Online learning provides extensive opportunities for individuals with disabilities to enroll in degree and certificate programs. However, accessibility must be central to online course development since this can have a profound effect on student engagement, academic performance, and completion rates. This article provides a unique perspective on accessibility in online learning. One current online student and three alumni of online programs provide video self-introductions, an overview of their online experience, and strategies for increasing student success in online courses and programs for students with disabilities. Strategies are also shared for integrating accessibility as a critical component into faculty development to ensure accessibility goes beyond the office of disability services and becomes an integral part of online teaching, learning, and assessment.
Using data from 22 in-depth interviews with e-learning accessibility researchers, disability specialists, instructional designers, higher education administrators, and disabled current and former higher education students, a strategic model of e-learning accessibility for disabled college students is developed. Collaboration, including interviews with experts and students, provided an underlying fabric in this study and highlights the need for interdepartmental and interdisciplinary support and communication when developing an accessibility culture. In understanding the opinions, perceived needs, and outright demands of experts and students on the topic of e-learning accessibility, a grounded theory approach resulted in a spectrum of views that was instrumental in developing a framework of which nascent e-learning programs could utilize as a new foundation and established e-learning programs could implement as an inherent aspect of the institution’s culture. Recommendations—including developing e-learning accessibility as part of the culture of the institution, with a focus on collaboration, program evaluation and outcomes assessment—are presented.
Project management theory provides an organized, cost-effective approach to providing an accessible e-learning environment. Such a collaborative project has the opportunity to bring together such professionals as instructional designers, disability services staff, and institutional researchers. Accessibility as an afterthought is a costly approach, and disabled students are a large enough minority to seek equality of opportunity. E-learning accessibility empowers the individual by providing educational content in formats that not only encourage collaboration and learning, but also reduce frustration and develop a sense of inclusiveness. A project manager who understands the importance of e-learning accessibility will be able to grow the project from the ground up in a manner that empowers the disabled, while benefiting all learners.
Faculty, administrators, businesses, accrediting agencies, and other institutions concerned with higher education quality must act to provide a framework for international higher learning standards, particularly concerning e-learning and access in developing countries. Higher education internationalization efforts will continue through the use of IT, increased mobility, the knowledge economy, and an integrated world economy (Altbach & Knight, 2007). Global accreditation will help to assure quality and increase options to improve access. A global accreditation model would provide the impetus for a knowledge-oriented global community that provides access to students in developing countries, as well as traditional and non-traditional learners. The chapter examines key forces shaping the transformation and globalization of higher education, international entities taking a global approach to quality assurance and accreditation, and key concepts in development and implementation of quality assurance at the global level. Finally, the chapter concludes with future implications in the ongoing development of global accreditation.
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