Kia Ōrite Achieving Equity

Part 2 - SETTING THE SCENE

2.1  Purpose of the Code of Practice

Key Objective:

To assist tertiary education providers create a fully inclusive tertiary education environment for students with impairments within New Zealand.

Aims:

The Code of Practice aims to:

1. Set out 'Best Practice' standards that describe the outcomes needed to create a fully inclusive tertiary education environment for students with impairments.
2. Assist tertiary education providers to:
   1. Understand the status of people with impairments in tertiary education in New Zealand.
   2. Evaluate their progress towards an inclusive environment.
   3. Identify potential barriers to participation and achievement that people with impairments face.
   4. Improve tertiary outcomes for students with impairments.
   5. Be aware of policy and legal obligations relating to people with impairments in tertiary education.

2.2  Definitions of Disability

Various definitions of disability exist. The definition used in The New Zealand Disability Strategy is different from that used by Statistics New Zealand for the 2001 Disability Survey and in the Human Rights Act, 1993.

The New Zealand Disability Strategy states that, “disability is not something individuals have. What individuals have are impairments. They may be physical, sensory, neurological, psychiatric, intellectual or other impairments.” Instead, “disability is the process which happens when one group of people create barriers by designing a world only for their way of living, taking no account of the impairments other people have”.[7]

For the purposes of the Code of Practice we have used the New Zealand Disability Strategy definition of disability[8]. In this document we will refer to people or students with impairments. This includes people with permanent impairments, those with impairments resulting from long or short-term injury or illness, the Deaf community and people with other impairments such as learning disability, neurological or cognitive difficulties, mental illness and other more hidden impairments.

2.3  Scope of this Code of Practice

Students with impairments are involved in the full range of tertiary courses at all levels of learning. This includes foundation courses, life skills, and vocational and academic programmes. The Code of Practice is intended to have an impact on the participation and achievement of students with impairments at all of these levels of learning and at all types of tertiary providers, including universities, polytechnics, private training establishments, wananga and colleges of education.

It is imperative that students with impairments are able to access the full tertiary experience; therefore this Code of Practice also applies to the wider aspects of tertiary life, such as the social, cultural and recreational areas.

It should also be noted that the implementation of many of the Best Practice Standards would also have a positive impact on staff, particularly those staff that have or develop impairments.

2.4  The Rationale for Using the Code of Practice

New Zealand needs to develop the skills and abilities of its entire population, including people with impairments. Students with impairments are as valuable as all other students and have the ability to contribute to the community through education.

The Code of Practice can assist tertiary education providers to:

1. Improve tertiary education outcomes for students with impairments.
2. Meet their specific obligations relating to students with impairments under the New Zealand Disability Strategy, the Tertiary Education Strategy, STEPS, and Charters and Profiles.
3. Avoid the possibility of an institution or organization receiving a disability-related complaint under the Human Rights Act or other legislation, through the proactive identification and removal of barriers to participation and achievement.
4. Review services for students with impairments thus enabling them to get the greatest value out of resources.