Ensuring Equal Access
Ensuring equal access to educational opportunities for all students is a shared responsibility. Creating and sustaining accessible curricula and learning environments is the particular province of the faculty. The College is committed to ongoing professional development for faculty in terms of universal design principles and inclusive pedagogy. The Center for Faculty and Curricular Development offers workshops and programming throughout the year.
Additional Resources:
Model Syllabus Statement
Bard College is committed to inclusion and providing equal access to all students; we uphold and maintain all aspects of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), the ADA Amendments Act of 2008, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. If a student with a disability wishes to request accommodations, they must register with Disability and Access Services (DAS). Any information regarding a student’s disability will remain confidential. Requests for accommodations should be made as early as possible to ensure adequate time for coordination and planning. Please note that accommodations are not retroactive and may require advanced notice to implement.
If you are already registered and have an existing accommodation plan with DAS, request that the office forward your accommodation letter to the appropriate faculty.
If you experience any unforeseen access barriers in this course, or have disability-related or accessibility questions, please contact DAS for a confidential discussion: [email protected].
Universal Design Checklist
Accessibility at Bard is committed to supporting inclusive pedagogy with tools such as the universal design checklist for digital materials.
Make Your Meetings More Accessible
As you meet with students or colleagues, consider access barriers to your office or meeting location. We encourage you to add an accessibility statement to the standard footer of your email messages. For example: “My second-floor office may be physically inaccessible to people with mobility-related disabilities. Please let me know if you would like to meet in an alternate location.”
You may also add the following to your signature line and request clear masks from Disability Access Services in the event a student requests that you use one. “I recognize that masks may be a barrier to communication. If you need me to do so, please request that I switch to the clear, protective masks we have readily available at Bard.”
Faculty Resources
Disability Access Services (DAS) determines a student’s eligibility for accommodations and creates an accommodation plan, but faculty are often at the forefront of implementing classroom accommodations. Accommodations are arranged on an individualized, case-by-case basis, to allow a student with a disability equitable access to the College, including a course or program of study. An accommodation cannot fundamentally alter any essential requirements from a course or program of study; faculty are integral in the interactive process to determine the reasonableness of an accommodation. If you have any concerns or questions about accommodations, please contact us.
Bard Accessible Document Converter
On-Demand File Conversion for Accessible Documents
Bard SensusAccess is a new, on-demand file conversion service that helps Bard students, staff, and faculty convert digital materials into alternate formats, such as audio books, e-books, digital large-print and Braille. This service improves the accessibility and readability of your digital documents.
Contact
For more information about accessibility for Bard College academics and faculty support contact:
Deirdre d'Albertis, Dean of the College
845-752-7420
[email protected]