In-Class Accessibility Expectations and Recommendations

In-Class Lectures

• Recommendation: Provide an outline of class lectures to all students in advance of the class meeting. These outlines should, at a minimum, highlight the testable topics that will be covered in that class. In addition, consider any testable material that is covered in class that was not planned and outlined be reinforced in a follow-up announcement.
• Recommendation: For all regularly-used diagrams, pictures, and other visual components of a class, have digital versions prepared ahead of time and distribute them in time for class to augment or replace hand-drawn versions on the board.
• Recommendation: Present new or technical vocabulary in a handout, digitally, or on the board.
• Expectation: In-class visual text sources should meet minimum standards for visibility:
  • Whiteboards: Use high contrast markers (black, blue and red recommended) unless other colors are necessary.
  • Blackboards: Use high contrast chalk (white or yellow recommended) unless color is necessary.
  • Whiteboard and Blackboards: Use appropriate-sized letters (2” minimum height and then 1” additional per 10' of usable classroom size beyond 20').
  • PowerPoint: Use high contrast colors and do not use font sizes below 18 pt. Use Sans Serif fonts (Arial). The projected size of your PowerPoint text should conform to the same standards as that for whiteboards. Because there is a dynamic relationship between screen size, projector distance and resolution, and font size, you will have to judge your PowerPoints in the classroom and be prepared to adjust font size if necessary.
  • All content presented visually: Narrate/describe what is written on the blackboard/whiteboard/PowerPoint or other format. Describe images and charts as you work through the material in class. Enlarge text as needed.
• Expectation: All important, content-bearing images that are regularly used are available in a digital format whether or not they are generally provide to students in that format. This is necessary to ensure timely accommodation that meets the “same time” standard.
• Expectation: In classrooms large enough to require use of a microphone, use the microphone provided.

In-Class Discussions

• Recommendation: Rephrase or repeat student questions and comments when addressing them for the group when you are lecturing in any classroom.
• Recommendation: If the class has important discussion, especially if the discussion deals with testable material, consider following up with an email/announcement after class.
• Expectation: Rephrase or repeat student questions and comments when addressing them for the group when you are lecturing in a room that requires a microphone and the student with the question/comment is not provided a microphone.

In-Class Media

• Recommendation: Provide a digital version of a transcript for any video or film in advance of showing them in class. If a transcript is not available, provide a summary that includes all testable information of the video/film in advance.
• Recommendation: Only show videos that have accurate and available captions.
• Expectation: Preview captions used in in-class video to ensure accuracy and to assess size of caption text (see text size requirements explained above). If the captions are not accurate, don't use them. If the captions are too small for the size room you are in, alert students at the start of class that those who plan to read the captions may want to sit in the front of the class.

Assessments and Exams

• Recommendation: Create and provide digital versions of all exams and assessments as an option.
• Recommendation: Supply study questions that demonstrate both the content and the format of upcoming tests. Explain what would be considered a good answer and why.
• Recommendation: When a test is not designed to measure students' basic skills, allow appropriate tools such as a calculator, scratch paper, or a dictionary for exams.
• Expectation: Have a digital version of each test/assessment available.

Course Communication

• Recommendation: Maintain digital copies of all content provided to students as an archive in the associated Blackboard course shell.
• Recommendation: Provide course syllabus at least two weeks before class begins through Banner and/or Blackboard.
• Recommendation: Communicate with students in a digital/accessible way that also keeps a record of those communications (We recommend Blackboard's Announcement features, which will both send an email and provide that announcement on the course home page.)
• Expectation: Maintain copies of all content provided to students.
• Expectation: With the support of Instructional Design and Technology and the Office of Disability Services, archive all accommodated materials that exists in a digital format within the class's associated Blackboard shell.
• Expectation: Provide the course syllabus online in Blackboard, in an accessible format

Guest Speakers and Students Providing Class Content