#42989
Speaker(s)
- Terisa ODowd, Instructional Accessibility Designer, Texas Woman's University
Session Details
- Length of Session: 1-hr
- Format: Lecture
- Expertise Level: All Levels
- Type of session: General Conference
Summary
What started as my university's participation in a 24-hour global accessibility event grew into a scalable, faculty-led challenge model that drives sustained WCAG 2.1 AA improvements. This session shares how structured, weekly micro-challenges, incentives, and just-in-time support moved faculty from awareness to action. Attendees will explore a replicable framework for engaging instructors in meaningful accessibility work across disciplines.
Abstract
As higher education institutions work toward WCAG 2.1 AA compliance deadlines, many struggle to move faculty from awareness to sustained accessibility action. Traditional approaches, such as one-time workshops, static resources, or compliance mandates, often fail to produce meaningful change at scale.
This session presents a practical, field-tested model developed at Texas Woman’s University that transforms accessibility work into a structured, faculty-driven initiative. What began as participation in a Global Fix Your Content Day—a 24-hour international effort—resulted in 60 faculty remediating 402 course files in a single day. More importantly, this event kicked off a multi-week “Fix Your Content Challenge” that kept people engaged and broadened the impact across disciplines.
The model is grounded in simple but powerful principles: focusing on one accessibility issue at a time, reducing cognitive overload, providing consistent reinforcement, and offering just-in-time support through live sessions with instructional designers. Weekly mini-challenges (e.g., alt text, headings, links, tables, captions) allowed faculty to build skills incrementally while improving real course materials. We supported participation through recognition, incentives, and cross-campus collaboration.
Attendees of this session will learn about the behavioral and structural elements that made this initiative successful, including strategies for increasing faculty buy-in, maintaining engagement over time, and adapting the model to different institutional contexts—regardless of LMS or accessibility tools used.
This session goes beyond “what to fix” to focus on “how to get faculty to fix it,” providing a scalable, adaptable framework for institutions aiming to meet accessibility compliance goals while fostering a culture of inclusive teaching.
Keypoints
- Faculty engagement improves when accessibility work is broken into small, focused tasks.
- Sustained accessibility gains require structured support, not one-time training.
- Challenge-based models can scale accessibility efforts across institutions.
Disability Areas
All Areas
Topic Areas
Accessible Course Design, Campus & System-wide initiatives, Faculty Development & Support, Uncategorized
Speaker Bio(s)
Terisa ODowd
Terisa O’Dowd is an Instructional Accessibility Designer at Texas Woman’s University with over 20+ years of experience in education, instructional design, and faculty development. She specializes in digital accessibility, Universal Design for Learning, and scalable faculty training models aligned with WCAG standards. She leads campus-wide accessibility initiatives and has developed innovative programs to support faculty in creating inclusive online learning environments. She frequently speaks at national conferences on accessibility and artificial intelligence in education. Terisa holds a Ph.D. in Curriculum and Instruction from Texas Tech University and is an IAAP-certified professional in Accessibility Core Competencies.