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Accessibility
Federal law requires that academic institutions provide accommodation for students of differing abilities, and this includes online courses. Boise State Policy #1075 Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Disability outlines expectations of accessibility in compliance with our legal requirements and our mission and Statement of Values, stating, “E. Faculty members are responsible for ensuring that the selection and/or development of their course tools and materials are fully accessible for people with disabilities.” Please review the policy for additional details, and recognize that eCampus and your Instructional Design Consultant are available for your assistance.
Universal Design for Learning
Universal Design for Learning (or UDL) is a set of guidelines often used by educators to ensure their lessons and activities are accessible to all their students. The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 defines universal design for learning as:
a scientifically valid framework for guiding educational practice that:
(A) provides flexibility in the ways information is presented, in the ways students respond or demonstrate knowledge and skills, and in the ways students are engaged; and
(B) reduces barriers in instruction, provides appropriate accommodations, supports, and challenges, and maintains high achievement expectations for all students, including students with disabilities and students who are limited English proficient” (boldface ours).– (Higher Education Opportunity Act, 2008, § 103, Stat. 3086-3090)
Please watch the following video for an overview of universal design, adapted for a higher education audience. If you have trouble seeing the embedded video, visit the link on YouTube: UDL at a Glance (4:36 min.)
Applying the Principles of Accessibility and Universal Design for Learning
The underlying mantra of universal design is for educators to build into the curriculum enough options and flexibility so that challenges and supports exist to help all students — including those who may be gifted or struggling — to achieve learning objectives. Incorporating universal design into one’s course can start with a few simple practices. For example, in this seminar, we have incorporated the following:
- We use heading styles in the content to break up the content and denote importance
- We add alternative text (ALT text) and long descriptions embedded into graphics, so that screen-reading equipment can describe the graphics to sight-impaired participants
- We provide you with options for accessing outside resources (i.e. the Please Choose and Optional resources) not only because the content of one might appeal more than another, but also because one resource might be more accessible for someone than another
The UDL at a Glance video in the previous reading introduced three primary principles based on neuroscience research that provide the underlying framework for universal design guidelines. The principles encourage educators to provide studen