Thursday, September 30, 2010

Students upset with cuts to disability services at University of Winnipeg

From CBC News in Canada:


Disabled students say they're appalled that the University of Winnipeg is apparently cutting services they count on.

Officials claim they have experienced a 20 per cent increase in the number of disabled students enrolled and cannot afford to provide some services.

The cuts include assistance with note-taking and providing additional time for writing exams.

"Outrage, if I can be blunt," was the reaction of student Danielle Otto.

Otto, who has cerebral palsy, has maintained an A average in her courses. She said without the services, she would likely be failing.

"The university puts a front of being very accommodating," Otto said, "when in reality, there's service cuts."

News about the cuts surfaced Friday in an internal memo.

John Corlett, the vice-president of academics at the university, told CBC News Friday that the cuts were temporary.

"That memo is not necessarily portraying this university's position particularly well to be perfectly honest," Corlett said.