Notifications for Course Accessibility
Appalachian is committed to ensuring an accessible environment for disabled individuals, and federal disability laws require accessible content to ensure the opportunity for people with disabilities to obtain the information as fully, equally, and independently as others.
Faculty may learn about course format accessibility needs through a student's Academic Adjustment Plan or Faculty Planning email.
Notice from an Academic Adjustment Plan
Faculty may also learn of course accessibility needs from a student when they discuss their disability-approved accommodations outlined on the student’s Academic Adjustment Plan. Generally, when faculty are notified this way without having received a notice prior to the start of the semester, it is a student whose accommodations would not require significant pre-planning, who has recently connected with ODR, or who registered for courses outside of the early registration period.
While not all faculty will receive a planning email, faculty may use the following considerations for any course regarding accessible format. Often, it is thought that there is a universal format that will meet all needs. In reality, providing a variety of formats or ways to access material is often a more Universal approach to providing accessible content which meets a variety of individual requisites.
Notice from Access Planning Email
During the early registration period each semester, ODR sends email notices for the upcoming semester directly to instructors regarding planning for course format accessibility needs.
Notices will be sent to the designated instructor and department chair for mobility access, service animals, CART/Interpreter coordination, and for student-specific access needs related to course content.
Early notice allows faculty time to review course formats, consult as needed, and remediate inaccessible aspects. These planning emails are typically sent during Early Registration through December 15 (for Spring semester) and May 15 (for Summer and Fall semesters).
Confidentiality
Not all Access Planning emails include individual student names. Until a student shares their Academic Adjustment/Accommodation Plan, ODR generally does not include the student's name until a student shares their Academic Adjustment Plan, as the specific name is not a relevant need-to-know in order to bring attention to course accessibility needs.
Next Steps After Receiving an Access Planning Email
Upon receiving an Access Planning Email, faculty should review course content soon after receiving notice to determine whether remediation is needed and to understand the available resources. For some courses and formats, there is little to adjust, but for others, more time-intensive format changes may be needed. If a course has not yet been fully planned, it is still beneficial to review the format considerations right away, so that materials may be “born accessible,” meaning content can be created accessible from the start, rather than creating content and then needing to go back and remediate the format for accessibility.
Accessibility Resources
Available Resources
Course Accessibility Review or Consultation
For individualized assistance, faculty can consult with Accessibility Technologies or ODR for in-depth, course-specific accessibility guidance.
Schedule a Review or Appointment
We appreciate your partnership and are open to reviewing content, making action plans, or discussing any questions or concerns you may have.
ODR staff can preview AsULearn content by request, for the purpose of assisting faculty in assessing course content accessibility. If you have content available via AsUlearn and request that ODR conduct a secondary review, please follow up.
A consultation may be valuable at any stage of planning for this course. We send notice prior to the upcoming semester to provide adequate time for faculty to review, consult, convert, modify, remediate, or consider accessible workarounds for the content you utilize. If you would like to schedule an appointment to discuss course format and options, Appointments may be scheduled in advance by calling or emailing our office or using the appointment link in the Access Planning email.
For access considerations related to format for students who are blind or who experience mobility impacts, faculty will receive a request for a consultation with an ODR representative to assist with prioritizing accessibility.