| Description | Minutes of a committee established to promote and facilitate the activities of disabled members of the University. It reported to both Senate and Council. The Committee was set up following a series of meetings between the Vice-Chancellor and academic and administrative staff with staff and students with disabilities
Membership consisted of a lay member, two staff members, and three student members, largely but not exclusively drawn from members of the University with disabilities, with powers of co-option when the Committee was discussing a particular disability. The Committee make recommendations to Senate and Council. and also kept in touch with all disabled members of the University, with the aim that the Committee would be a focal point for the consideration of their interests. The Committee explored problems faced by disabled members of the University and drew up lists of priorities for improvement to facilities during the six month trial period that it was initially appointed, and later provided continuity in dealing with a wider range of problems referred to it
The first meeting of the Committee was held on 20 November 1974, another meeting held 28 February 1975, then roughly twice or three times a year
One of the major responsibilities of the Committee was to deal with the accessibility of buildings on the University campus. Minutes of the meeting held on 20 November 1974 include a copy of a memorandum containing an incomplete listing of University buildings and their approaches and facilities for people with disabilities. The minutes mention the intention to provide a campus guide for people with disabilities, and include reports from the Estates and Buildings Office in relation to adapting entrances to buildings.
The Committee also dealt with procedures for identifying disabled members of staff and students for a voluntary 'register', with the idea to match new students and staff up with other people with disabilities. The minutes record information about procedures concerning the admission of students with disabilities and entries in the University prospectus, as well as discussion about accommodation for disabled students, facilities for students with sensory disabilities such as visual impairment and hearing impairment, and there are details about the provision of braille maps, the use of language laboratories for students with visual impairments, and minutes of the meetings held on 2 November 1979 and 8 February1980 contain discussion about Library facilities for disabled students
The use of the swimming pool and sports facilities by members of the University with disabilities is mentioned in minutes of the meeting held on 28 February 1975, and there are further details about access to the swimming pool in minutes of the meeting held on 22 October 1976. There are references to the University Sports Club for the Disabled in minutes of the meeting held on 28 October 1977 and a copy of the rules of this club is included with minutes of the meeting held on 10 February 1978. A note about the Disabled Sports Club with minutes of the meeting held on 17 November 1981 records that the club would become independent in January 1982. Minutes of the meeting held on 19 January 1977 refer to access to the new University railway station for people with disabilities, and traffic control and parking on campus was discussed at the meeting held on 10 February 1978
The Committee compiled articles for the University Bulletin and Redbrick about students and staff with disabilities. This work is first mentioned in minutes of the meeting held on 22 October 1976 but was also discussed at subsequent meetings
Minutes of the meeting held on 3 November 1978 include a copy of a paper on provision for disabled students at University of Southampton, prepared by the Education and Welfare Office there. These minutes also record discussion about student membership of the committee and the desire for members with disabilities to be involved
Minutes of the meeting held on 16 February 1979 discuss the implications of the Warnock Report for Higher Education which focused on the integration of children with special needs into mainstream schools
The Committee discussed individual students with disabilities, mostly in relation to their admission and their welfare, and minutes of this discussion contain personal details, and sometimes lists of students with disabilities are included. Minutes of the meeting held on 21 January 1981 refer to the establishment of a Tutor to Disabled Students, and minutes of meetings after this date include reports of the Tutor. There is a copy of an information sheet issued to new students with disabilities included after minutes of the meeting held on 22 November 1983. Minutes of this meeting also record details about facilities for students with disabilities in University accommodation
There is less information about members of staff with disabilities, though minutes of the meeting held on 8 February 1980 contain some details, and there is also information about the involvement of Dr John Hull with the work of the Committee, in particular in relation to his application for assistance with the development of a system for preparing audio books for students with visual impairments, 17 November 1982.
The minutes also contain evidence of communication between the University and national bodies. There are references to the University entry in the Central Council for the Disabled booklet 'Access to University and Polytechnic Buildings'; communication with the University Grants Committee on help for disabled students; University representation on the 'National Bureau for Handicapped Students'; involvement in NUS campaigns; and University representation on the Co-ordinating Committee for the Welfare of the Handicapped
University Committees were reorganised in 1985, and Senate and Council agreed the establishment of a new Student Welfare Committee and the consequent disbanding of the Committee on Disabled Members of the University. Despite its name, the remit of the new committee was extended to allow it to deal with the provision of facilities for staff with disabilities as well as students.
The last meeting of the Committee on Disabled Members of the University was held on 28 May 1985. See UB/COM/145 for minutes of the Joint Student Welfare Committee |