Instructors collaborate with faculty and staff to make learning accessible to all students.
Students are not required to contact Disability Services to discuss means of access. You may have students with a disability in your class who anticipate equal access as provided under Federal laws and campus policy. Please contact your department chair for processes and funding to incorporate principles of universal design and ensure content is accessible to the broadest audience.
Campus policy requires ALL audio-visual material used in class to be captioned. Uncaptioned items may not be used in a class when a student registered for the course will be denied equal access to that material.
Please plan ahead as having items captioned generally takes a minimum of 6 – 8 weeks: we must first obtain permission and then submit the item with the captioning request.
Disability Services only pays for captioning items to ensure accessibility for a student connected with our office.
OCR provides accessibility for people using various screen navigation systems and screen reading programs. We encourage all materials at Stout be accessible by processing all documents (syllabi, assignments, readings, postings, etc.) prior to posting them on the electronic course delivery system (D2L, Learn @ UW-Stout, et. al).
How to OCR documents:
- Use only “clean” originals to scan
- Open the document in Adobe Acrobat Pro
- Select "Edit PDF"
- Each page should automatically be converted to recognizable text
- Click Save As PDF
- Please post this OCR version of the PDF in your online content
Please ensure that all images are developed in an HTML or XHTML document so you can include the alternative attribute (also referred to as alternative text or alt. text). Creating your documents in this format conforms to accessibility standards.
Alt text provides a description of images to ensure that individuals using screen reading software have access to the material content of the image.
Some excellent resources for creating alt text:
When a student signs up for an exam in our office, the instructor should receive an "Exam/Quiz Request Form." Please submit this form along with a hard copy of the exam and related materials to Disability Services (120 University Library) or email to disabilityservices@uwstout.edu at least one business day prior to the scheduled exam.
Please Submit Answers to the Following Questions:
- How much time is the class given to take the exam/quiz?
- How would you like the exam returned: campus mail or instructor pick-up?
- What materials, if any, may be used during the assessment? (please be specific: all notes, a non-graphing calculator, etc.)
- Are there any other instructions or materials required for our office to proctor the exam?
Disability Services expects students testing in our office to take the assessment in an online format if students in the class are taking it online.
Hard copies of the exam are required by our office when proctoring online assessments. They are a redundancy should technical difficulties occur or if they're the student's only means of equal access.
Online assessment considerations:
- The Lock Down Browser creates inaccessibility for students who use screen navigation systems or screen readers as a means of equal access since these programs need to be open and running in order for students to read the quiz or exam.
- Randomization does not provide equal access. Do not randomize this student's online quizzes/exams
- Ensure that time reflects the student's Letter of Access time allowance (time and one-half or double)
- Students may provide their instructors with a letter of access outlining their accommodations
- Please respect the student’s privacy and confidentiality concerning this letter.
- Accommodations allow means for equal access: not all students will opt to use their accommodation(s) in a particular class. It is the adult learner’s discretion to decide when to make use of the accommodation(s).
- We are happy to talk with instructors about the implementation of accommodations and any concerns you have surrounding a student’s means of equal access.
When notetaking barriers occur, options are available for students with disabilities to ensure equal access to course information. Peer Notetakers are assigned to provide a copy of classroom notes to a classmate.
- Instructors will be given a peer notetaker form which contains contact information for the student requesting notes.
- Please ask the class if anyone would be willing to take legible notes for another student in the class. When a potential peer notetaker is identified, please give them the peer notetaker form.
- Be discreet and consider confidentiality; DO NOT announce the student’s name who is requesting notes.
Please include the following approved statement in your course syllabus:
"UW-Stout strives for an inclusive learning environment. If you anticipate or experience any barriers related to the format or requirements of this course please contact the instructor to discuss ways to ensure full access. If you determine that additional disability related accommodations are necessary please contact the Disability Services office for assistance 715-232-2995 or contact the staff via email at disabilityservices@uwstout.edu"
Confidentiality
Disability Services follows strict confidentiality protocols. Your discretion in protecting student’s personal information and rights to privacy is greatly appreciated.