Faculty Guidance: Templates and Course Resources

Faculty are required to incorporate information for students with disabilities in their syllabi. We have provided sample wording for statements below:

Syllabi Statement Option 1

UVA is committed to creating a learning environment that meets the needs of its diverse student body. If you anticipate or experience any barriers to learning in this course, please feel welcome to discuss your concerns with me. If you have a disability, or think you may have a disability, you should meet with the Student Disability Access Center (SDAC), to request an official accommodation. You can find more information about SDAC, including how to apply online, through their website at studenthealth.virginia.edu/SDAC. If you have already been approved for accommodations through SDAC, please make sure to send me your accommodation letter and meet with me so we can develop an implementation plan together.

Syllabi Statement Option 2

It is my goal to create a learning experience that is as accessible as possible. If you anticipate any issues related to the format, materials, or requirements of this course, please meet with me outside of class so we can explore potential options. Students with disabilities should work with the Student Disability Access Center to discuss a range of options to removing barriers in this course, including official accommodations. Please visit their website for information on this process and to apply for services online: studenthealth.virginia.edu/SDAC. If you have already been approved for accommodations through SDAC, please send me your accommodation letter and meet with me so we can develop an implementation plan together.

Syllabi Statement Option 3

I am committed to creating a course that is inclusive in its design. If you encounter barriers, please let me know immediately so we can determine if there is a design adjustment that can be made. I am happy to consider creative solutions as long as they do not compromise the intent of the assessment or learning activity. If you are a student with a disability, or think you may have a disability, you should initiate this conversation with the Student Disability Access Center (SDAC). SDAC works with students with disabilities and faculty members/TAs to identify reasonable accommodations. Please visit their website for information and start the application process online: studenthealth.virginia.edu/SDAC.  If you have already been approved for accommodations through SDAC, please send me your accommodation letter and meet with me so we can develop an implementation plan together.

Hello [Student Name], 

This email is to let you know that I have received your SDAC Notification of Accommodation letter.  I have included additional information about the logistical considerations below.  Please read thoroughly and reach out with any questions.  

Include the following as appropriate per student and per course design: 

*These are possible statements/scenarios to include in your email. Not required and can be tailored accordingly to your course.

Alternative Formats

I will work with SDAC to ensure readings/assignments/handouts/exams are in an accessible format. If at any point during the semester there is an issue with my course material, please reach out to me so that I can help facilitate this accommodation.

Alternative Testing - Extra Time and Reduced Distraction Environment

Possible statements/scenarios to include your email:

• (If take-home exam) Your assessments, including your additional time, will be online. Please do not schedule with SDAC, as you can take these assessments anywhere.
• (If in-class exam) I have reserved an alternative testing location to administer your assessments with your accommodations. Further direction will be provided closer to the exam date. Do not schedule to take your exams with SDAC. 
• (If needing SDAC-proctored exam) Please plan on taking your exams in SDAC. I suggest that you reserve a space at the SDAC testing center (see syllabus for dates) NOW and do not wait until later in the semester. I understand that I must provide SDAC with proctoring instructions in order for this to happen.

 

Some professors like to include parameters about when students can schedule with SDAC.

Exam scheduling with SDAC should be at the same date and time as indicated on the syllabus. If you are unable to access your extended time due to other course conflicts, please schedule at [insert day/time parameters] or contact [me or TA] via [Canvas/email/etc] to determine an alternative date/time.

 

Permission to Record Classes

• Per your accommodation, you have permission to make audio recordings of class sessions. You are expected to abide by the Recording Lecture Agreement you signed.
• Class recordings are available to [all or SDAC] students on [insert location, i.e., Canvas Folder]. Please access the recordings as needed.

Reasonable Modification of Assignment Deadlines

• If you need additional flexibility to manage your condition, please email in advance with your request for a 24 - 72 hour extension period per SDAC policy. 
• The assignments that do not allow for extensions based on their learning objectives include [add here (i.e., discussion post, peer review, or group project)]
• The intensive and abbreviated nature of the course and the effects of not turning in things on time in this summer course only allows for a 24-hour extension period.
• Per SDAC policy, this accommodation does not apply to quizzes/exams/finals.

Reasonable Modification of Attendance Policy

• If you need additional flexibility to manage your condition and must miss class, please email in advance/as soon as possible with your need, per SDAC policy. 
• The attendance and participation policy in our class is listed on page [insert page] of the syllabus.  Per the SDAC policy, you will have an additional [insert number] of excused disability-related absences.
• For missed classes, you are responsible for [include applicable information below]
  • the material covered
  • getting notes from peers
  • reviewing the recorded lectures
  • submitting [insert brief assignment]

Accessible Course Materials

There are many ways in which faculty can ensure an accessible experience for their students by creating accessible course content. By ensuring an accessible experience, you not only benefit the students with disabilities in your course, but it positively impacts the learning experience for all students. The two biggest areas which we like to highlight would be videos and PDFs.

• Videos: If you are showing a video in your course, it is best practice to ensure that the video is captioned. This ensures that the video is accessible to those that are D/deaf and hard of hearing, but it also may benefit students who are English language learners or the student who forgot to bring their headphones to the library. For more information, please visit the UVA Library webpage on Making Media Accessible.

• PDFs: Many readings are available to students as a PDF. If you are using PDFs in your course, we would like to ensure that they can be read by text-to-speech software, such as Read&Write. This software is often used for those with print-related disabilities (such as those that are blind, low vision, or have a reading disorder), but again has the potential to benefit all of your students.
  
  At a minimum, we ask that your PDF have “selectable” text – that is, text that is recognized as text by the computer. Additionally, look at the “reading order” – which can often be seen when you are highlighting the text – to make sure that it is reading it in the right order. Finally, your images, figures and graphs should have “alt-tags” on them (i.e. descriptions of the graphic) so those that are blind can still have access to the information it contains.

SDAC staff is available to assist in making course content accessible, so please feel free to email SDAC if you have any questions.

Anthology Ally

Anthology Ally is a tool within Canvas that automatically checks course materials against WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards, provides students with accessible alternative formats such as audio and electronic braille, and delivers guidance to instructors to improve the accessibility of their course content

Providing Extended Time on Exams in Canvas

If you are working with a student who receives extra time on exams, Canvas has created instructions on how to provide extended time on assessments:

• Steps to add time limit accommodations on a quiz: Once I publish a quiz, how do I use the Moderate Quiz page?
• Steps to allow students to take a quiz again (with extended time as needed): Once I publish a quiz, how can I give my students extra attempts?
• If an instructor has used the New Quizzes option to create a quiz, they can set up accommodations with a multiplier (e.g., 1.5x time limit) for a student, for all assessments within the course: How do I add accommodations for a student in New Quizzes?

Creating Sections within a Canvas Course

One option to help manage accommodations within Canvas is to create sections for accommodations and hide sections from students on the People page:

• How do I add a section to a course as an instructor? How do I hide sections from students on the People page?
• After the sections have been hidden, the instructor can add the students to them as needed: How do I edit sections for an enrollment in a course?
  • Selecting the option to hide sections can be done as soon as more than one section exists in the course. If the instructor only has one roster in the course, I would strongly recommend that they not add any students to SDAC/accommodations-related sections until after they have hidden the sections from students.

Inclusive Classroom Practices

Students come to UVA from a variety of racial and ethnic backgrounds, experiences, and customs. For some:

• English is not their primary or even secondary language. 
• Jargon specific to content and common idioms and expressions are confusing.
• Statistics show that many students with disabilities do not self-identify to SDAC. 
• In some cultures, disabilities are seen in a negative light, so students may not choose to self-disclose and go through the SDAC process.

There are a number of practices or incorporation of Universal Design for Learning which can be incorporated in your course experience that will provide an inclusive environment to benefit all participants, not just those with disabilities. These practices can help to anticipate and remove barriers and negate the need for accommodations.

• UVA’s Creating Inclusive Environment 
• UVA Universal Design for Learning 
• UVA Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE)

UVA Accessibility Resources

• Report a Barrier
• UVA Accessibility Resources
• Digital Accessibility
• IRM-008: University Information Technology Accessibility

Policies Regarding Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation

• HRM-009: Preventing and Addressing Discrimination and Harassment
• HRM-010: Preventing and Addressing Retaliation