The Office of Faculty Development

Access and Accessibility

The passage of the American Disability Act was a major milestone for protecting accessibility for millions of Americans across the country. However, as technology, the classroom, and our understanding of accessibility have evolved, it is important that faculty and institutional methods for ensuring accessibility evolve as well. At the very minimum, accessibility oriented courses need to be able to provide course materials and participation for all students. The Accessibility Resource Center is an excellent source of support for both faculty and students towards this end. 

Accessibility is also thought of in terms of socioeconomic and sociocultural barriers. Approaches towards ensuring accessibility to education despite these barriers have included, in part, the emergence of open source materials and the creation of groups in universities to support students in need. As faculty, we have an opportunity to confront and minimize possible barriers in the classroom and serve as ambassadors of existing resources to our students. 

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