University of Arkansas at Little Rock

The hurdles disability service offices face in providing professional development to faculty are well known. Students are often aware of the uncertainty faculty feel, and are therefore hesitant to disclose their disabilities or request accommodations. PACE 3 will provide faculty with tools to help them reach all students utilizing principles of Universal Design for Instruction.

PACE 3 will follow two successful model demonstration grant projects at UALR that focused on educating a core group of 90 academic department chairs and faculty who, as members of the Faculty Resource Council on Disability, serve as a resource to other faculty (PACE 1); and on guiding faculty to make changes in their courses and departmental processes based on principles of Universal Design (PACE 2). These projects have had a positive impact on the campus culture, but as with any large institution, permanent and systemic change takes a long time. Faculty and administrators who participated in these projects will assist in this process by sharing their successes with other faculty.

PACE has built a strong reputation on campus, as well as throughout the state, and staff will not need to waste precious time getting established. PACE 3 is in an ideal position to build on earlier successes locally, and to disseminate models, products, and resources nationwide. It will implement models in two separate but sometimes overlapping areas.

Objective 1 will target faculty and administrators who play key roles in the information technology infrastructure on campus, with the outcome of increased usability and accessibility of software applications, web information, online instruction, and hardware. Playing the role of facilitator, staff will

1. bring together parties involved in their own separate spheres of technology;
2. work to solve common problems or problems that are separate pieces of the larger picture; and
3. provide individualized technical assistance.

Objective 2 will target faculty and administrators at UALR as well as a minimum of 8 other postsecondary institutions in Arkansas. Staff will guide faculty through the process of modifying courses and departmental functions such as websites and labs, and will provide professional development to faculty and academic administrators.

Products, including a web-based training tool on Universal Design and replication guidelines, will be developed and disseminated. An external evaluator will provide assessment results throughout the project so that changes can be made to improve the process during the three years.

This project will work with a diverse faculty that teaches in a wide range of disciplines. It will reach a diverse student population on this urban campus and throughout this rural state. The interest and potential are here to achieve a high level of excellence on the part of many UALR faculty in successfully teaching students with disabilities, as will be evidenced by increased retention and graduation rates, and through feedback provided by students and faculty.

Objectives

Objective One

Develop and implement a model, utilizing principles of Universal Design, for providing technical assistance and increasing quality assurance measures related to the accessibility of information technology.

Activities:

• Provide technical assistance to faculty, staff, students and administrators in assessing the accessibility of websites, IT products, and online course content campus-wide, and in the use of assistive technology.
• Develop a model for increasing and maintaining expertise on the campus in positions that play a key role in decision-making related to web and IT accessibility.
• Convert sections of previously developed web accessibility products to modules that can be easily integrated into web design and other information technology courses.
• Collaborate with an existing campus project in the development of an accessible course management tool and an accessible electronic portfolio application.

Objective Two

Provide training and assistance to faculty and administrators to improve their ability to effectively teach students with disabilities and to utilize principles of Universal Design.

Activities:

• Collaborate as a team with faculty trained in Universal Design during PACE 2 and 3 to implement principles of Universal Design as applied to postsecondary education in at least 12 selected academic departments.
• Develop and deliver ongoing training and technical assistance to members of UALR’s Faculty Resource Council on Disability (FRCD).
• Provide Just-In-Time training to faculty and administrators to increase participation and training effectiveness.
• Disseminate resources and products developed by this project and previously funded projects to other postsecondary institutions.