How can universal design help us focus on our systemic change efforts?

Universal design strategies can help you create products and environments that are welcoming and accessible to all students, staff, faculty, and visitors on your campus. Universal design (UD)can be applied to instruction, services, information technology, and physical spaces, as noted in the figure below.

Instruction

Class Climate
Physical Environments/Products
Delivery Methods
Information Resources/Technology
Interaction
Feedback
Assessment
Accommodation

Services

Planning, Policies, and Evaluation
Physical Environments/Products
Staff
Information Resources/Technology
Events

Information Technology

Procurement/Development Policies
Physical Environments/Products
Information
Input/Control
Output
Manipulations
Safety
Compatibility with Assistive Technology

Physical Spaces

Climate, Aesthetics
Entrances and Routes of Travel
Fixtures, Furniture
Information Resources/Technology
Safety
Accommodation

Universal Design in Education (UDE):

puts high values on both diversity and inclusion.
rests on the definition and principles developed at the Center for Universal Design, http://www.design.ncsu.edu/cud/.
makes products and environments welcoming, accessible, and usable by everyone.
is a process as well as a set of guidelines and strategies for specific applications.
can be implemented in incremental steps. (Burgstahler, 2007a-e)

For more information about UDE, consult The Center for Universal Design in Education at http://www.washington.edu/doit/CUDE/.

Building Capacity

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