss opportunities at Georgian College