Faculty are at the core of academic accessibility and the Accessibility Council has developed processes, improved instructional documents and provided direct support for faculty to promote accessibility in course content and design both for current accommodation needs, and to promote and improve Universal Design for Learning.
Some of this support is in the form of grants, which can help cover the costs of improving content accessibility. Additional support includes the offer of free assistance to tune up course content and provide suggestions, instructions and assistance to make content accessible.
Efforts to ensure academic accessibility include:
Improved notification for faculty
- Updated Letter of Accommodation to add legal explanation and list of accommodations.
- Creating a process to send an electronic version of a LOA
- Creating a Frequently asked Questions webpage
- Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Ideas
Improved closed captioning process for faculty
- Created a campus-wide work group to support closed captioning efforts including Academic Affairs, Library, Access Center, IT Academic Services
- Updated closed captioning notification process: month prior to semester, Access Center sends letter to faculty about removing inaccessible material, providing handouts and steps for assistance
- Created and implemented a formalized process for closed captioning support
- Please see the Closed Captioning Faculty Guide and the Closed Caption Request Form for more information,
Adopt, adapt and assemble support to advance Universal Design
Closed captioning support for Universal Design
For faculty who would like to begin transitioning to Universal Design, the Accessibility Council receives some funding to help with closed captioning of course materials. In line with Universal Design principles, faculty are highly encouraged to ensure closed captioning is available, even if there are no students enrolled in the course who require this accommodation. Doing so helps to make curriculum more inclusive for all students. We would like to help when possible. As funds are available through the Accessibility Council, IT Academic Services can help with closed captioning requests.
An online form is available to Request Closed Captioning and Audio Transcription Funds for Universal Design.
Contact: IT Academic Services
Course accessibility tune ups
Faculty who have current accommodations in a course or who would like to transition a course to Universal Design may request a free accessibility tune up of course materials with advice, instructions or help with how to make course delivery more accessible. Course material will be checked for accessibility and faculty will receive a report on the accessibility of course material along with solutions and suggestions for making material accessible.
Contact: IT Academic Services