Faculty Resources

Faculty Resources

Instructors play a vital role in ensuring that all students can access and engage with course content. You’ll find information on syllabi considerations and emergency evacuation procedures, as well as links to key resources including:

• OARS Testing Center policies
• Accommodation guidance
• Best practices for creating accessible documents
• Assistive technology tools and strategies
• Universal Design for Learning principles
• Accessibility Insights – Articles, Reports, and Teaching Resources

Explore these resources for practical strategies and tools to promote accessibility in your courses.

As you are building your syllabi, please remember to include a statement about classroom accommodations and disability resources on campus. Please see the example below, if you wish, feel free to cut and paste the text into your syllabus:

STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES

High Point University is committed to ensuring students with disabilities have equal access to all services and benefits at High Point University in accordance with its obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act of 2008 and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. If you require accommodations due to a diagnosed disability, you must register with the Office of Accessibility Resources and Services (OARS) and submit appropriate medical documentation. Typically, following the registration process, a student will engage in an interactive process with OARS to provide a clear understanding of the student’s disability-related functional limitations and how the requested accommodations will provide equal access. OARS staff (in conjunction with HPU faculty members, at times) will determine appropriate individualized accommodations to provide equal access to the student without fundamentally altering the academic or professional standards of the program of study.

Accommodations are not retroactive; therefore, students with approved accommodations should request notifications be sent to instructors at the beginning of a course, or as soon as the student has been approved for accommodations. Students must be able to perform the standards outlined in the course or program of study with or without reasonable accommodations. If a student, with or without reasonable accommodation, cannot satisfy the standards of the program of study, then the student may be separated, discontinued, or dismissed from the program.

For more information regarding the process of requesting and implementing reasonable accommodations, please visit www.highpoint.edu/oars. You may also contact OARS at [email protected] or by telephone at 336-841-9026, for additional information. The Office of Accessibility Resource and Services is located on the 4th Floor of Smith Library.

Please consider the following information and prepare for an emergency evacuation situation with individuals who present in the following ways: 

Assisting those with mobility impairments: 

In the case of an emergency and the need to evacuate the building, please assist the student to the nearest area of refuge.  It is recommended that you become familiar with the nearest area of refuge in your building. Wheelchair evacuation will only be attempted by a trained professional or unless it is necessary as a last resort in a life-threatening situation. 

If located on an upper floor, individuals may be assisted to a stairwell landing to await evacuation or further instructions from Fire/Rescue, Security, and/or Police.  Individuals should contact security at 9111/9112 or police/fire 911 and advise safety personnel of their location.  Students should use the LiveSafe app to contact HPU security and advise safety personnel of their location.  Trained professionals should conduct stairway evacuations of wheelchair users.  Only in situations of extreme danger should untrained people attempt to evacuate wheelchair users.  Moving a wheelchair down stairs is never safe. 

If a person prefers to be removed from their wheelchair, always ascertain the safest method for removal from the individual’s perspective. Consider the number of people needed for assistance, whether to extend extremities, if a seat cushion or pad must be used, whether the individual should be carried forward or backward on stairs, and the need for immediate paramedic assistance upon exiting the building. 

Assisting those who are blind or have visual impairment: 

Tell the person the nature of the emergency and offer to guide the individual by providing an elbow.  Do NOT grasp the person’s arm. 

Give verbal instructions to guide the person through evacuation via the safest route or direction. It is helpful to offer estimated distances and use directional terms. 

As you walk, tell the person where you are and where obstacles are located on the exit route. If possible, someone else should follow behind to protect the individual from being pushed down in the event of crowding. 

When you reach safety, orient the person to their surroundings and ask if they need further assistance. 

If the individual has a service animal, ensure that the animal is not separated from its owner. 

Assisting those who are Deaf or hard-of-hearing: 

Buildings should be equipped with flashing strobe emergency alarms but depending on the level of hearing loss (as well as potential vision loss), individuals with impaired hearing may or may not be able to hear a regular fire alarm or see a flashing strobe emergency alarm. Ensure that the individual is made aware of the emergency situation.  It may be necessary to use alternative warning techniques to gain the attention of individuals with hearing loss.  Turning the lights off and on, using hand gestures, or using a written note are options that may be used to communicate about and during an emergency. 

Interpreter, Transcriber, or Communication Aid

An American Sign Language (ASL) Interpreter will listen to a verbal message and translate the message into sign language. A transcriber uses a speed typing system to record in detail what is spoken. The Communication Aid will receive the message, consider the underlying concepts, ideas, and intended message, and will render an accurate interpretation (whether in written form or sign language), using the same level of vocabulary and grammar as spoken word, but potentially with different phrasing.

Interpreter(s):

• Longer assignments (1.5 hours or more), such as workshops, lectures, conferences, training sessions, stage productions, etc. with continuous interpreting will require a team of at least 2 Interpreters.
• The teaming allows the Interpreters to switch between primary and secondary roles every 15-20 minutes.
• This turn-taking helps avoid physical damage to the Interpreter, such as carpal tunnel or repetitive motion injury, and reduces mental fatigue which may cause a breakdown in the interpreted message.

Transcriber(s)-After Class Notes:

• If you want to have access to the after-class notes of your lectures or if you have any questions about the Transcriber or the transcription services, please contact the Senior Director of the Office of Accessibility Resources and Services at (336) 841-9026.

Communication Aid:

• Everything you say during class will be transcribed or interpreted to provide real-time communication access to the student.
• The student utilizing a Communication Aid will look at the screen or the Interpreter while you or others are speaking. The student may or may not watch the screen/Interpreter continuously.
• Some students who use a Communication Aid prefer not to use their voice to communicate. In these cases, the Communication Aid will voice the student’s questions and comments. Please communicate directly with the student when responding to these questions or comments, not with the Communication Aid who voiced them.
• It may be necessary to repeat or restate what other students in the class say, as it may be difficult for the Communication Aid to hear.
• Communication Aids are there to ensure all parties have equal access to communication. They also assist with helping everyone become accustomed to the process.

Prior to Class

• The Interpreter, Transcriber, or Communication Aid may request information about the situation in advance, such as a syllabus or visual aids. Please give them a separate copy of class materials (e.g., handouts, PowerPoint materials, readings, vocabulary lists, etc.) to assist with preparation of the assignment and to allow them to focus on appropriately rendering the message rather than the handouts.
• They may request to meet before the class begins to determine the best seating arrangements of the Interpreter, Transcriber, or Communication Aid and the student in relation to the Instructor.
• Clarify unique vocabulary, technical terms, acronyms, jargon, lighting, and other needs.
• Direct any questions that you have of the Interpreter, Transcriber, or Communication Aid to that individual prior to the class beginning (or after the class is over). The interaction can become confusing if the Interpreter, Transcriber, or Communication Aid communicates as him or herself AND as the student.

Class Room Consideration

Interpreter

• In the event that the lights are dimmed or turned off, a spotlight or small lamp may be needed to direct light toward the Interpreter to maintain clear visuals.

Transcriber

• If the Transcriber is not physically present, but is providing the service remotely, the student will be responsible for identifying the most ideal seating arrangement.
• In the case of transcription services being provided remotely, the student will likely have a microphone with them in the class to provide audio to the remote Transcriber. The real-time meaning-for-meaning transcript is accessed by the student through a secure URL.

Communication Aid

• The Communication Aid will help arrange the situation so it is conducive for providing the service. The Communication Aid and the student will determine the best seating/standing arrangement for clear communication.
• The Communication Aid may have suggestions regarding lighting so that the student’s line of sight is optimal for viewing their screen or seeing the Interpreter.
• If the lights are turned off or dimmed, ensure that the Communication Aid or screen is still visible.

Communication with an Interpreter, Transcriber, or Communication Aid

• You should communicate directly with the student who uses an Interpreter, Transcriber, or Communication Aid. It is not necessary to say, “Tell him” or “Ask her” when communicating. The Interpreter, Transcriber, or Communication Aid will communicate the message in first person (e.g., “I plan to be there” rather than “He says he plans to be there.”).
• If the Interpreter, Transcriber, or Communication Aid needs to clarify the message or requires more time for the interpretation/transcription, he or she will let you and the student know.
• You should expect that while you are speaking to the student, the student will likely watch the screen, reader device, or the Interpreter in order to receive the message. They may look at you or at the Interpreter/screen while they respond to you.
• A student using an Interpreter, Transcriber, or Communication Aid is only able to look in one place at a time – either at the screen/Interpreter, at you, or at a visual. This means that if the student is going to fully benefit from a demonstration, text, or graphic, which is also explained verbally, the explanation and the visual must be presented one at a time.
• Maintain eye contact with the student, not the Interpreter, Transcriber, or Communication Aid.
• Speak naturally and at your normal pace. The Interpreter, Transcriber, or Communication Aid will let you know if they need you to slow down or repeat.
• Avoid private conversations. Everything spoken in the class will be interpreted/transcribed. The Interpreter, Transcriber, or Communication Aid is not able to censor or edit any portion of the conversation.
• It is inappropriate to ask the Interpreter, Transcriber, or Communication Aid for personal opinions or thoughts on the topic being discussed. The Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct of the Transcription Society and the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf Code of Ethics require impartiality.
• Do not assume the Interpreter, Transcriber, or Communication Aid has prior knowledge of the student, or that they will be with the student for every class.
• The student utilizing the communication service will have the most accurate and necessary information on what arrangements work best for them!

 Circle Size

Privacy Conduct

Interpreter

• The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf Code of Ethics requires that Interpreters keep all information learned while interpreting completely confidential. (Please refer to Code of Professional Conduct – Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (rid.org) as needed.)

Transcriber

• “The Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct of the Transcription Society requires that all transcribers will be competent, impartial, maintain confidentiality at all times and work with integrity.” (Please refer to the Ethics and Code of Professional Conduct – Transcription Society as needed.)

Communication Aid

•  All communication services contracted by High Point University adhere to FERPA (Family Educational Rights & Privacy Act) and their professional code of ethics.
• Communication Aids are not to become involved in any situations for which they are providing services by offering advice, or adding/omitting information to the message.