DISABILITY SERVICES NEWSLETTER April 2015 If you require this newsletter in an alternative format please contact us on +61 8 9266 7850 or e-mail disabilityservices@curtin.edu.au Receiving this newsletter: Each semester we send this newsletter to all students who tick the box in eStudent under 'My Disability Details' requesting information about Disability Services. If you do not wish to receive information or newsletters from us in future, please untick this box. You can access your record through ‘OASIS’ (My Studies and Evaluate; eStudent; My Disability Details). Please complete your 'Disability Details' on eStudent If you haven’t done so already, please complete ‘My Disability Details’ on your student record as this assists us to improve services for students with disabilities and medical conditions. To update your details go to ‘OASIS’ - My Studies and Evaluate; eStudent; My Disability Details. EQUITY EXAMINATIONS End of semester examinations This semester’s deadline for arranging end of semester Equity Exams is Friday 22nd May 2015. Note: This deadline only applies to Semester 1 centrally scheduled exams. Different deadlines apply for Trimester or Open Universities Australia exams. 1 Disability Services Newsletter April 2015 CRICOS Provider Code 00301J (WA), 02637B (NSW) Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University. New students: If you are making Equity Examination arrangements for the first time you must make an appointment to see a Disability Advisor before the deadline. Please make a phone appointment if you are based at a campus other than Bentley, or unable to attend for health reasons. Medical documentation will be required in most cases. More information about what’s needed is available here: http://disability.curtin.edu.au/students/eligibility.cfm Students already registered: Please complete the Fast Track ‘Equity Examinations: Student Declaration’ form for the agreed alternative examination arrangements according to your Curtin Access Plan or as approved by Disability Services. You can deliver the completed form personally to our Reception or e-mail it to disabilityservices@curtin.edu.au If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Curtin Counselling and Disability Services on 08 9266 7850 or email disabilityservices@curtin.edu.au. School based examinations (mid-semester, in-class tests, lab tests, deferred, supplementary): A reminder also, that you must provide at least two weeks’ notice for alternative conditions for examinations or tests that are conducted by individual schools or departments. You can use your Curtin Access Plan (CAP) to let your unit coordinators know what alternative arrangements you require. If you don’t have a CAP, and you need to make alternative arrangements for school based assessments, please contact a Disability Advisor to discuss your circumstances. How would you know your exam is school based? If examinations are not listed on the final examination timetable on the Curtin Examinations website then they are likely to be school based. E-Tests in the Assessment Centre: If you have a Curtin Access Plan and have timed assessments in the Assessment Centre: Make your booking on-line. Book any session except the last one before lunch or the last session of the day; 2 Disability Services Newsletter April 2015 CRICOS Provider Code 00301J (WA), 02637B (NSW) Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University. Arrive at the centre 15 mins early, and make yourself known to the staff on the desk; Provide staff member with a copy of your CAP; Any extra working time requirements will be added once you have logged in. Requirements other than extra time may not be possible in that setting, and may result in the assessment being run manually by your school. Please contact Disability Services if this is the case, and you require assistance. Keep an eye on your Oasis notifications for details of group programmes about managing Exam Anxiety! The next group runs on Wednesday, May 27th, 1pm 4pm CAMPUS NEWS Curtin Specialised Mentoring Programs Disability Peer Mentoring was introduced at Curtin in 2014 initially for students on the Autism Spectrum. The program has now been expanded in 2015 in response to the increasing number of students with a disability or medical condition enrolled at Curtin. The two Disability Peer Mentoring Programs at Curtin are the Curtin Specialist Mentoring Program (CSMP) for students on the Autism Spectrum and related conditions, and the Curtin Disability Mentoring Program (CDMP) for students with a disability or medical condition unrelated to Autism. These peer mentoring programs assign students a peer mentor who is a successful student from Health courses in Occupational Therapy, Social Work, Psychology, Speech Pathology and Nursing. If you are interested in getting a peer mentor or would like more information follow this link http://life.curtin.edu.au/health-and-wellbeing/disability-peer-mentoring.htm Curtin Physical Access Plan A Curtin Physical Access Plan is being developed to assist University Properties prioritize access problem areas and make a plan for how to resolve these issues. 3 Disability Services Newsletter April 2015 CRICOS Provider Code 00301J (WA), 02637B (NSW) Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University. If you would like to report a physical access problem please contact the Service Centre on 9266 2020 or lodge a complaint through the Complaints portal on the Curtin home page http://complaints.curtin.edu.au/management/report.cfm _________________________________________________ USEFUL INFORMATION Graphics survey for student who are blind or vision impaired Current and recent University students who are blind or vision impaired are invited to participate in a 10-minute online survey about their experience with access to graphics. As thanks for their time, respondents will be offered the chance to enter a draw for a $75 gift voucher. "Improving vision impaired students' access to graphics in Higher Education" is a project being conducted by Monash and Deakin Universities with support from the Australian Government Office for Learning and Teaching. The survey is located at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/accessHEgraphics and the explanatory statement can be downloaded from http://marvl.infotech.monash.edu/~leonah/explanatory-statement.docx. Swinburne offers free course on Autism A free course that will assist parents, families and carers who live and work with individuals on the autism spectrum will be launched at Swinburne University of Technology in April 2015. Running for six weeks, the MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) will use a unique scenario-based learning approach, which draws on the stories and experiences of individuals, carers and experts in the field. “We’re not aiming to educate people about the theory of Autism,” said Swinburne Associate Professor Mike Grimley. Community members interested in participating in the Autism MOOC can register for the course here. If you have an experience with Autism that you would like to share, you can contact the Autism MOOC team. For more information on the course, including workload and teaching delivery, contact the Autism MOOC team. 4 Disability Services Newsletter April 2015 CRICOS Provider Code 00301J (WA), 02637B (NSW) Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University. Source: http://www.swinburne.edu.au/media-centre/news/2015/02/swinburne-offersfree-course-on-autism.html ADCET website (Australian Disability Clearing House on Education and Training) The ADCET website aims to facilitate successful outcomes and improve the educational experience for students with disability. ADCET provides information, advice and resources to Disability Practitioners, Teachers and Students on inclusive practices within the post-secondary education sector. For useful information and news related to students with disability please go to the ADCET website: http://www.adcet.edu.au/students-with-disability/ First Peoples Disability Network Australia (FPDN) First Peoples Disability Network Australia (FPDN) is a national peak organisation. We aim to be a strong voice of and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability and their families. We do this using a range of strategies including: providing advice to government; educating the government and non-government sectors about how to meet the unmet needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with disability. More information is available at http://fpdn.org.au/ TADWA assistance to obtain computers For the past 16 years, TADWA Computer Services has been committed to helping people with disability obtain affordable quality refurbished and new computer systems, with an advanced package of support including remote assistance, online or in person training and onsite technical assistance. TADWA also has extensive experience in providing training and support for people who require adaptive software and hardware – e.g. Jaws and Dragon software. More information is available at www.tadwa.org.au or e-mail enquires@tadwa.org.au. 5 Disability Services Newsletter April 2015 CRICOS Provider Code 00301J (WA), 02637B (NSW) Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University. _____________________________________________________________________________ EMPLOYMENT Edge Employment Solutions EDGE Employment Solutions is a Disability Employment Service. We assist students/graduates with disabilities and medical conditions to secure and maintain employment. If you are looking for some part-time work whilst studying or are graduating soon and looking for a full-time job, call EDGE Employment on 9286 6600 to see how we can assist you! ‘Stepping Into’ Program - paid internship opportunities for students with disability Stepping Into™ Winter 2015 is open for Member Applications. Stepping Into is a national initiative for employers designed to introduce the advantages of recruiting skilled and talented university students with disability. Stepping Into is a talent pipeline development program that actively builds diversity and inclusion within your organisation. Please visit the Australian Network on Disability website http://www.and.org.au/pages/winter-2015-internship-program.html to download the Member Participation form and for further Stepping Into information. Email: jenny.watts-sampson@and.org.au Phone: (02) 8270-9200 ___________________________________________________________ FEEDBACK: We would love to hear your feedback, both positive and constructive, about your experiences at Curtin as a student with a disability/medical condition. Please drop us an e-mail or phone us – see our contact details below. 6 Disability Services Newsletter April 2015 CRICOS Provider Code 00301J (WA), 02637B (NSW) Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University. Contact Us: And finally, don’t hesitate to contact a Disability Advisor if you have any queries about services or supports available. Location: Telephone: Freecall: Fax: Email: Website: Building 109, Level 2 (Bentley campus) +61 8 9266 7850 1800 651 878 +61 8 9266 3052 disabilityservices@curtin.edu.au disability.curtin.edu.au 7 Disability Services Newsletter April 2015 CRICOS Provider Code 00301J (WA), 02637B (NSW) Curtin University is a trademark of Curtin University.