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Equity Action Plan

Goal 4: Access & support

Create equitable support structures that address the diverse access needs of the campus community.

Why?

During the plan’s creation, we heard that UVic must better support students, staff, faculty and librarians. Robust support structures that are flexible, easy-to-access and targeted are needed to promote wellbeing for all. Financial and cultural accessibility, as well as accessibility for people with visible and invisible disabilities and mental health needs should be prioritized. These gaps prevent some community members – particularly those from systemically and historically marginalized groups – from fully participating and feeling like they belong at UVic.

  • Financial barriers to student success create inequities across campus (e.g., having to work a full-time job to afford tuition/rent/living expenses).
  • UVic’s lack of commitment to consistent hybrid learning and flexible work opportunities creates accessibility barriers.
  • The availability of gender-neutral washrooms is inconsistent and/or poorly advertised. As a result, members of the UVic community are forced to plan their day around accessing these facilities.
  • Academic accommodations for students with disabilities (including visible and invisible) are inconsistent and not specific to individual needs. This excludes members of the campus community and makes them feel like they don’t belong.
  • Cultural safety is not consistently integrated within campus support systems. This leaves some students feeling like they cannot access services. For example, students from systemically and historically marginalized communities may not have access to counselors who share or understand their experiences. 
  • Mental health supports – such as leave options and/or counselling – for students/staff/faculty/librarians are inconsistent, inaccessible, non-representative and unreliable. As a result, members of the UVic community do not feel as though they can thrive on/off campus.
  • Mature students and students with dependents are not adequately supported. Their responsibilities beyond academia are not respected or acknowledged. As a result, they face inequitable barriers to success on campus.
  • The availability of and access to support services for students participating in experiential learning (i.e., co-ops, field schools or placements) is inconsistent. As a result, students who require additional support (e.g., students with disabilities) face inequitable challenges participating in experience-based learning. 

Committed actions

Community-wide impact

  1. Develop and implement accessibility training for all managers, directors and instructors to increase their capacity to support university community members with disabilities. Leads: VP Academic & Provost, VP Finance & Operations

  2. Identify and centralize information regarding the accessibility of UVic spaces, services and resources. Leads: VP Academic & Provost, VP Finance and Operations (Accessibility Committee)

  3. Advocate for increases to provincially funded on-campus childcare options for students and employees with children. Leads: VP Academic & Provost, VP External Relations

  4. Develop, implement and publish an equity-centred service plan for Campus Security that includes reviewing internal processes and practices through an equity lens. Lead: VP Finance & Operations (Campus Security)

  5. Undertake a project to establish standards for providing accessibility accommodations to students, employees and others consistently across the university. Lead: VP Finance & Operations (General Counsel)

Student-specific impact

  1. Design and implement fundraising initiatives to increase financial accessibility and expand funding opportunities for systemically and historically marginalized groups, including students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Leads: VP Academic & Provost (Deans), VP External Relations (Alumni & Development)

  2. Increase access to experiential learning for students from systemically and historically marginalized groups (e.g. field schools and co-ops). Lead: VP Academic & Provost (Deans)

  3. Identify and address concrete barriers to accessing student accessibility and wellness supports (e.g., counselling, health services, etc.). Where needed, improve available programs, raise awareness and increase accessibility. Lead: VP Academic & Provost (Student Affairs)

  4. Develop targeted strategies to support student food security through bursary and community partnership opportunities. Lead: VP Academic & Provost (Student Affairs)

Employee-specific impact

  1. Assess available employee  benefit packages to identify barriers in accessing relevant wellbeing support. Where needed, improve available programs, raise awareness and increase accessibility. Leads: VP Academic & Provost (Faculty Relations), VP Finance & Operations (Human Resources)

Actions Completion notes
Undertake an assessment of the Division of Student Affairs to identify and address gaps in understanding, as well as the capacity of leadership and management to implement Equity Action Plan (EAP) initiatives. Lead: VP Academic & Provost Coming soon.
Develop and release an inclusive washroom plan with timelines, locations and regular progress reports. Lead: VP Finance & Operations This webpage features the current and upcoming renovations taking place to increase the number all-gender washrooms on campus.
Continue to review, evaluate and offer remote and flexible work options. After conducting an employee survey and piloting different work options, UVic has developed the Flexibility Framework, a principle-based approach and toolkit to support flexible and remote options.

Updated October 2026

What's next

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