Accessibility at Johns Hopkins University



Faculty Guide for Accommodating Students with Disabilities in Remote Learning EnvironmentThis guide pulls together a range of resources available across the university. Recommendations are based on best practices in disability services and feedback from both a Hopkins survey of students with disabilities and a national survey conducted by the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD). Please contact the Student Disability Services coordinator at your school for specific guidance and additional information. Student Disability Services also partnered with the ADA Compliance to create a new webinar for faculty on Working with Students with Disabilities.Accommodations for Remote LearningDepending on course formats some accommodations may be needed in the same way (extended time for exams) or there could be differences (reduced distraction space); students may not be able to anticipate all possible impacts and may need to work with you more closely to figure out how to address barriers as they recognize munication with faculty has been mentioned as a key factor for students in navigating the spring move to remote learning. Being clear about best methods for communicating with you and your willingness/availability to engage will be helpful.Extended time for exams is a common accommodation and will be needed if you are administering traditional, time-limited exams. Step by step instructions for providing exam accommodations within Blackboard are available within the Faculty FAQs for Accommodating Students in Remote Learning. These FAQs are applicable for any course, but please note some Homewood specific details are municating with students about exam accommodations arrangement in your courses will be important. SDS is available to instructors and students to consult if any assistance is needed. SDS will not be proctoring exams while the University’s courses at a particular school remain online only.? If you decide to offer alternative means of assessment (e.g. essays, non-timed exams, project work), then a student’s extended time for exams may no longer be applicable. We encourage you to speak with students requesting accommodations about the formats you will be using for assessments.?Exceptions to attendance and tardiness policies are often still needed, even when students are attending remotely; make sure any policies are communicated in a way that allows for accommodation use.Remote American Sign Language (ASL) interpreting and real-time captioning (CART) can be integrated into course delivery systems like Zoom; SDS or the student will provide advance notice if these communication access systems will be used.Some traditional accommodations may be less relevant or addressed by the remote setting (for example preferential seating or use of a computer in class).Hopkins has a new online system for managing disability related accommodations called Accommodate. Some schools may elect to utilize a faculty portal. Watch for more information about this during the fall 2020 and/or spring 2021.Inclusive Disability Course DesignInclude a syllabus statement and make an announcement to remind students to request accommodations early and to use the SDS accommodation letter system to make the request.Build communication channels into the course, encouraging the use of office hours and other modes of contact.Make sure all videos and multimedia are captioned.Recording classes has been reported to be one of the most helpful things done in the spring 2020; many students benefit from the ability to start and stop the lecture, review the materials and have this to support with the note taking process.Captioning recorded courses has been shown to be a helpful learning tool for all students.Provide additional flexibility where possible; students with disabilities are often impacted by the same factors other students are (poor internet, lack of space to study/take tests, challenges with technology) but the effect tends to be increased, especially if technology is critical to course materials being accessible.Allow for variability in camera use and participation in reasonable ways. Students who request their camera to be off may be able to turn it on when they speak, facilitating access for anyone who may need to lip read or who have poor audio connections.Shorter assignments and more frequent deadlines may be helpful; students with disabilities report that more course structure is helpful at this time, when distractions are great and concentrating is harder. Offer strategies for tackling assignments if possible.Employ Universal Design for Learning (UDL) strategies to make the course more accessible for all learners. More information is available through the Hopkins Universal Design for Learning (HUDL) Initiative.The National Deaf Center Covid-19 Information provides a number of articles about teaching deaf and hard of hearing students remotely.Accessible Course DesignBelow are some tips to keep in mind as you are creating virtual course content (adapted from?DO-IT’s 20 Tips for Teaching an Accessible Online Course):?Use clear, consistent layouts and organization schemes?for presenting content, and make instructions and expectations clear for activities, projects, and assigned reading.??Offer outlines, scaffolding tools, and adequate opportunities for practice?to help students learn.?When selecting new materials, try to find videos that are already captioned, and articles that are available in a text-searchable format?(meaning you can highlight and search the text within the document;?click here for an example).??Images can be made accessible to blind and low-vision students by providing captions or inserting alt text into the image.?Use large, bold fonts on uncluttered pages with plain backgrounds and color combinations that are high contrast.??Provide flexibility as the shift to remote learning may cause disruption to the student’s home life and available resources?– which may negatively impact a student’s disability symptoms. For example, allow students to work during hours/submit assignments during off peak hours in their personal environment (less disruptive times may be very early or late, opposed to mid-day). As well, consider time zone and how that could impact course deadlines.? For more tips, visit:? Online Classes for Accessibility SensusAccess is a tool to convert existing documents into accessible formats.Web Accessibility GuidelinesSupporting students with disabilitiesEncourage/normalize the use of academic support resources for students who run into challenges:Share information about mental health resources such as TimelyMD.Explain office hours as well as any TA support and tutoring resources.Reach out early and often to students who may be at risk; students can be referred to Student Affairs at your school or Student Outreach and Support (SOS) at Homewood.Keep SDS updated about known students with disabilities who are struggling.These Tips for Working with Students with Disabilities can be helpful if you have not encountered a particular type of disability or just want more information about working effectively with students with disabilities.Referring students to Student Disability Services (SDS)It is possible new accommodations may be needed by students currently working with SDS due to the change to remote learning and assessment.Please refer students reporting challenges with current accommodations or refer new students who may need to determine eligibility for accommodations.Students can begin the Student Disability Services process online; most SDS staff are working fully remotely, meeting with students by Zoom, Teams or phone.Students with concerns unrelated to a disability but due to their own or someone else’s illness with COVID-19 should be referred to Student Affairs/SOS; they will assist the student in connecting with SDS if they have prolonged impacts that could warrant disability related accommodations. Additional SDS ResourcesAdditional Faculty Resources are available on the accessibility.jhu.edu website.Guidelines for Teaching Students with Disabilities are available on the SDS Homewood website. Extended Time on Assignments Guidelines HYPERLINK "" Faculty Rights and Responsibilities ................
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