Each year the figure has been rising; 156 more students have sought help than at this time in 2017. Disability support and information services manager Melissa Lethaby said staff were catching their breath after the end of the hectic first-semester exam period this week, but with ski season fast approaching, their services would soon be in demand again.
Numbers of people using the services every year had gone from about 500 students in 2002 to 1061 in 2017.
While there had been a rise across the board, the biggest increase was in people seeking help due to mental wellbeing issues, Ms Lethaby said. She attributed the rise in student demand to the growing awareness of the services offered by the university.
"We’re really fortunate to have such a fantastic team who go above and beyond."
About 3% of the student population had a disability or impairment and the service had been hiring casual staff this year.
"We really want to ensure access to support in a timely manner," she said.
"Casual staff have been really important to us."
Exam time was particularly busy and used a lot of resources.
A single alternative exam sitting for 119 students, involving reader-writers, cost about $10,000 this year.
People who had broken limbs or other injuries, as well as those with permanent disabilities, could seek assistance from the service, for things such as helping organise assignment extensions and accommodation when necessary, or catch-up tutoring. The services had also been running very popular sign language classes this semester.
Ms Lethaby said staff from other institutions had been travelling to Otago to take inspiration from the university, which since the introduction of a new accessibility policy had tightened its focus to make the campus more easily negotiated by people with disabilities. The university made sure to consult disability support and information services when it came to improving accessways.
It was doing things such as putting lecterns and desks with adjustable height settings in university buildings and increasing the number of button-automated doors, Ms Lethaby said.