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

Survey Invite – Higher Education

Help Us Disseminate Higher Ed. Version of UDUC Survey

The letter below is an online version of the email we send out to faculty and other individuals to ask their help in disseminating our student survey on the benefits of taking accessibility and Universal Design topics in course curricula.

(If you would like to disseminate this survey to employees at a company or to colleagues at your or another organization please use the employer 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 interest in web accessibility and Universal Design or because of your interest in teaching about these topics. 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 students of taking college level courses that include accessibility and Universal Design topics.

Our goal is to have the survey sent out to current or recently graduated students by departments or colleges that have a focus on Computer Science, Digital Media, Environmental Design, or other technical or design-related programs. If possible, please ask your department or school to send out the student survey invite (see below) to current students and recent graduates (up to 3 years since graduation) from the program.

If this is not possible, please consider sending out the student invite to students who have taken and completed your courses; and passing along this email to fellow faculty (this can be any faculty within or outside of your university) who teach courses in the areas described above.

More information on the study can be found in the student 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


Student Survey Invite

Dear Student:

The URL below points to a survey for students who have taken Computer Science, Digital Media, Environmental Design, or other technical or design-related courses. 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 who has taken a technology or design course, please consider taking the survey at this URL.

[https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/5141286/Universal-Design-Accessibility-Topics-in-College-Curriculum]

Note your responses from the survey will not be shared with your school 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