PROGRAMMATIC, SYSTEMATIC, AUTOMATIC: AN ONLINE COURSE ACCESSIBILITY SUPPORT MODEL

Abstract

Over the past few years, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of requests for online course material accommodations at the University of Central Florida (UCF). In response to these requests, UCF’s Center for Distributed Learning (CDL) formed new teams, reevaluated its processes, and initiated a partnership with UCF’s Student Disability Services (SDS) office to address these needs. This article presents the Online Course Accessibility Support Model that was developed and implemented by CDL. This model was designed to provide a scalable and programmatic approach to creating accessible online course materials. It identifies the following three strategies that were developed specifically to address these needs: 1. Teach faculty Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles through professional development programs as UDL relates to accessible online materials for new courses; 2. Provide legacy faculty members with the opportunity to update their existing online course materials to accommodate diverse learners; and 3. Expedite accommodations for online course materials to address immediate needs (e.g., when a student is currently enrolled in a class that has some inaccessible materials). As a result of implementing this model, the overall communication between CDL and SDS improved, roles related to making course materials accessible were defined, and students gained faster access to accessible online course materials.