Individuals with disabilities invited to serve as Lived Experience Accessibility Consultants

The call for consultants is part of the STEER/R Accessible Teaching and Learning Roadmap project, which aims to enhance accessible learning experiences at McMaster.

November 28, 2023

A circle logo featuring two international symbol of access logos (the wheelchair symbol) high fiving. Between their hands is a map pointer with the digital accessibility logo in its centre.
Individuals with disabilities are invited to serve as Lived Experience Accessibility Consultants for the STEER/R Accessible Teaching and Learning Roadmap project sponsored by the Office of the Vice-Provost, Teaching and Learning

McMaster students and alumni with disabilities are invited to participate in a project aimed at enhancing accessible learning experiences at the university.

Participants will serve as Lived Experience Accessibility Consultants for the initiative, which is sponsored by the Office of the Vice-Provost, Teaching and Learning.

The call for consultants marks a new phase of the Accessible Teaching and Learning Roadmap project, which was launched in April 2023. The five-year strategic plan behind the project aims to holistically improve access to post-secondary education and academic outcomes for students with disabilities at McMaster.

“This plan is not only about anticipating and addressing potential barriers, but also fostering a collective mindset of inclusivity so that every individual in our community can fully contribute and thrive,” says Kate Brown, Accessibility in Teaching and Learning Roadmap Project Lead.

The project uses “disability” as a broad umbrella term for diverse experiences of difference.

“We acknowledge the wide diversity of valuable disability experiences McMaster community members embody, says Brown. “Disability inclusivity not only fosters a more comprehensive approach to accessibility, but centres the valuable perspectives and feedback students and alumni with disabilities contribute to improving our academic and administrative environments as we strive to ensure a truly accessible and equitable environments for all.”

Interested students and alumni are asked to complete a brief Expression of Interest Survey

Through a partnership with the Career Access Professional Services (CAPS) Program in the Student Success Centre (SSC), honoraria will be provided to part-time and full-time student participants at the undergraduate or graduate level. Alumni up to five years post-degree completion who participate in the program are also eligible.

Members will choose and engage in projects of interest and attend regular cohort meetings. Learn more here.

Interested in participating? Complete the brief Expression of Interest Survey here. Applications are open until December 10.


If you have any questions or require assistance in filling the survey, please contact Paige from the Accessibility in Teaching and Learning Project Team at a11yTL@mcmaster.ca.

About 20 students lined up and smiling under a screen that reads

Research led by women, for women, at McMaster Engineering

Areas of women’s health and well-being that have historically been overlooked and underfunded are getting the attention they deserve by women-led research teams at McMaster Engineering.
Two pages from a zine. Text on the left page reads:

Safer drug use site for women and gender-diverse people saves lives 

The key is wraparound supports for overall health and well-being, such as addiction counselling, peer support, legal services, hygiene and reproductive health supplies and housing services. 
Two students flank a poster showing their work on sustainable and circular fashion.

Students weave fashion, sustainability and community care into growing non-profit

Student-run StyleCycle directly supports local families in a sustainable way that has in turn fuelled Maryam Muayad and Maria Alex's research interests.