Welcome to the University of New South Wales Accessibility Support Web Page. The University of New South Wales is committed to providing accessibility support to students and staff with special needs. This site provides additional information on the services we offer for students with disabilities and links to resources to help staff in the design of accessible websites, online courses and resources.
The Need for Accessible Websites
Each year around 1000 students at UNSW register as having some kind of disability. The disabilities reported include blindness, vision impairment, hearing impairment, learning disabilities, physical disabilities and others.
The internet and web based materials have become an important and effective source of educational resources but if these resources are not designed with accessibility in mind it can be difficult or impossible for students with disabilities to use them. Depending on the nature of the disability, students might have some of the following barriers to accessing online resources:
- difficulty reading or comprehending text or distinguishing colours
- unauthorised tampering or interference with files published on the UNSW site;
- difficulty with organisation, structure or memory (material difficult to navigate, poorly structured or complex, or the interface may be inconsistent)
- those with mobility problems, limited motor control or vision impairment may not be able to use a keyboard or mouse
- they may not be able to see or hear audio, video or animations
- they may not be fluent in the language of instruction
UNSW reserves the right to make disclosures to relevant authorities where the use of the UNSW site raises a suspicion that an offence is being, or has been, committed.
UNSW@ADFA Corporate Website Accessibility
The aim of an accessible website is to be understood by everyone regardless of any disability they may have, or the browser or assistive technology they may be using. The goal is to provide, as far as possible, the same experience to everyone.
The UNSW corporate web site has been developed using benchmark guidelines based on those produced by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), part of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), accepted worldwide as the standard. The aim is to be fully compliant with Priority Levels One, Two and where appropriate, Level Three of the W3C Guidelines. Additionally, all documents in Adobe PDF format are, wherever possible in an accessible format provided that the user has installed Adobe Acrobat Reader version 5.00 or above and a PDF compatible screen reader The site has been tested by using automated checking mechanisms such as Bobby and Wave, and manual checks by reviewers including users with disabilities. However, if you encounter any problems accessing any part of the site, please contact the webmaster and let us know. We cannot, though, be responsible for sites that are not part of the UNSW corporate website.
Support for Students and Staff at UNSW@ADFA
The University of New South Wales at The Australian Defence Force Academy aims to provide a study environment that fosters fairness, equity, and respect for social and cultural diversity as well as providing a place to study free from harassment and discrimination, and one in which every student is encouraged to work towards her/his maximum potential.
Equity Officer
The Equity Officer provides services to students and staff in all matters of equity. For more information and guidance on support and facilities for students with disabilities please contact:
The Equity Officer
Telephone: +61 2 6268 8218
Fax: +61 2 6268 88405
Email: p.maclean@adfa.edu.au
Educational Technology Services (ETS)
ETS can help staff with all aspects of the inclusive design, development and implementation of websites, online courses and educational resources that are accessible to students with disabilities. ETS's resources include the production of accessible rich media resources including video, audio and animation. EDTeC also provides training and staff development in accessible course design, learning and teaching with technology and training in inclusive practices with WebCT. We are also engaged in ongoing research into ways of using technology to improve access to learning for students with disabilities.
For more information please contact:
Educational Technology Services
Telephone: +61 2 6268 8503
Fax: +61 2 6268 8496
Email: ets@adfa.edu.au
Disability Definition
The definition of disability is based on the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) and includes:
- Deaf/hearing impaired
- Blind/vision impaired
- Physical disability
- Specific learning disability
- Chronic medical conditions
- Psychiatric disability
- Acquired brain injury
- Temporary disability
Documentation
Students with disabilities need to provide documentation verifying the disability in order to be eligible for services. Documentation can be from medical specialists, educational psychologists or other qualified health practitioners.
Appointments
Please contact the Equity Officer to organise an appointment.
About this site
This page is designed to assist you in navigating the UNSW@ADFA web site.
The Australian Defence Force Academy Web site is predominantly text-based and optimized for viewing at 800 x 600 resolution and at least 256 colours (every effort is made to ensure legibility at 680 x 480 resolution).
This site is best viewed with Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator, version 4.0 or above, with a 800 x 600 screen resolution.
The main web site does not use frames. You will require a frames-compatible browser in other areas, such as the Schools, and Centres Web sites. Some areas use JavaScript.
Home Page
From UNSW@ADFA homepage you can either use the structured graphical links above or below through our site, or you can use the site map or search engine to assist in locating information.
Search
This page contains information that will assist any user to obtain the specific information that they require from UNSW@ADFA Internet site.
Adobe Acrobat
A standard for viewing formatted documents which have been optimised for delivery via electronic means. The free Adobe Acrobat Reader allows you to view, navigate and print PDF files across many different platforms. PDF files look exactly like the orginal document.
By using Adobe Acrobat Reader you can display bookmarks or thumbnails in an overview area to the left of the document. Beneath the menu bar at the top of the window is the toolbar; at the bottom left of the window is the status bar. At the right of the window is a vertical scroll bar that enables you to scroll up and down through a document. The overview area of the window includes an independent scroll bar that you can use to scroll through bookmarks or thumbnails.
PDF documents can maintain hypertext links connecting two parts of a document or to another application file, such as a spreadsheet or movie. Links also connect PDF documents to other documents on Web servers.
To use Acrobat Reader with your web browser you need to first download the Acrobat Reader from Adobe's Website and install it on your computer.
Adobe Acrobat Reader is available free of charge from Adobe's web site. To get the Acrobat Reader 5 you need to visit Adobe's Website.
Adobe Acrobat Access Plug-in 4.05 enables vision impaired users to read Adobe PDF documents in Acrobat Reader 4.0x, providing screen reader support. You can download the Access Plug-in free of charge from Adobe's web site.
QuickTime
You will require Quick Time 5, which is the latest version of Apple's complete technology for handling video, sound animation, graphics, text, music, and even 360-degree virtual reality (VR) scenes to view QTVR documents contained within the site.
To get the Quick Time 5 you need to go to Quick Time Website.
Macromedia Flash Player
You will require Macromedia Flash Player, which enables you to view the best animation and entertainment on the Web.
To get the Macromedia Flash Player you need to go to Macromedia Website.
Windows Media Player
A standard for playing multimedia files of various formats (MP3, WAV, AVI etc.) which have been optimised for delivery via electronic means.
To get the Windows Media Player Program you need to visit the Microsoft Website - Downloads, choose product: Windows Media Player, select your operating system (MS Windows 95/98/2000 etc.) and when downloaded, install the program. Once installed, you can save multimedia files to your local drive before playing to improve quality, or use streaming media (instant play), which begins to play while the file is still downloading.
Winzip
A standard for online data delivery, Winzip allows large files (or file sets) to be "compressed" to expedite delivery via electronic means. The ZIP file is downloaded (more quickly) by a user, then it is "de-compressed" to re-create the original file.
To get the Winzip Program you need to go to Winzip's Website.