Student Benefits And Teaching Resources For Including Accessibility/Inclusive Design Topics In University Courses

Session Summary:

The session will review the results of a study to measure the student benefits of taking accessibility and Inclusive Design topics in college level courses. Benefits for both career and academic work will be explored. In addition, learn about curriculum resources and strategies for teaching about accessibility.

Description:

This session will discuss the results from a national survey to gauge the student benefits of taking accessibility and Universal Design topics in post-secondary courses. About a dozen programs and schools with a focus on Computer Science, Digital Media, Environmental Design, or other technical or design-related programs, agreed to distribute the survey to their current students and recent graduates. To date we have received 174 responses. Students who had taken these topics overwhelmingly rated these topics as either crucial (48.3%) or very valuable (31.7%). The results of this preliminary survey support the idea that including courses with these topics has notable work or career benefits, including finding employment. Other findings and resources for teaching about accessibility will also be addressed.

Practical Skills:

• Benefits of teaching about accessibility in post-secondary - that can be used to promote including this topic on your campus
• Resources and strategies for teaching about accessibility
• WAI curricula resources