Accessibility and Accommodations

The Disability Access Office (DAO) grants accommodations for students in the FAS “tailored to the individual to eliminate barriers caused by a disability, and to afford students equal access and opportunity to participate in academic programs and services.” All student accessibility accommodations must be approved by the DAO Office. Neither course heads nor TFs, TAs, or CAs should grant accommodations at their own discretion. 

For more information, see the DAO Faculty Guide to Managing Academic Accommodations

Universal Design

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is an approach to designing learning environments that are accessible to as many students as possible. Using universal design principles reaches a wider audience, improves learning outcomes, and reduces the need for individualized modifications. UDL approaches can include:

• Design and format for syllabi, canvas pages, lectures, course materials, and course-related multimedia
• Best practices for live lectures and presentations
• Multimodal teaching strategies in the classroom

For more information on the UDL framework, visit: UDL in Higher Ed

For a menu of approaches, see: Digital Accessibility at Harvard