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Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Universal Design

History

What does this mean for you as a faculty member at a public college?

Generally, it means that you must provide basic accessible access to all aspects of your course. You may wonder if you only have to provide accommodations if there is a student known to be disabled in your class, and the answer is that for some types of accommodations, yes that would be the case. However, to broadly address the issue of accessibility to content in such a way that avoids singling out students, institutions have adopted the requirements for access to online content that must be provided to all students as part of the basic course design and to meet ADA requirements.

Legal Requirement

Although following ADA requirements may seem like extra work, it is essential and is considered best practice for quality course design more generally. All students benefit from a principle known as Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Below are examples of effective ADA design benefits that positively affect other students.

  • students who are second language learners may also benefit from the available closed captions
  • mild hearing loss is very common among the general population, meaning that students with any hearing loss may also benefit from the available closed captions
  • students who would qualify for disability services may not have been formally identified
  • students who have disabilities that affect their learning may not ask for the help they need and deserve

Keep in mind that following ADA requirements is the law. There are potentially serious repercussions for both individual faculty members and institutions who do not make efforts to comply.

Online & Hybrid Learning

The seven (7) elements below must be met for any online content provided to students.

  • Layout/Organization
  • Headings
  • Images
  • Links/URLs
  • Color
  • Tables
  • Video Captioning CC/Transcripts

In-Person Learning

ADA requirements also apply to in-person learning, but with additional requirements. Two examples of ways the seven online elements might be used in face-to-face learning are given below.

  • If you are showing a movie in class, provide access to closed captioning.
  • If you are using PowerPoint slides, you must test for color contrast and make sure alternative descriptions of images are available.

In addition, the physical space of in-person learning must be accommodating.

Additional accommodations may also be provided for individual students depending on their specific needs. 

Quality Matters

  • Quality course design utilizes the principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and commits to accessibility, ensuring all learners can access all course content and activities and all learners can easily navigate and interact with course components. (Overview of QM Standard 8)
  • The course should provide alternative means of access to course materials in formats that meet the needs of diverse learners.
  • The course design and the multimedia should facilitate ease of use, maximizing usability. (QM standards 8.3, 8.4, 8.5)
  • The course design should facilitate readability. (QM standard 8.2) The course navigation should facilitate ease of use. (QM standard 8.1)

Universal Design

Universal Design is a philosophy for developing systems that go beyond accessibility and accommodation to creatively design user experiences that work for all. In an educational setting, one resource, Universal Design for Learning (UDL), is a research-based framework for designing for all students.

Learner Engagement: Affective - The "Why" of learning
Learners differ markedly in the ways in which they can be engaged or motivated to learn.

Content Representation: Recognition - The "What" of learning
Learners differ in the ways that they perceive and comprehend information that is presented to them.

Action & Expression: Strategic - The "How" of learning
Learners differ in the ways that they can navigate a learning environment and express what they know.