The Instructional Environment

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The Instructional Environment

Overview

The instructional environment encompasses the teaching and learning experiences that support students’ academic success. This environment includes the faculty, instructional staff, and learning experiences through which students acquire knowledge and demonstrate learning. Instruction may occur in classrooms, laboratories, online courses, internship and clinical sites, field experiences, advising and mentoring relationships, tutoring sessions, office hours, and other instructional settings.

Instructional decisions influence whether students can meaningfully access course content, participate in learning activities, and demonstrate what they know and can do. Course design, instructional methods, assessment practices, technology, accommodations, and the overall learning climate can either reduce or create barriers for disabled students. Because instruction is central to the educational mission of the institution, creating accessible learning environments is essential to ensuring equitable participation and student success.

When evaluating this environment, institutions should consider how disability access is reflected throughout the teaching and learning process, including instructional methods, learner interaction, assessment, accommodations, instructional technologies, learning materials, and the overall classroom climate. Each of these areas is intentionally broad, so meaningful assessment requires examining specific instructional practices. For example, evaluating instructional methods may include reviewing lectures, discussions, group work, online learning activities, laboratory experiences, textbooks, slide presentations, handouts, videos, and other instructional materials to determine whether they provide equitable access for all learners.

Organizational Capacity Assessment

Before diving into the resources here, you may want to consider taking the following assessment. It will assist you thinking about your campus as a whole in terms of its maturity level when it comes to providing accessible and inclusive instruction.

Take the Organizational Capacity Assessment: Instructional Environment

(All assessments are provided in Alchemer forms.)

Guidelines for Improving Access to Instruction

Creating accessible instruction requires more than providing individual accommodations. It requires institutional leadership, faculty support, inclusive course design, and systems that enable all students to fully participate in learning. The following guidelines can help institutions strengthen their organizational capacity for instructional accessibility.

Leadership and Commitment

  • Make accessible and inclusive instruction an institutional priority.
  • Demonstrate leadership support for teaching practices that anticipate learner variability and reduce unnecessary barriers.
  • Encourage instructional approaches that minimize the need for individual accommodations whenever possible.
  • Clearly communicate that providing access to instruction is a shared institutional responsibility.

Communication

  • Regularly communicate the institution’s commitment to accessible instruction and inclusive course design.
  • Include expectations related to instructional accessibility in faculty guidance, teaching resources, and institutional communications.
  • Recognize and celebrate examples of accessible, innovative and inclusive teaching practices.

Assessment and Accountability

  • Evaluate instructional accessibility as part of institutional quality improvement efforts.
  • Include measures related to accessibility, inclusive course design, and equitable teaching practices in appropriate faculty evaluation and instructional assessment processes.
  • Establish processes for proactively reviewing course content for accessibility.
  • Designate institutional leaders who are responsible for advancing accessible instruction and monitoring progress.

Resource Allocation

  • Allocate sufficient funding, staffing, and time to support accessible course design and faculty development.
  • Ensure faculty have access to instructional designers, accessibility specialists, and disability professionals who can assist with accessible teaching practices.
  • Provide resources to address accessibility barriers that cannot be eliminated through course design alone.

Knowledge and Skills

  • Ensure instructional designers, faculty developers, disability resource professionals, and other support personnel have expertise in accessible and inclusive instructional practices.
  • Provide faculty with the knowledge and skills needed to create accessible course materials, use accessible instructional technologies, and implement effective teaching strategies for diverse learners.
  • Support ongoing professional learning as instructional technologies and accessibility standards continue to evolve.

Policies and Procedures

  • Develop policies and guidance that promote accessible and inclusive course design across the institution.
  • Align institutional policies with legal requirements and recognized best practices for accessibility.

Training and Consultation

  • Integrate accessibility and inclusive instructional practices throughout faculty development programs rather than treating them as stand-alone topics.
  • Provide regular training on accessible course design, instructional technologies, and implementation of accommodations.
  • Ensure faculty have access to consultation when designing courses, selecting instructional materials, or responding to accessibility questions.

Campus Culture

  • Foster a culture in which instructional accessibility is viewed as an essential component of teaching excellence.
  • Encourage collaboration among faculty, instructional designers, disability resource professionals, librarians, information technology staff, and academic leaders.
  • Promote the understanding that accessible instruction benefits all learners and contributes to student success.

Operational Practices

Institutions should establish practices that support accessible instruction throughout the teaching and learning process.

Examples include:

  • Using a learning management system that supports accessibility and is regularly evaluated for compliance and usability.
  • Requiring or encouraging syllabus statements that explain disability access, accommodation processes, and available support services.
  • Providing faculty with guidance on implementing approved accommodations.
  • Making disability resource professionals available to consult with faculty regarding accommodation implementation.
  • Encouraging faculty to provide instructional materials in accessible formats before the start of class whenever possible.
  • Selecting instructional technologies and digital course materials that meet accessibility standards.
  • Reviewing online courses and digital learning content for accessibility before they are offered to students.
  • Providing captioning, transcripts, and other accessible instructional media as standard practice.
  • Designing assessments using principles of accessibility and flexibility whenever appropriate.

Continuous Improvement

Organizations with mature instructional accessibility programs:

  • Integrate accessibility into teaching and learning initiatives
  • Invest in faculty development and instructional support
  • Proactively review courses for accessibility
  • Provide clear guidance and consultation
  • Allocate sufficient resources
  • Continually improve instructional practices to ensure equitable learning opportunities for all students

Resources for Improving Access to Instruction

Designing an Accessible Online Course

This toolkit provides instructors with strategies and resources for creating an online course that is fully accessible. It walks you through all aspects of an online course related to accessibility.

Designing an Accessible Online Course Toolkit

Universal Design in Educational Environments

This resource outlines the principles of universal design as originally crafted and as modified for educational environments. It also provides guidance for applying these principles in higher education courses.

Universal Design in Educational Environments

Creating Accessible Documents

This toolkit will provide you with the basic techniques for creating accessible MS Word documents, MS PowerPoint slides and PDFs. Resources for learning more are also provided.

Creating Accessible Documents

Additional Resources