University of Waterloo is Canada’s top innovation university. With more than 36,000 students we are home to the world’s largest co-operative education system of its kind. Our unmatched entrepreneurial culture, combined with an intensive focus on research, powers one of the top innovation hubs in the world.
As of 2017, we have 35,156 full-time equivalent student enrolment, 1,260 faculty members, and an academic support staff of 2,466. The University provides academic accommodations to over 2,300 of our students, and
three per cent of our employees (faculty and staff) have self–identified with a variety of disabilities.
Waterloo has a long-standing commitment to the provision of equitable access, as well as the identification and removal of barriers encountered by persons with disabilities in the academic environment. Implementation of programs and services for persons with diverse needs, including persons with disabilities, is supported by Waterloo’s mission to advance learning and knowledge through teaching, research, and scholarship, nationally and internationally, in an environment of free expression and inquiry.
The Waterloo teaching environment and learning commons is based on inclusion, integrating technology transfer and technology-mediated learning. Waterloo endeavors to ensure the environment is accessible to all visitors, campus and community members regarding the physical design of classrooms, access to learning facilities and communal spaces, access to information and curriculum in our classrooms, laboratories, and via technology-enabled and fully online learning.
Accessibility efforts within Waterloo are centralized through the Accessibility Committee with the aim of providing a unified approach in creating a fully inclusive environment for people with disabilities within the campus community.
