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Accessibility

Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Instructional Materials

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  1. How can faculty members assure maximum accessibility to instructional materials?

  2. Beyond this, how can faculty make their courses truly accessible?

  3. Are lecturers and teaching associates also required to provide accessible materials?

  4. Do the expectations about accessible materials apply to every course, no matter what the course enrollment may be?

  5. Isn’t this accessibility issue the responsibility of Student Disability Services? Why does the faculty need to pay attention?

  6. How will a faculty member know when a student with a disability is enrolled in his or her class?

  7. If no student with disabilities is enrolled in a class, does the instructor have to provide accessible instructional materials?

  8. How much lead time should faculty allow for conversion of class handouts and test materials (midterms, finals) to Braille or e-text (such as MS Word)?

  9. How will security of exam materials be guaranteed?

  10. How do faculty members find out if the course materials they plan to use are already available in accessible formats?

  11. What should faculty members do to make course materials accessible on Blackboard?

  12. How can faculty members assure that videos or recordings are accessible?

  13. Do online or hybrid classes have to be accessible?

  14. What about classes that are offered through distance education to students outside the United States?

  15. Is this initiative going to stifle creativity and academic freedom?

Q1: How can faculty members assure maximum accessibility to instructional materials?

A: Faculty members can take several specific actions to assure maximum accessibility to instructional materials:

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Q2: Beyond this, how can faculty make their courses truly accessible?

A: One approach to accessibility is called Universal Design for Learning. This means that, rather than designing instruction for the average student, faculty members design instruction for students with a broad range of abilities, disabilities, age, reading levels, learning styles, native languages, and other characteristics. Universal design for learning:

Assuring that course materials, notes, and other information resources are flexible and accessible to all students is one important aspect of Universal Design for Learning <http://www.tss.uoguelph.ca/uid/uidbrief.cfm>.

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Q3: Are lecturers and teaching associates also required to provide accessible materials?

A: Yes. Everyone who teaches at SDSU must follow accessibility requirements.

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Q4: Do the expectations about accessible materials apply to every course, no matter what the course enrollment may be?

A: Yes. Although a course that has a low enrollment and/or is less frequently taught may be exempted from proactive accessibility revisions, However, as courses are redesigned or when a disabled student enrolls, instructors must provide accessible instructional material.

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Q5: Isn’t this accessibility issue the responsibility of Student Disability Services? Why does the faculty need to pay attention?

A: Student Disability Services is not equipped or funded to create overall accessibility of instructional materials and technologies for all university programs. Faculty members teach a diverse student body, and students with disabilities contribute to the diverse mix on our campus. Providing accessible Web sites and instructional materials are important aspects of faculty commitment to teach all students who take their classes. Student Disability Services does provide individualized accommodations to students with disabilities based on the verification of disability by appropriate professionals. Staff members also consult extensively with other campus programs and individuals to provide academic accommodations for students with disabilities.

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Q6: How will a faculty member know when a student with a disability is enrolled in his or her class?

A: Student Disability Services does not notify instructors in advance without permission from the student. Unless the disability is observable, a faculty member may not know that a student with a disability in enrolled until the student discloses such information. But not all students so identify themselves. They are not required to disclose disability, and many students have disabilities (such as learning disabilities, psychological disabilities, diabetes, or seizure disorders) that are not immediately apparent. Furthermore, if there is no need for accommodation in a particular class, the instructor may not be aware that the student has a disability. For instance, if the instructor requires term papers and the student’s disability affects test-taking, there may be no need for accommodation.

That does not mean that we are not responsible for providing accessible means of educating all students. Faculty members can best elicit early disclosure of disability by the use of a syllabus statement such as the following: “Students who need accommodation of their disabilities should contact me privately to discuss specific accommodations for which they have received authorization. If you have a disability, but have not contacted Student Disability Services at 619-594-6473 (Calpulli Center, Suite 3101), please do so before making an appointment to see me.” This statement protects faculty members from having to determine the appropriateness of disability documentation and accommodations, and alerts students to request accommodations early in the term.

Students who register at Student Disability Services are authorized for course materials in alternate formats. They are notified well before the beginning of the term to seek information from their prospective instructors and from the bookstore to identify their materials. Students receive a form that lists their accommodations, and they should share that information when they request accommodations from the instructor. Students must request their materials from Student Disability Services in advance, and are responsible for purchasing the materials and for providing proof of purchase before obtaining their electronic text, whether furnished by the publisher or created by Student Disability Services. Students are also responsible for maintaining the integrity of the copyrighted material and must promise not to duplicate or otherwise alter the material for use by anyone else.

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Q7: If no student with disabilities is enrolled in a class, does the instructor have to provide accessible instructional materials?

A: Yes. Requirements to provide accessible instructional materials will be phased in, with print-based materials as the first priority in 2007. An instructor is not personally required to provide textbooks in alternative formats, but meeting the bookstore’s deadline for adoption of course materials will allow sufficient time for students to request accessible textbooks from Student Disability Services. Instructors should also work with University Library staff if they plan to use electronic course reserve services. See the CSU ATI Web site for additional information pertaining to other types of instructional materials, and when accessibility must be phased in <http://www.calstate.edu/accessibility/instructionalmaterials/index.shtml>.

By 2012, it will not be an acceptable practice in any class, on-line, hybrid, or face-to-face, to wait to make materials accessible until a student with a disability shows up in class. Retrofitting for accessibility is far more time-consuming than designing accessibility into materials as they are created. To assure timely and accurate provision, preparation is essential.

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Q8: How much lead time should faculty allow for conversion of class handouts and test materials (midterms, finals) to Braille or e-text (such as MS Word)?

A: At least two to three weeks before the date of the exam. More time may be needed if the exam includes many graphics/complex images, which will need to be converted to tactile graphics. Student Disability Services may send test materials to a Braille conversion company, depending on the complexity of content and/or in-house workload. If a test must be converted to an alternate format, faculty members should email the test or handout as an attachment directly to Severino Reyes <sreyes@mail.sdsu.edu> at Student Disability Services upon request by the student. If the handout is a hard copy rather than a computer document, the material should be provided directly to Student Disability Services in Calpulli Center, Room 3101. Students are still responsible for completing the Reservation for Test Accommodation form and turning it in to the Test Accommodation Center (Calpulli Center , Room 1101). After a test is converted to Braille or e-text, the test will be delivered by Student Disability Services staff to the Test Accommodation Center for administration at the reserved time. When handouts and other instructional materials are ready in converted format, students are notified to pick up the materials in Student Disability Services.

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Q9: How will security of exam materials be guaranteed?

A: Only the Alternative Media Coordinator, a staff employee in Student Disability Services, will handle exam materials, which will be placed in locked cabinets and a secure office.

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Q10: How do faculty members find out if the course materials they plan to use are already available in accessible formats?

A: The CSU Center for Accessible Media will soon be able to provide information on the holdings of all the CSU campuses. Until this information is available directly, faculty members can contact staff members at Student Disability Services at 619-594-6473. They have access to several databases and should be able to identify whether or not materials being considered for class use are already available.

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Q11: What should faculty members do to make course materials accessible on Blackboard?

A: Good teaching and learning practices require conveying information in as many ways as possible and this is true for creating accessible online courses as well. The flexibility of Blackboard provides the ability to create equivalent content; for example, a course could contain content folders to group images, videos, sound files, text files, and other rich content. This flexibility helps create an environment where learners of many types and abilities can absorb and comprehend course information to achieve positive learning outcomes. For more detailed information, see “Blackboard Quick Start Guides, Universal Design and Accessibility.” Link to download the latest version of Adobe Reader

When creating course content materials to be made available through Blackboard, separating content from presentation is a key principle, along with providing text alternatives for multimedia content. Specific software programs for producing instructional materials each have challenges and opportunities when it comes to accessibility:

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Q12: How can faculty members assure that videos or recordings are accessible?

A: Many of the commercially produced videos available through Instructional Technology Services are closed-captioned. Taking the time to select an instructionally valuable video which is closed-captioned will greatly alleviate this issue. Faculty members who want to produce their own instructional videos or recordings (such as podcasts) for use in class (or via the Web) will need to consider creating transcripts and captions. See <http://webaim.org/techniques/captions/>.

ITS has software and expertise to assist in the production of accessible instructional multimedia. See <http://webaim.org/articles/> for more information on multimedia accessibility.

It is important to know that Apple iTunes is not currently in compliance with accessibility standards. The CSU does not know when Apple will offer an alternative method of accessing the audio and video recordings. In the meantime, the CSU is recommending against deploying this service on campuses and SDSU will not utilize Apple’s iTunesU until approved by the Chancellor’s Office.

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Q13: Do online or hybrid classes have to be accessible?

A: Yes. Eventually all CSU classes must be accessible. Traditional print-based materials must be accessible for use in the Spring 2008 term. Newly proposed on-line or hybrid classes and new Web-based material in existing classes must be designed to be accessible for use in the Fall 2008 term. Materials for existing classes must be made accessible by 2012, or whenever a student with a disability enrolls and requests accessible materials. Resources and training are available to assist faculty with designing accessible online and hybrid classes.

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Q14: What about classes that are offered through distance education to students outside the United States?

A: Many other countries have adopted legislation similar to the Americans with Disabilities Act and other applicable laws that require accessible instructional materials. It is prudent to design courses assuming that such laws are in place. Classes initially designed with accessible content will then be transferable to target audiences in many countries, regardless of applicable laws.

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Q15: Is this initiative going to stifle creativity and academic freedom?

A: The answer to this question involves some unique academic rights enjoyed by faculty under the general concept of academic freedom. Academic freedom is generally considered to mean the right of faculty to speak freely on political and ideological issues without fear of reprisal. However, it commonly is thought to also encompass the right of faculty members to teach in the manner and style of their choosing, including giving them discretion over the selection of educational materials for their courses. So, for example, faculty members may state that they are under no obligation to design a Web site using accessibility guidelines or select a certain textbook or other course materials any more than they would be required to teach using a particular methodology or give a certain type of examination.

Although there has not been a court decision or Office of Civil Rights ruling on this issue, using academic freedom as a justification for maintaining an inaccessible Web site or not providing accessible instructional materials in a timely manner would probably not be considered a sufficient defense. It is clear that if the Web site or instructional materials are available to students, then any student who enrolls must be able to access the materials (that is, the information must be “effectively communicated”).

There is no question that this legal requirement may result in some changes in faculty practices and thought processes. It may require more planning and different kinds of choices. But it will only be understood as stifling creativity and impinging upon academic freedom if the faculty does not freely embrace the concept of universal design for learning.

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