Beyond Compliance: Building Accessible and Inclusive Classrooms

Compliance may open the door, but culture invites students in. This episode closes the mini-series by examining how accessibility and inclusion work together and how small, consistent practices can turn compliance into belonging.

We outline practical steps faculty can use now: open with a clear commitment to access, strengthen syllabus language, gather feedback through brief check-ins and midsemester surveys, and act on what students share. Empathy and flexibility expand access to high standards.

If you enjoyed the discussion, subscribe and leave a review. Connect with us  at buffalo.edu/catt or email ubcatt@buffalo.edu.

Transcript

Introduction

Maggie Grady 0:03

Welcome to a special edition of the CATT Teaching Table Podcast, produced by the University of Buffalo's Office of Curriculum, Assessment and Teaching Transformation, otherwise known as CATT, and supported by the Genteel's Excellence and Teaching Fund. I'm Maggie Grady, Instructional Innovation Project Manager with CATT. This Teaching Table miniseries features short episodes designed to help faculty prepare for the upcoming ADA changes taking effect in April. Together we'll explore what these updates mean for teaching and learning at UB and share practical ways to make courses more accessible and inclusive. Joining me in these episodes is Sarah Guglielmi CATT's Instructional Consultant for Accessible and Inclusive Pedagogy. Sarah works closely with faculty to design courses that are usable, inclusive, and aligned with accessibility best practices. So welcome to the final episode of this mini-series. Thank you for joining us, Sarah. You're welcome. It's great to be here and great to wrap up the series. So today we're discussing how to build an accessible and inclusive classroom beyond compliance. So what's the difference between accessibility and inclusion?

Sarah Gugliemi 1:12

Yeah, if we start with accessibility, accessibility does include meeting standards that do ensure equal access, such as the ADA Title II regulations. However, standards don't create culture or experience. Standards won't help a student feel heard and valued. So to create an accessible and inclusive experience and culture for your students, it needs to become part of your teaching philosophy. And faculty can learn how to set the tone and how to be the example of that in their classroom.

Maggie Grady 1:39

So how can faculty start building an accessible and inclusive culture into their courses and classroom experience?

Sarah Gugliemi 1:45

Well, a few small shifts can make a big difference. First, I'd encourage faculty to set a welcoming tone, both verbally and in their syllabus. And if they can get in the habit of verbally stating that you desire to create an accessible and inclusive classroom, if you can do that from day one, that makes a big difference. You can also invite students to contact you if they're struggling with their learning or with any of the learning materials that you've provided. An invitation really goes a long way to open the doors of communication with your students. It can also be helpful to develop an expanded accessible and inclusive statement in your syllabus, and our CATT instructional consultants are available to help you do that. And as I said before, invite feedback often, so not just the first day of class, but as you move throughout the semester. Ask students what's working, what's not working, and take action on their feedback. You can also model empathy and flexibility in your response to students. This demonstrates to your students that you are listening and you do care about their experience. Last, I'd encourage faculty to continue remediating your digital course materials for digital accessibility. Faculty can continue to follow the digital accessibility review checklist on the CATT website. The checklist offers guidance on how to review and remediate your digital materials, including your Word documents, PowerPoint files, your videos, your PDFs, and other digital content. All of this improves student access to your materials on their digital devices.

Teaching Philosophy and Practice

Maggie Grady 3:09

Well, that's certainly making it easier having a checklist and following through with that. So very helpful for providing that for us. So it reinforces that creating an accessible and inclusive classroom is a combination of teaching philosophy and teaching practice. Can you expand a little bit upon that?

Sarah Gugliemi 3:26

Yeah, and in addition to that, faculty really do set the tone as they lead by example and invite their students to share their experience.

Maggie Grady 3:33

Sarah, thank you for sharing your insights throughout this series. You've helped us see accessibility and inclusion not as separate efforts, but as a core part of great teaching.

Sarah Gugliemi 3:43

Yeah, thanks, Maggie. It's been a pleasure, and I hope these conversations inspire our faculty to take small, consistent steps that can improve their accessible and inclusive practice and make learning better for all their students.

Maggie Grady 3:55

Very well said. And thank you to our listeners and thank you to Sarah for joining us for this five-part accessible and inclusive pedagogy series. Remember, accessibility just isn't about compliance. It's about creating culture where every student can participate, learn, and most important, succeed. If you've enjoyed today's discussion, be sure to subscribe and leave us a review. We'll be back soon with more conversations on teaching, learning, and technology. Until then, keep exploring new ways to reach and inspire your students. As always, be sure to connect with us online at buffalo.edu slash catt, that's C-A-T-T, or email us at ubcatt@ buffalo.edu.