Accessibility services
The accessibility service is a free service to support OP students who identify as having a disability that will impact on their ability to participate in learning. Our aim is to support you to succeed.
How can we help you?
We can provide you with support tailored to your individual needs.
Any student who feels their disability, impairment, injury, medical or mental health condition or wellbeing is affecting their ability to study can access this service.
Accessibility services at OP
We have a range of accessibility services to assist students with their studies. These include:
The Accessibility advisor can help identify what is impacting your studies and life, what you need to do to stay on track, help you set goals and problem solve.
The Accessibility advisor's role is dedicated to ensuring the needs of all students are fully supported during their studies at Otago Polytechnic.
The Accessibility advisor can offer orientation and liaison with lecturing staff and community agencies.
How the support service works
The Accessibility advisor will have an initial meeting with you and to find out about your circumstances. They will then develop a support plan that is tailored to your individual needs and requirements.
This service can be accessed when it suits and where it suits on campus. Under special circumstances, if you cannot make it to campus, our Accessibility advisor can come to you. If you study at one of our regional campuses or by distance you can arrange to talk to our advisor by phone or online.
For more information you can visit these links:
Choosing a programme
When choosing a programme of study it is important to understand the programme requirements. You may have to do placements, fieldwork or laboratory tasks to complete your qualification.
If you are uncertain whether you are able to meet these requirements, you should contact the Programme Manager to discuss this. Accessibility services can help you with this. Sometimes adjustments can be made to the learning environment to help you with your chosen study path.
These adjustments could include:
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Alternative examination arrangements
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Access to assistive technology
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Access to peer note taking
Need to talk to someone?
Accessibility services
I really appreciated the extra support available to me to help with my dyslexia.
Student reflection
Throughout my three years of tertiary-level studies I have found Student Success to be extremely beneficial. All the staff were very supportive and took the time to provide extra assistance to help my training. I really appreciated the extra support available to me to help with my dyslexia and being given extra time in my exams. I also utilised Student Success for extra assistance with my assignments and resumé and found this to be really helpful.
Accessible facilities
Wheelchair accessible showers
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A Block (Engineering) - A124
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M Block (Hospitality) - M125 (Males) M126 (Females)
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P Block (School of Art) - P104a
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Y Block - Y102
Parking
There are a number of disability carparks around the Dunedin campus available for students to use with the applicable parking permit. Please refer to the map below for locations.
Sargood Centre (Institute of Sport and Adventure)
The Sargood Centre contains disability toilets, wheelchair accessible showers and disability parking.
Helpful apps, plugins and resources
Eligibility
Any student enrolled in an assessed programme/course who has a temporary or permanent disability that impacts on their ability to study is eligible to register with the Accessibility services at any stage of the academic year. This applies whether studying at the Dunedin campus, or at ourregional campuses or by distance. In order to register you must provide supporting documentation expressing an appropriate professional’s opinion of your disability/medical condition and its possible impacts on your study so Student Success can develop a support plan with you. If you suspect that you have a specific learning difficulty and do not have supporting documentation, our Accessibility advisor can refer you to be assessed.
Confidentiality and privacy
All information provided to staff will remain private and confidential. This means they will not disclose anything confidential unless:
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You expect us to do so and it is agreed on. Some disclosure might be necessary in order to provide the right support.
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You give us written permission
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There is a compelling reason such as significant risk to yourself or others
