Universal Design applied to a classroom is the concept that structuring your course and course materials can simplify, enhance, and make accessible the learning in your classroom. It originally started with physical spaces and continues to expand into many areas…

I have something on my mind that keeps coming up in my conversations around ableism in academia, neurodiversity in higher education, accommodations, universal design for learning (UDL), and topics in this realm. As I work to draft a couple blog…

The interview . . . the chance for face-to-face engagement . . . to assess and share knowledge, skills, excitement, “fit.” We use it for so many reasons including acceptance into a program, a school, a job—to award a scholarship,…

One of the hallmark high-impact practices is engagement in diversity (AAC&U). Many campuses equate this to their study abroad experiences, which could be short-term, semester long, or combination programs. On our campus, Elon University, we have a high level of…

As I challenge us to think about our structures and systems in academia that promote ableism (NCCJ, n.d.) often under the guise of rigor (Ketcham 2022), perhaps introducing some ways to enact change would be helpful. I do know that…

Whether you have heard about Universal Design (UD) before, or this is your introduction, I encourage you to note your first impression when looking at the unique space pictured to the left. To me, it is striking with the glass…

I just attended the 11th IEP (individualized education plan; US Dept of Ed) meeting for my son, and it has me in the land of mixed feelings. As I sit with my experience, I think of the students in my…

Over the summer, I was reintroduced to the literature surrounding peer mentoring as a result of being a co-leader for the Center for Engaged Learning Research Seminar – (Re)Examining Conditions for Meaningful Learning Experiences. My lens through which I often…

Brantmeier (2013) outlines a strategy for adopting a pedagogical approach of vulnerability that frames a co-constructed learning space between the educator and the student that both fosters trust and sustains effective diversity, inclusion, and equity efforts. The vulnerability should be mutual…

I have been thinking a lot lately about the climates we create in higher education that are giving mixed messages to members of our community, particularly around gendered relationships, often characterized by the outdated binary gender labels (Sérráno 2019) still…