Ten full-time permanent staff specialized in working with students with disabilities have been hired at College of the North Atlantic. In addition, specialized equipment has been purchased such as adaptive technologies for visually-impaired students, and technology and adjustable workstations for students with mobility impairments.

"Government invested $500,000 earlier this year to ensure an improvement in support services for students with disabilities at college campuses across the province," said the Honourable Joan Burke, Minister of Education. "This is an important investment that supports our students as well as the college�s efforts to meet the needs of the entire student body. I am confident the additional personnel and technological resources will have a positive impact on the overall experience and future success of these students."

Prior to this funding allocation, the college system had seven staff dedicated to serving students with disabilities across 17 campuses. As a direct result of this investment, every campus will have one or more specialized staff to help students with disabilities. Three half-time positions have also been created and will form a flex unit to meet changing demands at various campuses from year to year. These positions are now assigned to St. Anthony, Bonavista and Grand Falls-Windsor.

"The college and its stakeholders have always believed our number one priority is offering the highest quality programming and services to our student body," said Al Goss, chair of the Board of Directors of College of the North Atlantic. "We are very pleased to have the support of the Department of Education to provide sound educational tools and resources to further the learning experience of our students."

Almost 300 students with special needs attend College of the North Atlantic. Through the White Paper on Postsecondary Education, government has directed the college and Memorial University to work towards establishing a collaborative service, and to partner with other agencies that support students with disabilities.

Ray McIsaac is president of the Newfoundland and Labrador Association for Community Living. "It is terrific to see measures that give students with disabilities the opportunity to benefit from post-secondary education. There is a well documented link between post-secondary achievement and higher pay. It is no different for persons with disabilities, who desperately want to be part of the answer to the shortage of workers in this province. Minister Burke certainly recognizes the untapped resource persons with disabilities represent and the need to focus on supports for individuals to participate and to fairly compete for jobs."

"Specialized technology allows students higher levels of independence and improved opportunities for success. New adaptive technologies, combined with a fully trained and qualified staff, will make College of the North Atlantic a more accessible post-secondary choice for students with special needs. We have invested $60 million in post-secondary education this year, in addition to $90 million for White Paper initiatives. We are confident these unprecedented investments are contributing to a post-secondary system that is affordable, reasonable and accessible," said the minister.

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Ten permanent resource facilitators are located at the following locations:

• St. John�s (3)
• Clarenville (1)
• Carbonear (1)
• Corner Brook (1)
• Gander (1)
• Bay St. George (1)
• Happy Valley-Goose Bay (1)
• Labrador West (1)

The following resources have been purchased to assist students with disabilities:

• Kurzweil 3000 � an adaptive technology software program used to scan and read documents. Kurzweil has the capability to have the text read to the student/user by a synthesized voice, as well as using colour-blocked word tracking and other helpful study tools.
• JAWS for Windows - an adaptive technology used for blind and visually-impaired students to provide them access to computer software applications and the Internet. It uses internal speech synthesizer software as well as the computer�s sound card to read aloud information from the computer screen.
• Dragon Naturally Speaking Professional - an adaptive technology that allows tasks such as document creation and form creation to be completed by speaking. Students are able to talk to their computer and the words will instantly appear in the word processor. It allows students with various disabilities to complete tasks without using a computer keyboard.
• In addition, College of the North Atlantic is purchasing additional height-adjustable workstations that can be electronically adjusted to meet individual students� needs, whether sitting or standing.

2006 12 19                                                    11:30 a.m.