Resources for Faculty/Staff

Sample Syllabus Statement:

JMU abides by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act, which mandate reasonable accommodations be provided for students with documented disabilities. If you have a disability and may require some type of instructional and/or examination accommodations, please contact me early in the semester so that I can provide or facilitate provision of accommodations you may need. If you have not already done so, you will need to register with the Office of Disability Services, the designated office on campus to provide services for students with disabilities. The office is located in the Student Success Center, Suite 1202, and you may call 540-568-6705 for more information.

Sign-up for the JMU Accessibility Listserv

An accessibility listserv has been established for those interested in accessibility legislation, trends, tips, tools and discussions on what JMU us or should be doing. To subscribe click here. If you have issues with this please contact Christina Wulf.

Other Resources

JMU Policy 1331 - Disabilities and Reasonable Accommodations
JMU Policy 1324 - Discrimination & Harrassment
JMU Policy 1211 - Information Technology Accessibility
JMU Disability Resource Website - Assistance for faculty and staff with disabilities.
Office of Civil Rights: Auxiliary Aids and Services for Postsecondary Students with Disabilities-- Higher Education's Obligations Under Section 504 and Title II of the ADA - Answers questions about tape recording lectures and other concerns faculty may have about legally required accommodations.
DisABILITY Resources Toolbox (DART) -- APA's Disability Issues Office has developed this DisABILITY Resources Toolbox (DART) as a central location replete with information and tools psychology training directors and faculty can use to better support students with disabilities. Partly as a result of federal legislation, such as Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), students with disabilities are pursuing higher education in increasing numbers. The number of students with disabilities enrolled in graduate psychology programs, in particular, continues to grow. Both psychology faculty and students have expressed the need for information about legal issues, accommodation strategies, and resources for working with students who have disabilities.
Accessible Technology Computer Lab - Computers, software, and equipment to assist with equal access to electronic information.
Do-It Project from the University of Washington - Resources for accommodations and universal design in teaching; DO-IT serves to increase the success of individuals with disabilities in challenging academic programs and careers. It promotes the use of computer and networking technologies to increase independence, productivity, and participation in education and employment.
Harrisonburg Paratransit - Transportation for the mobility impaired
PEPNet 2 (PN2)'s mission is to improve post-secondary outcomes for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, including those with co-occurring disabilities. Among the many resources on this site, there is a discussion of the application of accommodations to practicum or internship experiences. Of particularly interest, this page explores the concept of "reasonableness" in accommodations for these field work requirements.
Student Mental Health and the Law: A Resource for Institutions of Higher Education was developed by mental health experts through The Jed Foundation. The book is available for download as a PDF document.
The National Rehabilitation Information Center's online gateway provides disability and rehabilitation oriented information organized in a variety of formats designed to make it easy for users to find and use.
National Center for Accessible Media: A non-profit R&D organization dedicated to achieving media access equality for people with disabilities.
Penn State Accessibility Site provides an abundance of information about creating accessible websites and online content. The site is the result of a voluntary Resolution Agreement mutually entered into by Penn State and the National Federation of the Blind as part of the U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights Early Complaint Resolution process to resolve a lawsuit brought by the NFB against the university.

Universal Design:

Equity and Excellence in Higher Education: Universal Course Design - Designed by faculty for faculty, providing tools to increase access for all students, including those with disabilities.
Ten Simple Steps Toward Universal Design of Online Courses - Implementing the principles of universal design in online learning means anticipating the diversity of students that may enroll in your course and planning accordingly. These ten key elements will greatly enhance the accessibility and usability of your course for students with and without disabilities.
WebAIM: Web Accessibility In Mind. Expanding the web's potential for people with disabilities. - This site provides comprehensive information and guidance on developing accessible web materials.
Color contrast checker: Accessibility standards require certain levels of contrast between text and background colors. This easy to use tool uses the hexadecimal color codes to approve or fail the contrast levels.
Creating Accessible Infographics: Ted Drake's presentation covers various methods for making your infographics not only accessible, but also shareable. This presentation was developed for the CSUN 2013 conference. The accessible version of this presentation is located here. There are more accessibility presentations available from Ted Drake.
The Mid-Atlantic ADA Chapter's Creating Accessible PDF's.
The National Center on Disability and Access to Education provides general recommendations for creating accessible content in their cheat sheets: