Category: Higher Education

Guide to Visual Disabilities and Online Learning

Online education is designed to open doors for students. Many students who might not be able to become a full-time residential student at a college or university  or who want a particular course, find online courses of value. However, for prospective students with visual impairments, online learning may create more barriers than gateways.

Obtaining a college education is no easy task, but for students with visual disabilities, the path to completing a degree program is lined with unique challenges and barriers. Accessible Colleges Online has prepared a resource exploring  how visual impairments impact the educational experience, what colleges  can do, and includes numerous resources, including insight and tips from students and experts in the field.

To read the entire resource, visit: A Guide to Visual Disabilities: How Colleges Help Visually Impaired Students Succeed

Accessible Colleges Online is designed to help students and parents identify colleges, degree programs, scholarship opportunities and more that fit their respective academic and financial wants and needs.  The site is also designed to help educate students and parents about the importance of accreditation.

Title IX: Pregnant and Parenting Students Rights: FAQ for College and Graduate Students

Although not a disability issue, DSS professionals may be asked about accommodating pregnant students. Prepared by the National Women’s Law Center, this fact sheet for pregnant and parenting students may help answer many common questions.

Pregnant and Parenting Students Rights: FAQ for College and Graduate Students – Title IX:

WebAIM’s Hierarchy for Motivating Accessibility Change

Today, in every aspect of the post-secondary experience, institutions are employing technology.   Although innovation and equal access can go hand in hand,  designing  technology accessibly has not been commonplace.  Consequently, higher education has struggled with how to address issues of access for students with disabilities  while making use of the best of technology to provide effective and innovative instruction as well as access to an institution’s programs and services.

OCR has made it clear that using technology, especially emerging technology in a classroom environment when the technology is inaccessible to an entire population of individuals with disabilities is discriminatory.

More recently, the Resolution Agreement with  UC-Berkley, the compliance review of the  South Carolina Technical College System and the settlement  agreement with Louisiana Tech University, have each highlighted the obligation to ensure access. The message is inescapable — accessibility must be considered when selecting, implementing and  using technology in the classroom and elsewhere in the institution.
Continue reading “WebAIM’s Hierarchy for Motivating Accessibility Change”