The Online Access Map project

The OAM project is an initiative of the Disability Services Office and Campus Infrastructure Services of The University of Sydney, in conjunction with ICAD Consultants Pty Ltd.

The underlying principle of the Online Access Map (OAM) relates to the role of The University of Sydney in reaffirming its commitment to 'understanding the needs and expectations of those whom it serves and striving constantly to improve the quality and delivery of its services and access to those services' (Strategic Plan 1999-2004).

Therefore, the OAM was conceived in order to provide information that could facilitate access to teaching spaces, services, amenities and disabled car-parking spaces on University campuses to staff, students and visitors with disabilities, by helping them better plan their trip to the University campus.

The OAM uses data from the standard space module as well as the custom built access module in ARCHIBUS/FM.

The Australian Universities Quality Agency (AUQA) commended "the University of Sydney for its innovations in attending to the needs of people with disabilities, notably through online access systems."

Subsequently AUQA identified the OAM as a Good Practice and has published it on AUQA's Good Practice database.

AUQA is an independent, not-for-profit national agency that promotes, audits, and reports on quality assurance in Australian higher education.

"In 2003, AUQA appointed an Audit Panel to undertake a quality audit of the University of Sydney. This report of the audit provides an overview, and then details the Audit Panel’s findings, recommendations and commendations."

The final report, dated december 2004, is published on the AUQA site in Adobe PDF or MS Word.

The following extract is from section 3 DIVERSITY, ACCESS AND EQUITY

3.2 Physical Access
A Disabilities Action Plan was first approved at the University in 1990 and a Disabilities Consultative Committee was established. The Audit Panel looked for evidence that the University had achieved successes in this area.

The University has 76 general staff, 70 academic staff and 58 students who have registered some form of disability. Many of these are motor disabilities. The University has responded to the needs of these people. Capital planning includes a detailed Access Plan, designed to progressively remove barriers to access.

Arising from this plan, the Disabilities Service Office (DSO) and the Campus Infrastructure Services (CIS), in conjunction with external assistance, have developed an Online Access Map. This resource provides information about physical premises of the University, such as the level of physical accessibility, car parking and toilets that will be helpful to people with physical disabilities.

A range of information of more broad value includes emergency buttons, public telephones, bus stops and security locations. The map covers numerous buildings across eight campuses in the greater Sydney area.

There is also a project underway to upgrade external signage, making use of topical maps, tactile maps and main and secondary-level directory assistance boards.

(source AUQA audit report on the University of Sydney December 2004).