This project will develop a SUNY-wide, Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) on online course accessibility. The collaborative team includes instructional designers, disability services professionals, technologists, and faculty members from SUNY Empire State College and Buffalo State College. The MOOC will be in live session and “on demand” format, and modular based for easy updating and excerpting. Participants will earn badges for successful completion.

Content will be customizable to meet training needs across multiple campuses, and can serve as professional development for teaching faculty and staff. Course materials could also be similarly utilized by Open SUNY COTE. By providing faculty with a knowledge base to minimize potential barriers to online learning faced by students with disabilities, this project meets the IITG program mission and vision of providing access for all students. It also acknowledges trends in higher education policy, and the ways in which system training can widely and efficiently support campus needs.

The course provided training on creating and facilitating fully accessible educational experiences to students. Educators who completed the training should be able to create and revise courses, websites, and other educational materials with all students in mind, regardless of their ability or disability levels. As a result, the hope is to decrease risks of possible student drop-out for the reasons of inability to comprehend the material or complete required assessments.

Project Outcome Report