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Accessibility for Academics
Physical Accessibility
Physical Accessibility
When you are planning your classroom, take a look at your students before the course starts. The Student Accessibility Services (SAS) Office will report any official accommodations for students in iAdvise. Check for these, but also see how you might take easy steps to support students who do not officially register for academic accomodations, but may have demonstrable accessibility issues.
If your class is in a physical space, pay attention to how students come in. Do any of them have a hard time accessing the classroom or their seat? What can you do to help them? Can you move the tables or chairs? Or would it be best to request a room change?
If you do find that there is an accessibility issue for your student that you cannot overcome, contact the Office of Student Accessibility and Support. They may be able to help guide you through the process of requesting a room change or figure out how to best use the room without needing a room change.
If you find that you do need to change rooms, make sure to contact students in advance. When you do contact them, make sure you do it in two different ways. For example, email and the D2L News Tool or even a piece of paper/sticky note on the door informing students of the change.
Did you know?
You can look up students either by using iAdvise or My Course Roster. Both of these are found in My Canisius. iAdvise can be found on the right-hand side. My Course Roster can be found under Faculty Services on the left sidebar. Both of these may provide useful information and notes to you about your students.
Specifically, iAdvise will have notifications of any official accomodations issued by the Accessibility Support Office
Management and Inclusivity
Management and Inclusivity
Classroom management is another important skill that instructors must have. Some of the points in this section will be familiar or even repetitive, but they can make the classroom all the more welcoming to a student (or even a colleague) that has a disability.
First, if you are contacted by the Student Accessibility Services Office about an academic accommodation, reach out to the student to set up a 1-on-1 meeting with them. This meeting can be face-to-face or via Zoom. This will help ensure that both yourself and the student are on the same page as far as accommodations and expectations. It also shows that you, as the instructor, know about the student's needs and are willing to help. This, in turn, can help with the student's anxiety, particularly on exams or projects where they may need extra time. Additionally, this meeting can be an opportune time to see how the student prefers they be identified, whether it be person-first language (i.e., person with disability) or identity-first language (disabled person) (Indiana University Bloomington, n.d.).
Second, watch out for uninclusive language. In the case of this lesson, this language is also known as "ableist" language. "Ableism" is defined by Nović (2021) as "...discrimination based on disability..." and takes two different forms: Personal Ableism and Systemic Ableism. "Personal ableism might look like name-calling, or committing violence against a disabled person, while systemic ableism refers to the inequality disabled people experience as a result of laws and policy" (Nović, 2021). Examples include phrases that we have heard and likely used ourselves frequently. This can include calling something "dumb" or "lame". It may seem silly but to a person with disabilities, this type of language can be harmful. If you do hear ableist language in your classroom, have a private conversation with the student who made the remark. Then, take some time out of class to have a discussion about ableism and ableist language and how it can be harmful to people with disabilities.
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