Policies
Accessibility
This policy states what a disabled student is entitled to at eLadder University, how to ask for an adjustment, and what happens if the learning platform itself is the barrier.
Draft in progress
We are finalising this policy.
Read it and tell us what to sharpen. Where a figure is still being set, we name the decision rather than publish a number we would have to change.
Why an online university has to say this clearly
A campus institution can point at a ramp. An online one cannot, and a disabled student has no way of knowing from the outside whether the platform they are about to pay for will work with the screen reader, magnifier or input device they depend on.
So the commitment here is specific rather than general, and it includes the part that is uncomfortable to write down: where our own platform fails you, that is our problem to fix, not an adjustment for you to work around.
What you are entitled to
- An adjustment to how you are assessed, where the standard method disadvantages you for a reason unrelated to what is being assessed. Extra time and alternative formats are the common ones.
- Course materials in a format you can use, including accessible documents and captioned or transcribed recordings.
- A learning environment that works with assistive technology, and a route to report it when it does not.
- A decision on a request in writing, with reasons, and the right to have a refusal reviewed.
- Confidentiality. What you disclose is used to arrange your adjustment and is not shared with academic staff beyond what they need to deliver it.
What we do not require
You do not need to disclose a diagnosis to anyone teaching you. You do not need to re-evidence a permanent condition every term. And you do not need to have a formal diagnosis at all to start the conversation — tell us what is in the way and we will work out what evidence, if any, is actually needed.
How to ask
Requests are made to student support, in writing, at any point — before you apply, at enrolment, or partway through a course when something changes. Earlier is better only because it gives more time to arrange, never because a late request is treated less seriously.
Being finalised in this section
- The email address adjustment requests are sent to
- The number of working days within which a request is answered
- What evidence, if any, eLadder asks for, and who may provide it
If the platform is the barrier
Report it and it is treated as a defect in the university's own systems rather than as a request for special treatment. You will be told what the workaround is in the meantime and whether the underlying problem is being fixed.
Being finalised in this section
- The accessibility standard eLadder holds its platform to, and who has assessed it against that standard
If you disagree with a decision
A refusal, or an adjustment you do not think is adequate, may be raised under the grievance and complaints policy. Doing so does not affect your standing as a student.