Accessibility and Inclusion: Home

1.Equitable use: Accessing course information, such as syllabi, in a variety formats, including print and online.

2.Flexibility in use: Varying instructional methods, including lecture, discussion, and individual and group activities.

3.Simple and intuitive: Describing course expectations for assessment and grading clearly in different formats, such as narrative descriptions and rubrics.

4. Perceptible information: Using videos that include subtitles, or captioning, for those who may not hear, for whom English is not a first language, or for those who have trouble processing verbal information.

5. Tolerance for error: Providing ongoing and continual feedback on coursework rather than at specified interim periods, such as mid-term or final exams.

6. Low physical effort: Providing lecture notes, so students who have difficulty taking notes do not need to take notes.

7. Size and space for approach and use: Making seating easily accessible, if possible, so everyone can see each other and communicate with one another directly. Circular seating may address this principle.

8. Community of learners: Creating a variety of learning settings: e-mail groups, social networking sites, or chat rooms, among others.

9. Instructional climate: Stating in the syllabus the desire to meet the instructional needs of all students and for students to convey their needs to the instructor.

Framework for Universal Design Learning

AHEAD promotes the CAST Framework for Universal Design learning that embodies three principles:

• Provide multiple means of representation
• Provide multiple means of engagement
• Multiple means of action and expression

CCT faculty are encouraged to apply these principles to curriculum design, delivery, assessment and media use with the support of the CCT Centre for Teaching and Learning. See contacts in this Toolkit, if you require support. The tenets of the Universal Design Learning Framework are expanded upon in the infographic below:

(Source: http://alexanderkernozek.weebly.com/my-blog/favorite-udl-representation).

Faculty at CCT is encouraged with the support of the Centre for Teaching and Learning to build universal design principles into curriculum and assessment design drawing on the resources in this toolkit. The College also offers a range of reasonable accommodations for students where required. It is the aim of the College to build accessibility into programme design and delivery as far as possible.

Where accommodations are deemed reasonable, they will be provided by the College at no additional cost to the learner. CCT requests that learners notify the College of their disability or specific learning need at the point of application to study in CCT. It is the responsibility of the applicant learner to make such a disclosure. 

CCT operates a reasonable accommodations policy under the following principles:

1. Reasonable accommodations will be made where feasible to enable participation in the assessment
2. Learners requiring reasonable accommodations must still demonstrate attainment of learning outcomes in order to pass.
3. Accommodations are concerned with adapting the assessment approach, not with diluting the standard of learning to be attained, interfering with it or amending the intended learning outcomes.

Examples of reasonable accommodations available include:

• Extra time
• A scribe taping (video or audio)
• Computer for typing answers
• Computer with spoken text and/or large text for visually impaired
• Voice-to-text facilities
• Computer terminal with Braille keyboard
• Spelling waiver

Please see the CCT Reasonable Accommodations Policy. 

Requests for reasonable accommodations are managed by Amanda Russell, QA Lead.