Faculty Collaborations
A shared responsibility
PCC can only fulfill our mission of equal access when we work together to acknowledge a shared responsibility to advance inclusive opportunities that maintain high standards while minimizing barriers.
Accessible Ed & Disability Resources is here to coordinate individual adjustments for students, but also to work proactively with faculty and staff to ensure potential barriers are removed at the design stage whenever possible. There are many opportunities to connect, engage, and collaborate. Below are examples and descriptions of options.
Subject Area Studies and the AT Committee
The subject area studies that were funded through Online Learning and Academic Affairs are a great example of how institutions can get it right. While there have not been any full subject area studies recently, we have been engaging in micro subject area studies by inviting PT faculty to participate in our AT Committee, with optional bi-weekly strategy sessions, technical support, and exploration of inclusive practices with a focus on promoting flexible participation options. We are providing compensation for faculty time spent improving accessibility, collaborating and innovating with technology in ways that both improve student outcomes and honor our commitment to equal access.
Universal design for class notes
Accessible Ed & Disability Resources provides support for individual students who are looking for tools and techniques to support notetaking needs, but also partner with faculty to support approaches that can allow for notes to be taken and shared with all the students in the class. Our current initiative uses a variety of technologies including some interesting apps and services. Faculty who are interested in learning more about this opportunity should contact us.
Technical standards and program reviews
Many programs have technical requirements that need to be written carefully to ensure we are promoting participation of underrepresented groups while maintaining high standards. Departments are encouraged to work collaboratively with Accessible Ed & Disability Resources to review current language. Accessible Ed & Disability Resources has also provided faculty with an accommodation report that is dynamic, and can be filtered by time range, course and discipline. This report can be accessed through the Accessible Ed & Disability Resources community pages in spaces.
Examples of Collaboration – Open Education
Accessible Ed & Disability Resources has worked with faculty from a variety of disciplines, engaging with teams on projects to ensure open materials are built with the structure they need to afford flexibility for a diverse set of learners. We are here to support the work of open educators, so please reach out if you are interested in partnering. We are always happy to consult, and may be able to help with funding for captioning of instructor generated content, if it will be durable and shareable.
As an example, a group of math faculty worked to create an activity packet with manipulatives to support student engagement and learning. Accessible Ed & Disability Resources worked with these faculty to ensure the material was accessible and helped to create 3D printed faction kits. The interactive site provides access to the workbook content in a variety of formats. It is all creative commons licensed.
Individualized Consultation
Accessible Ed & Disability Resources is happy to sit down together in person or online. We want to be sure faculty across the college, whether full-time or part-time, feel supported in making sure courses, programs, and other offerings are inclusive.