What is Accessibility?

What does it mean to provide information in an accessible way? The goal is simple:

All Students. Same Information. Same Time. Maximum Independence. Minimum Othering.

Accessibility impacts decisions we make ahead of time in an effort to improve everyone’s ability to receive the same information at the same time as anyone else in a class or at another educational event:

• All Students: All students have an equal right to learn and improve themselves.  Educational opportunities should not be designed in a way that systematically underserves individuals or populations of students.
• Same Information: Accessibility begins with the assumption that all information that is shared in a classroom or other educational event is necessary information. If, as the presenter, you think it is important to cover certain material, then it is important that you cover it in a way that all students have access to the same information, and there is not a privileged group who gets more information than others.
• Same Time: When people gather for an educational event, they are there together for the same purpose. It is important that all people have the opportunity to receive the same information at the same time as everyone else.  We don’t want to be in a position where someone has to wait to receive information simply because that person might be different from others in the group.
• Maximum Independence: People like to be able to control their own bodies and experiences without the intervention of others. It is important to design accessible educational experiences in such a way that each person can interact with the material in an independent way, relying on others a little as possible.
• Minimum Othering: People have a right to privacy.  Asking someone to self-identify in a group situation as having an impairment means we are asking people to say “I am different from everyone else.”  Although in an educational setting students with impairments may need to provide medical data to the college or university in order to guarantee they receive legally protected accommodations, this is a process that is private and protects identity and personal information. In a face-to-face setting, it is important not to undo those privacy protections by requesting that people self-identify as having an impairment.