Please log in to rate and comment on entries or to edit your profile.

Know a good UDE website or resource?

Submit a link.

The Accessible Virtual Campus

Administration

Illustration of the campus administration building.

A significant amount of research supporting universal design in education (UDE) from the top down is sourced here. Legal issues are annotated, as are considerations for campus-wide UDE approaches to procurement or emergency preparedness to serve the needs of all individuals on campus, including staff, students, and community members.

Many forms and materials are generated from offices in this building.  See Instructional Methods and Media & Materials pages to assure that these are universally designed and accesssible to all users.  

internal link

Electronic Information Kiosk AUDIT

Use this AUDIT to determine how universally designed a kiosk is. This three part audit assesses accessibility, usability, and score.

R2D2 Center at UW-Milwaukee

Electronic Information Kiosk AUDIT  (Excel Document)

Electronic Information Kiosk Manual  (PDF File)

internal link

Elevator AUDIT

Elevators are comprised of multiple features that must be considered for full accessibility. Use this AUDIT to determine how successful your elevators are at providing access and usability for all students, staff and faculty.

R2D2 Center at UW-Milwaukee

Elevator AUDIT  (Excel Document)

Elevator AUDIT Version 1-2 Manual  (PDF File)

internal link

EqTD's for Graphic Elements - Why & Where

Equivalent text descriptions (EqTD's) are extremely important and can be difficult to create. Here you will find a set of EqTD related documents that detail processes, purposes and levels of complexity. The origin of providing alternative text for graphic elements and a brief review of the R2D2 standard are included.

R2D2 Center at UW-Milwaukee

Equivalent Text Descriptions - Why and Where  (PDF File)

internal link

Equivalent Text Description (EqTD) Tutorial for Graphics

This 5 page tutorial provides step by step instructions and examples for writing equivalent text descriptions for graphic elements.

R2D2 Center at UW-Milwaukee

Tutorial for EqTDs  (PDF File)

internal link

Video Closed Captioning Protocol

This protocol will help you to create a video with a caption track. Videos captioned with this method will be playable by older versions of QuickTime, back to QuickTime 3 (depending on video and audio code used).

R2D2 Center at UW-Milwaukee

Video Closed Captioning Protocol  (PDF File)

Not yet rated
internal link

Video Descriptive Track Protocol (Draft)

This protocol will help you create a video with an additional audio track that attempts to describe the visual component of the video. Note that the file created from this document will always have the additional track playing. We are currently examining the possibility of adding a toggle button.

Video Descriptive Track Protocol (Draft)  (PDF File)

Not yet rated
internal link

Writing Equivalent Text Descriptions (EqTDs) Posterette

This short 2-page document provides the essential "bare-bones" of what needs to be included in an equivalent text description (EqTD) and where the EqTD should be placed in a document. Whenever you create a document, whether it is electronic or paper, any non-text based element (e.g., picture, graph, "eye-candy") is not accessible to many individuals, so EqTDs should be provided.

R2D2 Center at UW-Milwaukee

Writing EqTD's Posterette  (PDF File)

external link

8 steps of Institutional Coordination and Reform [Web Accessibility]

This website offers a model organizations can use to evaluate Web pages, develop a planning team, gain support for a Web accessibility initiative, develop and implement a plan, train staff, and monitor the accessibility of Web pages over time. [Annotation from UW Web Accessibility for All]

WebAIM

Not yet rated
external link

A Framework of Emergency Preparedness Guidelines For Federal Agencies- Accounting for the Needs of People with Disabilities

This link contains a comprehensive 84 page document. Critical questions list near the end guide examination of existing procedures. "In disaster management activities it is important to think about disability broadly. Traditional narrow definitions of disability are not appropriate. The term disability does not apply just to people whose disabilities are noticeable, such as wheelchair users and people who are blind or deaf." This document discribes how to get prepared for an emergency that includes people with disabilities.

Interagency Coordinating Council on Emergency Preparedness and Individuals with Disabilities

external link

Accessibility of State and Local Government Websites to People with Disabilities

This link explains how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is requiring the State and local governments to give individuals with disabilities equal access to their programs. This link also provides the Department of Justice statement "Voluntary Action Plan for Accessible Websites". Links are provided on the website.

US Department of Justice

Not yet rated
external link

Accessible Poster Presentations

This website contains information on how to create an accessible poster from the American Public Health Association (APHA). It is one if APHA's goals to make meetings accessible to the widest range of people possible. This website gives bullet-points in several categories to make your poster more accessible.

American Public Health Association (APHA)

external link

Accommodation Solutions Online

This website is great for those needing solutions to specific accommodation issues. It offers accommodation coaches for specific disabilities, an overview of the disability, how it is seen in the classroom, extra resources, and related functional characteristics. It also has accommodation coaches for specific classroom accommodations, an overview of the accommodation, responsibilities (relating to the accommodation) of the student, faculty, and staff, extra resources, and related functional characteristics.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Not yet rated
external link

Americans with Disabilities Act and City Governments: Common Problems

This website explains the requirements of state and local governments for making all of civic life accessible to persons with disabilities.

U.S. Department of Justice

Not yet rated
external link

Conceptual White Paper on Universal Design in Education on UW-System Campuses

This website contains the University of Wisconsin System's formal statement regarding universal design.

University of Wisconsin Board of Regents

Not yet rated
external link

Higher Ed Accessibility Lawsuits, Complaints, and Settlements

This website provides links to others sources about lawsuits, complaints, and settlements that have happened to colleges for not being accessible around the United States. Examples of some of the lawsuit cases are the colleges not providing book readers or they are not captioning online resources for their students to use.

Information Technology Systems and Services, University of Minnesota Duluth

Not yet rated
external link

Home Remodeling for Disability and Special Needs: What You Need to Know

This resource aims to help make the federal grants available to seniors, veterans, and disabled people easier to understand and take advantage of, particularly for remodeling homes for accessibility.

Not yet rated
external link

How to Help Students with Disabilities

This webpage provides information on how to increase optimal participation in learning for students with disabilities including tips for positive communication as well as suggested classroom accommodations. The webpage includes each of the following impairments: visual impairments, hearing impairments, mobility impairments, autism spectrum disorder, psychiatric disabilities, learning disabilities, chronic health conditions, and speech impairments.

Ball State University

Not yet rated
external link

Institutionalization Strategies

"This webpage provides strategies for implementing faculty and administrator training for the purpose of creating academic programs and services that are accessible to all students. Ideas for promoting systemic change, as well as how to measure change impact, are included." Many specific examples are listed.

DO-IT, University of Washington

Not yet rated
external link

McMaster University Accessibility Plan 2005-06-DRAFT

"This Policy provides a framework within which accessibility plans and initiatives are to be created in order to move the University towards the goal of building an inclusive community with a shared purpose. It is also the purpose of this Policy to endeavour to provide the foundation to create an environment that provides the widest feasible scope of access, which is the right of opprotunity to reach, use or participate in the University's systems, facilities and services." This document can act as an example for other Universities striving to become accessible.

McMaster University

Not yet rated
external link

National Center on Universal Design for Learning

This website contains information about universal design for learning, including advocacy, implementation, research, and how to connect with others.

Not yet rated
external link

New or Proposed ADA Regulations

This webpage of the United States Department of Justice includes the current text of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 [ADA], including changes made by the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 (P.L. 110-325), which became effective on January 1, 2009. The ADA was originally enacted in public law format and later rearranged and published in the United States Code.

United States Department of Justice

Not yet rated
external link

Profile of Undergraduate Students: 2007- 08  (Research based)

This report was prepared for the National Center for Education Statistics. Web Tables provide comprehensive information on undergraduates who were enrolled in U.S. postsecondary institutions during the 2007–08 academic year. Estimates for enrolled students are presented by attendance status, degree program, undergraduate major, average grades, student characteristics, financial aid status and credit card debt, work, community service, voting, disability status, and distance and remedial education. The Table 6.1 shows that 10.8% of undergradusates reported some type of disability.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, 2007–08 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study

Not yet rated
external link

Self-Examination: Is Your Campus Accessible?

This article lists 11 "Campus Accessibility Indicators" necessary for an inclusive post-secondary education campus and culture.

DO-IT, University of Washington

external link

Systemic Change

This document provides an overview of the concept of change in college and university climates as related to making campuses more universally designed.

DO-IT, University of Washington

Not yet rated
external link

Ten Simple Steps Toward Universal Design of Online Courses

This website describes how implementing the principles of universal design in online learning means anticipating the diversity of students that may enroll in your course and planning accordingly. These ten key elements will greatly enhance the accessibility and usability of your course for students with and without disabilities.

Project PACE, University of Arkansas

external link

Tips to Understand Deaf Culture

This tip sheet from PEPNet provides a description of Deaf culture and suggestions for effective communication. Tips include the importance of American Sign Language, terms used in the Deaf community, and guidelines for communication.

PEPNet 2

Not yet rated
external link

Topical Review - Trends in Distance Education: Implications for Improving Access and Outcome for Individuals with Disabilities in Postsecondary Programs  (Research based)

"Do the increased opportunities in distance education programs and advanced technology indicate better access and better outcomes in higher education for people with disabilities?" Key findings and implications are discussed in this article.

University of Hawaii at Manoa

Not yet rated
external link

UCD Resource Mapping

This website provides practical approaches to organizing and disseminating campus wide resources for universal course design.

Equity and Excellence in Higher Education: Universal Course Design

Not yet rated
external link

Universal Instructional Design in Higher Education: An Approach for Inclusion Article  (Research based)

Universal Instructional Design in Higher Education: An Approach for Inclusion is an article that examines how universities can universally design environments so that students with disabilities don't have to rely on secondary resources. Available in PDF form.

Not yet rated
external link

University Policy Regarding the Use of Captioned Audio-Visual Media to Ensure Sample Policy: Access to Course Media for All Students

This handout "...provides you with a draft university policy regarding the use of captioned media; you can alter it as needed for your institution."

Class Act: a project of the National Technical Institute for the Deaf, Rochester Institute of Technology (NTID/RIT), Rochester, New York

Not yet rated

A lot of people with a disability say, "This is who I am. I don't come here hoping my disability will go away, but because I want to participate."

Carolyn R. Thompson