Disability Policy

The History Faculty is committed to ensuring that disabled students are not treated less favourably than other students, and to provide reasonable adjustment to provision where disabled students might otherwise be at a substantial disadvantage. The History Faculty works closely with the University Disability Office, further details can be found at: http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/eop/disab/students.shtml.

1. Working Group. The History Faculty has established a Disability Working Group consisting of the Vice-Chairman of the Faculty, who chairs the meetings, the Faculty Board Secretary, the Faculty Administrative Officer, the Graduate Studies Officer, and the Librarian of the History Faculty Library. The Working Group invites appropriate representatives of the undergraduate and graduate History student body, and of the University Disability Office, to attend all meetings. Relevant officers of the Faculty Board (the Co-ordinator of Undergraduate Studies, the Admissions Officer, the Schools Liaison Officer) may also be invited to attend as appropriate. The Working Group meets in Week 2 of each term.

2. Disability Contact. The Faculty has appointed a Disability Contact person who until further notice is the Faculty Board Secretary/Administrator, Dr Richard Sykes.

3. Disability Information File. The Faculty holds a file on Disability Contacts within the University, University resources available and relevant advice to be consulted by postholders and Faculty members as the need arises.

4. Coordination of provision for existing students. The Faculty aims to ensure that efficient mechanisms of communication between colleges, the Faculty and the Disability Office on the needs of individual students are established and maintained. The Faculty will ensure, by liaison with the appropriate bodies, that each declared disabled student will have a contact in the Faculty, in Disabled Services, and in his or her college.

5. Library. The Faculty aims to ensure that the History Faculty Library is made aware of the needs of students with disabilities and if necessary to assist with special arrangements. While the library is not under the jurisdiction of the Faculty, the Disability Working Group provides a forum to be updated on developments in library provision for students with disabilities.

6. Premises. The Faculty holds, and aims to keep updated, a description of each of its premises (currently the History Faculty building in George Street, the History of Art department at Littlegate House, and the Wellcome Unit for the History of Medicine at 45-47 Banbury Road*) in terms of accessibility, and, as resources and practicalities allow, aims to work towards improving accessibility.

7. Assessment. Information on needs of individual students in terms of examinations is passed on to examiners by relevant Faculty Officers. The Faculty aims to work with Examination Schools, the Disability Office, the colleges and the Proctors to ensure all reasonable measures are taken to aid fair assessment of students with disabilities.

9. Admissions and new students. As far as is it is within its authority and power to do so, the Faculty will ensure that admissions procedures do not discriminate against students with disabilities. The Faculty will ensure that relevant people are informed as soon as possible when the number and nature of disabled students being admitted to Faculty courses in the coming academic year is known.

10. Lectures, classes, tutorials. The Faculty aims to ensure, by regular circulars, posting information such as the guidelines issue by the Oxford Institute of Learning on its website, and by holding detailed information for reference at the Faculty, that lecturers and tutors are fully aware of the ways in which lectures, classes and tutorials can be made more accessible for students with a variety of disabilities.

11. Accessible information. The Faculty aims to ensure that all reasonable steps are taken to ensure accessibility of reading and course material, without compromising the academic integrity of its courses. Course material developed from September 2003 onwards, and revisions to old material will be assessed for accessibility – e.g. whether or not resources are available digitally, and annotation of reading lists. However the Faculty acknowledges that there are issues to do with the volume, nature and copyright status of much material which may preclude complete availability in digital form.

12. Information about the Faculty/website. Information about the Faculty and its courses can be produced in a range of formats. The History Faculty website now conforms to Level II of accessibility as required by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001. The Faculty now has a disability page on its website: http://www.history.ox.ac.uk/access.

13. Monitoring. Arrangements for monitoring disability provision within the Faculty will be made by the Disability Working Group, using the checklist designed by the University's Educational Policy and Standards Committee.

Approved History Faculty Board

30 October 2003 / Revised 2008

* The History Faculty Library building is managed by Oxford University Library Services and thus not directly within the control of the Faculty. However, since the Library’s resources are central to its teaching provision the Faculty works very closely with the HFL to maximise accessibility for all users.

Back to access index