Skip to Main Content
Providing accessibility for students is something that can be done regardless of disability and is best practice when designing a course. It's possible to begin making all documents, Powerpoints, and more accessible to all students now--then when you import a course to the next semester, all of those changes will remain. Use this page for tips and tools as well as information on the process for receiving accommodations.
"A student in my COMM class needed to have all zoom sessions, videos and presentations captioned because of a hearing loss. After I was informed of this student's situation, disability services approached me about using "Otter" as a tool through which my student could have all of this captioning available live. I was thrilled to know such a tool existed. They helped me to set up Otter, so that every time we had a zoom session everything was captioned. Once Otter was set up before the class even met, the class proceeded smoothly for the student and for me as the professor. I could relax, knowing the needs of the student were met and that I had this amazing tool which made class easier for my student and myself. They also assisted by captioning several videos I required students to watch. I am so grateful for their assistance in preparing this course for one particular student's needs!" -- Taken from Goshen College (Indiana)
"I have found many of my electronic readings to be poorly tagged in .pdf files that a text to speech screen-reading program cannot decipher. Instead of having access equal to that of my peers to course readings, the disability student services office has to convert the documents into text files and I have to wait to have access to the materials. This system is inefficient and it leaves me at a disadvantage to my classmates. This is one of many examples of access barriers I have encountered due to inaccessible technology. And stories like mine are all too common among blind college and graduate students. Why are blind students not receiving equal access to all aspects of education? It isn’t because accessibility is difficult or expensive to achieve. And it isn’t because universities are maliciously discriminating against blind students. It is simply because schools, for the most part, don’t really understand what accessibility looks like. And, therefore, the schools do not know what accessibility features to demand from those who create the technologies they purchase and use." — Sean, Massachusetts (Taken from the National Federation of the Blind)
"I didn’t even take my math placement exam because it was not accessible, so I was forced to start with college algebra rather than potentially calculus. Therefore, majors with more than that as a requirement for me went right out of the window because I could not conceive success without braille or accessible web tools that described the content." — Cindy, Washington (Taken from the National Federation of the Blind)
*Click on each tab for collapsible content
Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework to improve and optimize teaching and learning for all people based on scientific insights into how humans learn.
The three core principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) are easy to implement strategies. Using these strategies each time you develop course materials is a proactive way to address accommodation needs of students, make your materials more accessible to all students and reduce the need to retroactively adapt your materials should you have a request from SDS (Student Disability Services) to do so. The principles are:
From the Centre for Teaching and Learning from Durham College
For more information on campus accessibility, get in touch with the Academic Success Center:
Michelle Blank (Director of ASC):mblank@goshen.edu
Kelsey McLane (Assistive Technology): kmclane@goshen.edu
You can also visit our website for the Academic Success Center.