Accessibility & UDL Summit
The Accessibility and Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Summit is a one-day event on Monday, May 19th in Storrs in McHugh Hall. It aims to enhance faculty and staff's knowledge and skills in creating inclusive and accessible learning environments and websites. Funded by the Undergraduate Student Success, eCampus, and the Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD), with support from Information Technology Services (ITS), Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning (CETL), and various faculty and staff members, the summit will feature a keynote speaker from CAST, multiple sessions on accessibility, UDL, and a student panel discussing their experiences with disabilities at the university. In addition, during lunch, we’ll have an opportunity to speak with faculty members who are researching and teaching about disability. There will be information tables from various departments on campus to chat with attendees, such as CSD, OIE and ITS.
A special thanks goes to the group organizing the event: Co-chairs Betsy Guala and Karen Skudlarek, with Erin Scanlon, Laurie McCarthy, Christine Wenzel, Kelsey Keefe, and Andi Kent. As well as all the presenters!
There is limited space for the sessions, so please register for each session you plan to attend. Links are available in each session below or go to the complete session list.
Welcome and Breakfast: 8:00 - 9:00 Location: Lobby between McHugh 101 & 102
Plenary: 9:00 - 9:45 Location: McHugh 102
Essential for Some, Helpful for All
Presenter: Luis Pérez, Director of Disability and Accessibility, CAST
Break: 9:45 - 10:00
Block 1: 10:00 - 11:00
Identifying Barriers and Implementing UDL in Course Design (repeated in block 3)
Presenter: Erin Scanlon, Faculty, Physics
Instructors will be introduced to the Variations Planning Tool (VPT) to critically examine who is being privileged and taxed based on their ability and the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework to identify and guide implementation and inclusive instructional practices.
Introduction to Neurodiversity
Presenter: Liam McDermott, Post Doc, Physics
This will be a discussion on neurodiversity in higher education. It will start with an introduction of the neurodiversity paradigm for research and education and then a discussion will follow about the experiences of neurodivergent students, staff, and faculty in higher education. It will end with an open discussion on how we can make higher education neuroinclusive, both at the student and the faculty/staff level.
Making Digital Instructional Materials and Course Sites Accessible (repeated in block 3)
Presenter: Kelsey Keefe, CETL eCampus
The eCampus Accessibility Checklist is a tool instructors can use to make their course content accessible to students with disabilities. While initially created to aid faculty developing online courses, it can be applied to digital content (e.g., HuskyCT sites, PowerPoint slides, Word documents) in courses of any modality. By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Recognize the prevalence of students with disabilities and assistive technology use in higher education.
- Compare the experiences of navigating inaccessible and accessible HuskyCT course sites with assistive technology.
- Describe how the eCampus Accessibility Checklist items align with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) considerations.
- Recognize eCampus Accessibility Checklist items, their purpose, and resources for implementation.
- Use accessibility tools to identify accessibility issues in HuskyCT course sites and documents.
Introduction to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
Presenter: Karen Skudlarek, IT Accessibility Coordinator, ITS
The individuals that use WCAG vary widely, so to meet the varying needs of this audience, several layers of guidance are provided, including overall principles, general guidelines, testable success criteria, and a rich collection of sufficient techniques, advisory techniques, and documented common failures with examples, resource links, and code.
Introduction to Disability Experience
Presenter: Xian Wu, Faculty, Physics
This session shares key insights from the Courses to Careers (C2C) project—a multi-institutional effort to dismantle ableism in physics through community-centered professional development. Grounded in disability justice, the project brings together physics instructors and disabled students to create inclusive educational practices and explore equitable transitions from college to careers. The session invites reflection, dialogue, and action toward creating a more inclusive academic culture.
Break: 11:00 - 11:15
Block 2: 11:15 - 12:15
Moving Beyond Access: Intermediate UDL
Presenter: Andi Kent, CETL
This session will discuss strategies to create inclusive learning environments that foster engagement, participation, and meaningful learning experiences for all students. Gain practical tools to transform your teaching and enhance learner agency – creating students who are authentic, reflective, and action-oriented.
Introduction to Disability Theory and Models
Color and Images: How to Ensure they are Accessible
Presenters: Karen Skudlarek, ITS
Ensure colors and images on your documents, presentations, websites. etc. are accessible. Topics include color contrast, color blindness, tools for checking color contrast, when to add alt text, and how to write alt text.
How to Navigate Student Accommodations (repeated in block 4)
Presenters: Christine Wenzel, CSD, Megan Nemeroff, CSD, Terran Turetsky, CSD
As a faculty member, you have undoubtedly received an accommodation letter from the Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD). This session will aim to:
- explain the process students and the CSD engage in to request and approve accommodations
- legal mandates that guide the work we do
- break down accommodation letters
- review specific accommodations and applying them to your courses
Attendees will be able to talk with CSD staff to ask specific questions and will be given a faculty handbook to consult as a resource. Accommodations process at the regional campuses will also be discussed
TBD
Presenters: TBD
Lunch: Roundtable Discussions and Demonstration of Assistive Technologies 12:15-1:15
Plenary: Disabled Student Panel (1:15-2:15) McHugh 102
Break 2:15 - 2:30
Block 3 2:30 - 3:30
Identifying Barriers and Implementing UDL in Course Design (repeated in block 1)
Presenter: Erin Scanlon, Faculty Physics
Instructors will be introduced to the Variations Planning Tool (VPT) to critically examine who is being privileged and taxed based on their ability and the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) framework to identify and guide implementation and inclusive instructional practices.
Rubrics and Accessible Assessments
Presenter: Sally Chamberland
Grading rubrics are an assessment tool that helps instructors and students focus attention on the important aspects of an assignment. Rubrics promote grading practices that are consistent and free from bias. Rubrics evaluating students on course learning objectives provide more flexibility for the instructor, student, and assignment. This introductory workshop explores the elements of a rubric, methods to design rubrics, and how to integrate your course learning objectives.
By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:
- Identify the value and role of rubrics in measuring student learning
- Recognize the steps in creating a rubric
- Connect rubrics with outcomes and learning data
4. Identify an assignment in your course that could use a rubric and draft the criteria
Register for this session in FINS.
Making Digital Instructional Materials and Course Sites Accessible (repeated in block 1)
Presenter: Kelsey Keefe, CETL
The eCampus Accessibility Checklist is a tool instructors can use to make their course content accessible to students with disabilities. While initially created to aid faculty developing online courses, it can be applied to digital content (e.g., HuskyCT sites, PowerPoint slides, Word documents) in courses of any modality. By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Recognize the prevalence of students with disabilities and assistive technology use in higher education.
- Compare the experiences of navigating inaccessible and accessible HuskyCT course sites with assistive technology.
- Describe how the eCampus Accessibility Checklist items align with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) considerations.
- Recognize eCampus Accessibility Checklist items, their purpose, and resources for implementation.
Use accessibility tools to identify accessibility issues in HuskyCT course sites and documents.
Note: This session is also available in Block 1 from 10AM - 11AM.
10 ways to Improve your Website Accessibility and Tools to Check Website Accessibility
Presenter: Karen Skudlarek
Creating an accessible website is easier than you think, and it’s a smart business decision. But mostly, it’s the right thing to do. In this session we’ll dive into creating accessible website.
Collaborating for Access: Working Effectively with Interpreters, Captioners, and Tech Tools
Presenter: Audrey Silva and Keri Darling (UCIS)
Ensuring accessible communication is essential for inclusive learning and engagement. Knowing how to effectively support ASL interpreting and live captioning (CART) services isn’t always intuitive. This interactive workshop offers practical guidance for faculty, staff, event organizers, and campus partners on how to collaborate with communication access providers before, during, and after an event or class session. Participants will learn the differences between ASL and CART services, when and how to request them, and how to avoid common mistakes that can impact access.
As our community becomes more proactive about accessibility planning (a great step forward!), we’ll also address the reality of limited resources and explain how requests are prioritized. When live ASL or CART services are not available, we’ll share best practices and recommended tools for enabling auto-generated captions and building in baseline accessibility. Whether you're new to these services or looking to refine your approach, you’ll leave with actionable strategies to make your events and programs more inclusive and communication-friendly.
Break 3:30 - 3:45
Block 4 3:45-4:45
Supporting Disabled Graduate Students Outside the Classroom
Presenter: Erin Scanlon, Faculty Physics
Graduate students hold dual roles - as employees and students. This session will focus on best practices to support disabled graduate students in research and teaching (outside of their learning environment).
How to Navigate Student Accommodations (repeated in block 2)
Presenters: Christine Wenzel, CSD, Megan Nemeroff, CSD, Terran Turetsky, CSD
As a faculty member, you have undoubtedly received an accommodation letter from the Center for Students with Disabilities (CSD). This session will aim to:
- explain the process students and the CSD engage in to request and approve accommodations
- legal mandates that guide the work we do
- break down accommodation letters
- review specific accommodations and applying them to your courses
Attendees will be able to talk with CSD staff to ask specific questions and will be given a faculty handbook to consult as a resource. Accommodations process at the regional campuses will also be discussed.
Creating Accessible STEM Documents
Creating Accessible Word, PowerPoint, and PDF Files
Presenter: Karen Skudlarek, ITS
This workshop is designed for anyone who creates documents, including Word documents, PDFs, presentations, and online content. This course prioritizes core accessibility principles and provides a basic understanding of creating and repairing accessible document.
TBD
Presenter: TBD