Promoting the Integration of Universal Design into University Curricula (UDUC)

Survey Invite – Companies and Organizations

Help Us Disseminate Employer Version of UDUC Survey

The letter below is an online version of the email we send out to employers and companies to ask their help in disseminating our survey on the benefits of taking accessibility and Universal Design topics in course curricula. (If you are from an academic institution and would like to disseminate this to students and alumni from your campus please use the Higher Education version of the invite).

To disseminate the survey follow the directions outlined in the colleague letter below. If you have any questions contact Howard Kramer at hkramer@colorado.edu or at 303-492-8672.


Colleague Letter

[Download Word Version]

Subject: Please help us to disseminate survey to gauge the usefulness of accessibility and Universal Design topics in college level design and technology courses

Dear Colleague:

We are contacting you because of your or your company’s or organization’s interest in the accessibility and Universal Design of your websites, applications and products or because your company or organization provides accessibility consulting or tools in this area. As part of a grant project for Promoting the Integration of Universal Design into University Curricula (UDUC), we are conducting a survey to gauge the benefits to individuals of taking college level courses that include accessibility and Universal Design topics.

Our goal is to have the survey sent out to current or past students who work in Computer Science, Digital Media, Environmental Design, or other technical or design-related jobs. Please feel to send out the invite below to your current employees. You do not need to limit the invite to staff who may have a particular interest in accessibility or Universal Design.

Also, you are welcome to disseminate this email to individuals at other companies that you think would have an interest in distributing this survey.

More information on the study can be found in the employee invite below. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at hkramer@colorado.edu or 303-492-8672.

Sincerely,
Howard Kramer, PI, UDUC

[Technology or design professional survey invite:]

Dear Technology or Design Professional:

The URL below points to a survey for individuals who have taken Computer Science, Digital Media, Environmental Design, or other technical or design-related courses while in college or university. The purpose of this survey is to gauge the usefulness of accessibility and Universal Design topics in college curricula. (Note: these terms are explained below and within the survey). All responses are anonymous.

If you are a student or past-student who has taken a technology or design course, please consider taking the survey at this URL:

[https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/5141262/Universal-Design-Accessibility-Topics-in-College-Curriculum]

Note your responses from the survey will not be shared with your employer or with any other institution. This survey is part of a project for Promoting the Integration of Universal Design into University Curricula (UDUC). It is partly funded by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

If you have any questions, please contact Howard Kramer at 303-492-8672 or hkramer@colorado.edu.

Sincerely,
Howard Kramer, PI, UDUC

Definitions:

Accessibility

Accessibility refers to the design of products, devices, services, or environments for people with disabilities. The concept of accessible design ensures both “direct access” (i.e. unassisted) and “indirect access” meaning compatibility with a person’s Assistive Technology (for example, a wheelchair or computer screen readers). [1]

Universal Design

Universal design is the design of products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design. The intent of universal design is to simplify life for everyone by making products, communications, and the built environment more usable by as many people as possible at little or no extra cost. Universal design benefits people of all ages and abilities. [2]

[1] https://www.disabled-world.com/disability/accessibility/
[2] https://projects.ncsu.edu/design/cud/about_ud/about_ud.htm