Instructional Accessibility Group

Who is the Instructional Accessibility Group?

As an integral part of the Center for Teaching, Learning and Design, the Instructional Accessibility Group is dedicated to supporting faculty in their efforts to create more accessible instructional content.

Through a proactive and calculated approach, we can develop more inclusive and impactful instruction, meet our students where they are, and reduce our reliance on accommodations by creating more equitable content. Above all, we can create a culture of accessibility at MSU Denver.

What We Offer:

We offer numerous resources to help faculty create and maintain accessible learning content. This includes:

• Trainings and workshops regarding accessibility across all levels of instruction
• Accessibility reviews of instructional content
• Guides and tutorials

Upcoming Events and Services:

• Meeting of the Minds: Collaborative Learning Using Empathy in the Classroom or Office.
  Friday 16 August 2024, 9:30a-2:30p, AD 325.
  A half-day MSU Denver workshop designed to reshape how we perceive and engage with cognitive diversity. Lunch will be included!
  We are currently anticipating having some casual follow-up conversation sessions through out the term or academic year as well with the first conversation on Friday 25 October.
• Proactive Accessibility Liaisons (PALs): Accessibility Faculty Cohort, similar to Peer Associates model. Stipend available for faculty who complete and present their final project.
• Accessibility Bytes: 30-minute virtual instructional accessibility workshops.
  Schedule change for fall: We will be running Accessibility Bytes with four sessions every other week (sessions are the same all week). Mondays/Tuesdays 3pm, Wednesdays/Thursdays 9am.
• Pilot PDF Remediation Service. We are partnering with one department for Fall and hope to expand soon!

PDF flyer: Get Ready for Fall 2024

What is Proactive Accessibility?

Accommodations for accessibility are, by their nature, reactive. Accommodations are individual solutions for individual access barriers. On the other hand, the CTLD and the IAG are promoting proactive accessibility, meaning that we provide training resources for faculty to make all course materials and Canvas pages accessible from the beginning, greatly reducing the need for individual interventions.

The IAG understands (and has personal experience) with the busy workload that faculty hold, and so we are constantly working on efficient ways for faculty to create and remediate their course materials and Canvas pages. Check out the Quick Tips page for ways to start improving accessibility a few minutes at a time.

Visit our Guides & Resources page for basic information such as glossary of accessibility terms, information about what screen readers are, and step-by-step guides on creating accessible content.