Resources for Faculty

Faculty Resources

• University Information Technology
• UND Testing Services
• UND Learning Services
• Teaching Transformation and Development Academy (TTaDA)
  • Reach out to TTaDA’s instructional design team to assist with ensuring your course materials and LMS site are fully accessible for all learners
• Exams and Proctoring

Disability Access Statement

Student Disability Resources recommends the following disability access statement be placed in each course syllabus:

The University of North Dakota is committed to providing equal access to students with documented disabilities. To ensure access to this class and your program, please contact Student Disability Resources to engage in a confidential discussion about accommodations for the classroom and clinical settings. Accommodations are not provided retroactively. Students are encouraged to register with Student Disability Resources at the start of their program. More information can be obtained by email UND.sdr@UND.edu or by phone at 701.777.2100. 

Faculty Accommodation Guidance

Amplification

Use amplification when presenting in a classroom, auditorium or other group setting.

Speakers sometimes assume that a strong voice makes amplification unnecessary. Amplification not only makes sound louder, many times it also helps to clarify sound in rooms with poor acoustics or noisy air handling systems. If you need to move around when you are speaking to a group or class, use a portable lapel mic to maintain consistent sound during your presentation.

Most classrooms at UND are equipped with teaching stations that provide instructors with various technologies to enhance student learning. Amplification systems/PA systems provide benefit to students with hearing loss, students with learning disabilities, ADD/ADHD and students who use English as their second language. If the teaching station in your classroom is not equipped with a mic or you need a portable lapel mic, call TTaDA to discuss the needs for your classroom.

Amplification is a teaching tool in the spirit of universal design that will help to create an inclusive learning environment.

Universal Designed Instruction

Universal Design, when applied to a course, ensures full access to the content for most students and minimizes the need for disability accommodations.

A few examples of Universally Designed instruction are:

• Post PowerPoint's, handouts, and assignments in Blackboard before class
• Create accessible PDFs by starting with the text document, then ‘save as PDF’ to maintain accessibility
• Provide presentation visuals with large, bold fonts and high contrast backgrounds
• Use a microphone or other amplification system
• Caption videos and online lectures
• Allow any student the option of extra time to take exams

UNIVERSALLY DESIGNED INSTRUCTION

Captioning

Captioning makes classroom audiovisual material (videos and other media) accessible to many students, including students who are deaf or hard of hearing, and individuals with limited English proficiency or diverse learning styles.

Captioning is the process of converting audio content into text. Captions not only display words as the textual equivalent of spoken dialog or narration, but they also include speaker identification, sound effects, and music description to make the information fully accessible.

Test Accommodations

Changes in the testing environment are a commonly used disability accommodation.

The student will contact you to request test accommodations. You may ask the student to provide their Notification of Disability Accommodations email to verify that the student is registered with Student Disability Resources. The email provides the accommodations recommended by Student Disability Resources.

If the student is testing in your department:

• Discuss details with the student to find a mutually agreed upon testing time and or suitable testing room under department supervision.

If the student is testing at Testing Services:

• Testing Services will contact you to get the test and proctor the exam after the student has scheduled a time to take the exam at Testing Services.
• You will be asked to:
  • Complete the “Faculty Instructions for Accommodated Testing” form for each test delivered to Testing Services. This includes arrangements to deliver and pick up the exam.