Universal Design Strategies

By employing universal design strategies, faculty and instructors can create assessments, activities, and course materials that are accessible and inclusive of a diverse range of students. The primary goal of inclusive course design is to maximize student learning by increasing access and participation, and reducing individual modifications.

Below are common curricular features and the potential impact of their design. These resources will familiarize you to design concepts that will increase access in the classroom environment.

Barrier	Impact		Inclusive Design	Impact
Timed Exams	Student and faculty must arrange individual accommodations each semester Student may test in a separate location Student will not have access to faculty during exam to ask questions	►	Consider alternatives to traditional assignments: Shorter, more frequent assessments Online assessments or projects, where time is not the essential element	All students have equitable testing experience All students have time to complete assessment in original learning environment Redesigned assessments may increase time available to teach
Inaccessible Course Materials	Student may fall behind when s/he cannot access materials Faculty must work with DRC each semester to procure accessible materials Student must wait for access	►	Ensure PDF's are accessible Order textbooks that have electronic options Provide course materials in multiple formats	Students can access course materials in multiple formats (print or electronic) so they can maximize learning
Written lecture content or Engaging student learning	Faculty must solicit note-takers for each class Student may fall behind while waiting for volunteer to provide notes	►	Faculty encourages sharing notes, uses online discussion groups, records lecture and posts as podcasts Faculty provides her/his notes for the class	All students will have materials to enhance their learning and studying

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Universal Design Strategies