Syllabus Statement – Suggestions
A disability may or may not affect the participation of a student in your class. In postsecondary settings, students are the best source of information regarding their unique needs. They are responsible for disclosing their disabilities and requesting accommodations. To create a welcome environment, include a statement on your class syllabus inviting students who require accommodations to meet with you. For example, "If you have a documented disability and wish to discuss academic accommodations, please contact me as soon as possible." It's also a great idea to verbally read this statement out loud on the first day of class.
We reccommend putting both statements into your course syllabi. Feel free to adjust the statement wording for your syllabi as you see fit.
Students with Disabilities (Recommended Syllabus Statement):
In an effort to maximize equity for all college students, confidential assistance and accommodations are provided for students with disabilities. Accommodations may include extended time on testing, testing in a distraction-reduced environment, access to audio books, audio recorders for recording lectures, sign language interpreters, individualized support, and more. You can call the Access & Ability Center at (559) 730 – 3805 or visit our office in North Sequoia, Room 10 (Visalia campus), the Hub (Hanford campus), or the Student Services desk (Tulare campus) to find out more information regarding services for students with disabilities.
Accessibility Statement (Recommended Syllabus Statement):
This course is designed to maximize accessibility to the curriculum, assignments, and content. If any part of the class is not accessible to you (easy to use, obtain, or retrieve), please inform the instructor to discuss possible solutions and/or alternatives.
Download a Sample Accessible Syllabus
Making your course documents accessible will enable students in your course to fully utilize your materials and will help COS to be a truly accessible college. Students depend on your course syllabus for reading and homework assignments; therefore it is crucial that your materials are usable for all students.
Template for an Accessible Course Syllabus (.docx file)
For instructions on how to work with the template and to obtain help, please read the sections below.
Instructions
For Windows and Mac
Please be sure to use the latest version of Microsoft Word. The Template for Creating an Accessible Syllabus is designed for Word versions 2010 and 2013 and for Macintosh 2011.
This template includes the most common features included on a course syllabus. Please feel free to add, remove, or rearrange sections that fit your needs while keeping in mind that there are elements that are required to be on your course syllabus.
Text that is highlighted yellow on this template serves as a placeholder meant to be replaced with your content to fit the needs of your course. Please be sure to replace all of the placeholder information with content that is relevant to your course. .
Instructions for making elements such as hyperlinks and tables accessible are included on the template itself for easy reference:
<THE TEXT THAT IS COLORED RED AND IN BRACKETS IS MEANT TO BE READ AND THEN REMOVED>
Please be aware, if you copy text from another source and paste it on to this template, or if you add any sections, the content may be inaccessible. Please run the Accessibility Checker to correct any identified problems.
Please note, at this time, Word 2011 for the Mac does not offer a mechanism to check for potential accessibility errors and warnings. After you have modified the accessible syllabus template, it is recommended that you examine your finished product using Microsoft's Accessibility Checker using a PC. The accessible syllabus template is compatible between both platforms.
