Support faculty UDL uptake through shared resources, discussion forums, responsive accessibility services, and recognition of accessible design work¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The article recommends a bundle of institutional supports to improve the acceptability of UDL among professors: additional resources, forums to discuss common challenges, better support from accessibility services, and recognition for the initial work of creating an accessible course. Faculty specifically suggested "online forums" for sharing how assignments were modified for students with disabilities, checklists and templates to reduce reinventing the wheel, and a reliable long-term OSD contact, which one interviewee called "invaluable".

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Institutional investment in OSD funding and staffing so professors have a reliable, long-term contact for accommodation and design advice

Constraints¶

• High turnover and minimal funding at the OSD currently prevent reliable long-term support
• Only 46% of surveyed professors believed the university offers sufficient accessibility resources

Target Learners¶

• University professors implementing accessible course design
• Students with accommodation needs in higher education

Target Learning Goals¶

• Accessible course design and Universal Design for Learning implementation in higher education

Related Strategies¶

• Build teacher AI readiness through structured institutional support: professional development, mentoring, technical assistance, and AI literacy in teacher education
• Provide extensive collegial support and professional development for technology integration to avoid maintaining the digital divide
• Universities combine responsible AI use guidelines, accessible technical support, AI literacy training, and assessment-embedded critical evaluation activities to address AI learning anxiety

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Gurher Sidhu, Fatima Atif, Franz Newland. (2025). "AI is reducing options I had used": exploring faculty perceptions of accessible course design in a ChatGPT world. York University. https://doi.org/10.35542/osf.io/e4hmv_v1