Schools tend to view syllabus accessibility in two ways, 1) Are syllabi accessible by those that are sensory challenged and 2) Who can access syllabi and by what means, e.g., internet, LMS, or handout? In this section we look closely at both types of accessibility and what colleges are doing to support and address the need to broaden access to syllabi.
“It’s great to see such a young company take an interest in sharing knowledge about universal design for syllabi. Resources like the Syllabus Institute help increase awareness, now it’s up to schools, colleges, and universities to implement policies that support the principle and practice of universal design.”- Dr. Tom Lo Guidice, Faculty Emeritus, Teaching and Learning Center and School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville
Universal Design
Higher education has seen a significant increase in funding and support for universal design (UD) initiatives. Universal Access implies the accessibility and usability of information and telecommunications technologies by anyone at any place and at any time, in any living context.
The University of Wisconsin-System, funded by the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education, is dedicated to improving teaching and learning through driving UD principles and practices.
As one of the leaders in universal design, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has conducted research, implementation, and the measurement of UD and accessibility across 26 University of Wisconsin System campuses. The data from these initiatives as well as multiple resources supporting UD can be found on these University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee department sites including the Rehabilitation Research Design and Disability Center (R2D2 Center), Universal Design Infusion of Technology and Evaluation for Accessible Campuses of Higher Education (UD-I TEACH), and see if your syllabus is UD friendly by visiting the ACCESS-ed Project.
References and examples of UD in practice and principle:
- What “big brother” has to say about Universal design and accessibility
- University of Wisconsin: Preparing a syllabus and UD applied
- California Polytechnic State University helps instructors use Blackboard and adopt universal design for learning
- Harvard Graduate School of Education: Recommends books on Universal Design
- Universal Design – Syllabus at University of Oregon
- The UDL Task force is reducing barriers and providing support for learning
- AHEAD Association on Higher Education and Disability
The Readily Available Syllabus
Michigan State University has taken large steps in providing instructors with tools and training to create HTML syllabus webpages using Blackboard/ANGEL. Student engagement is a key motivator for many colleges looking to make syllabi more accessible:
- Students with the most information make better decisions as it relates to course selection
- Students that understand course requirements perform better
- Students that do well stay and graduate
- Students drive transition in the class with their tech‑forward thinking and expectations
An additional motivator supporting the need for more syllabus accessibility is transparency. Some view syllabus access as an academic freedom, but some instructors view their syllabus as personal or institutional intellectual property.
The idea of transparency when it comes to syllabi often sparks a debate between state, institute, and faculty bodies. Jay Shalin, senior writer of the John William POPE Center for Higher Education Policy, advocates greater access to course information in Opening Up the Classroom: Greater Transparency through Better, More Accessible Course Information.
