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You are here: Home » Accessible Course Design, Campus & System-wide initiatives, Faculty Development & Support, Teaching about Accessibility in Curriculum, Uncategorized » Blueprint for the Modern and Accessible Classroom: Curriculum Design

Blueprint for the Modern and Accessible Classroom: Curriculum Design

Scheduled at 11:30 in Penrose II on Thursday, November 19.

#44076

Speaker(s)

  • Martina Svyantek, Senior Manager, Technology Accessibility Program, State of Colorado
  • Zach Clark, Sr. Instructional Accessibility Specialist, Metropolitan State University of Denver

Session Details

  • Length of Session: 1-hr
  • Format: Lecture
  • Expertise Level: All Levels
  • Type of session: General Conference

Summary

Accessibility is often addressed after courses are built, leaving students to navigate accommodations and remediation. This roundtable explores how to move accessibility upstream by designing it into courses and programs from the start, while also creating curriculum focused on accessibility and disability studies. Participants will discuss real-world barriers and leave with a practical action they can take at their institution.

Abstract

Accessibility in higher education is often addressed after a course or program has been designed. Accommodations and remediation can provide essential access, but this reactive approach can place the burden on students to disclose a need, request support, and wait for barriers to be addressed. What would change if accessibility became part of curriculum design from the beginning?

This roundtable explores two related but distinct approaches to curricular accessibility. First, participants will consider how accessibility can be embedded into the design of courses and programs, including decisions about learning outcomes, assignments, pacing, course technologies, and instructional practices. Second, the discussion will examine how institutions can develop and sustain curriculum—courses, certificates, or programs—that treats accessibility and disability studies as subjects of study in their own right.

Co-facilitated by accessibility professionals representing library-based accessibility governance and centralized instructional design support, the session will ground discussion in the practical realities of higher education. Participants will work through scenarios and identify institutional barriers such as time, training, authority, culture, and departmental ownership that can keep accessibility reactive or make accessibility-focused curriculum dependent on individual champions.

Designed for faculty, instructional designers, disability services professionals, accessibility specialists, and academic administrators, this interactive session emphasizes peer discussion and practical strategies rather than a compliance briefing. Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of where accessibility decisions can move upstream within their institution and one specific, low-lift action they can take within their own course, program, or department.

Keypoints

  1. Identify differences between proactive curriculum design and individual accommodations.
  2. Explore approaches to embedding and teaching accessibility within the curriculum.
  3. Identify barriers and practical actions for advancing curricular accessibility.

Disability Areas

All Areas

Topic Areas

Accessible Course Design, Campus & System-wide initiatives, Faculty Development & Support, Teaching about Accessibility in Curriculum, Uncategorized

Speaker Bio(s)

Martina Svyantek

Karen Pellegrin is Senior Program Manager for the State of Colorado’s Technology Accessibility Program, where she leads a collaborative team of accessibility consultants, engineers, and architects helping government entities operationalize accessibility. She brings more than 15 years of experience in web design and administration, accessibility training, graphic design, marketing, and digital accessibility coordination across more than 55 city agencies and departments. Karen’s earlier career in architecture included 2D and 3D design, universal design, human factors, and historic restoration. She also provides digital accessibility consulting, training, and content remediation services to organizations ranging from small design firms to Fortune 500 companies.

Zach Clark

Zach Clark is a Senior Instructional Accessibility Specialist with more than six years of experience in digital accessibility, including accessibility auditing, remediation planning, assistive technology testing, and web content evaluation. He works with accessibility standards and requirements including WCAG, Section 508, and the ADA and has experience developing policies, leading programs, training stakeholders, and guiding cross-functional teams. An educator at heart, Zach spent 10 years teaching at the secondary level before transitioning to higher education. His background in education, training, and coaching shapes his approach to accessibility, helping him translate technical requirements into practical guidance for diverse audiences and support the creation of more accessible and inclusive digital experiences.