Summary
Through a Center-led workshop, Spokane faculty explored research, real scenarios, and practical strategies to strengthen accessibility culture across their classrooms.
When Dr. Stephanie Cawthon, Executive Director of the National Disability Center for Student Success, facilitated our first online accessibility workshop at Spokane Community Colleges, something remarkable happened. Faculty members who typically handle accommodation requests in isolation found themselves in genuine dialogue about the gray areas, the judgment calls, and the human dimensions of supporting disabled students.
Reframing Disability: The Foundation
Dr. Cawthon grounded the workshop in a crucial distinction: disability isn’t just a diagnosed condition—it’s a human experience. The data bears this out: 37% of students in their national survey never disclose their disabilities to anyone on campus. When we expand our understanding of disability to include mental health and chronic health conditions, nearly half of students experience some form of disability during their college journey.
This isn’t about paperwork. It’s about recognizing that in every classroom, we have a “hidden population” of students navigating barriers we may never see.
Dr. Cawthon also presented findings from the Center’s collaboration with the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE).
The AHA Moments
“My syllabus is lying to my students”
Perhaps the workshop’s most powerful revelation came when faculty admitted their syllabi were stricter than their actual practices. As one participant confessed: “I think sometimes we write policies in our syllabi that maybe are more strict than what we’d actually do if a student came and talked to you.”
The problem? Some students are too afraid to ask. They read “no late work accepted” and never reach out, while other students feel comfortable advocating for themselves and receive flexibility.
The accessibility imperative: If you’d grant an extension when a student explains their situation, your syllabus should reflect that reality. Honesty in our policies is an accessibility issue.
Community colleges are leading the way
Recent research from National Disability Center for Student Success reveals that faculty at technical training programs and two-year colleges reported higher confidence in implementing accessibility strategies than their four-year college counterparts. They also perceived stronger institutional support for accessibility.
As one of our mentors said about this finding: “Absolutely, hands down, not surprised. Community colleges can teach everybody something.”
Real Scenarios, Real Conversations
Scenario 1: The Week 8 Email
A student misses weeks 5-8 due to mental health challenges, then requests to submit all missing work by finals week. It’s their last course before graduation.
What emerged in discussion:
- Proactive outreach matters: Faculty committed to systematic check-ins after missed assignments, not waiting for week 8
- Mental health is health: The diagnosis doesn’t matter as much as: Can they catch up? What support do they need?
- Advising as infrastructure: Alerting academic advisors creates institutional backup, helps coordinate across courses, and prevents students from drowning in makeup work
- Institutional options matter: Knowing about instructor-initiated withdrawals (Z grades), incompletes, and financial aid implications expands the solution space
The nuance: In sequential courses like math, four weeks isn’t just four weeks—it’s foundational content. Several math faculty noted the need for honest conversations about feasibility, not just permission.
Scenario 2: The 3-Hour Lab Challenge
A student with visual processing difficulties requests breaks during a 3-hour field lab and asks if they could cap it at 2 hours when needed.
What emerged in discussion:
- Modality matters: Could some visual tasks be converted to auditory or tactile formats?
- Processing takes time: One student needs 6-8 hours longer to process content auditorily—meaning less time for the actual assignment
- Universal design questions: If shortening the assignment works, should everyone benefit from a more focused task?
- Logistical realities: Lab space constraints and scheduling make flexibility complicated
The breakthrough insight: One faculty member realized they could offload preparatory work before lab, reducing cognitive load during the intensive hands-on time.
Five Practical Strategies That Emerged
1. The “How Are You?” Comment
When grading and noticing missing assignments, one instructor writes in the Canvas comment box: “[Student name], how are you doing? Can you complete this as soon as possible?” This simple check-in often prompts students to explain what’s happening—before week 8.
2. The Makeup Work Day
Offer everyone in the class one day at semester’s end to submit missing work. This addresses equity concerns while providing flexibility without requiring disclosure.
3. Labor-Based Grading
One instructor shifted to complete/incomplete grading focused on meeting learning outcomes rather than punching time clocks. “It’s about completing the assignment, not the hours it takes.”
4. The Accommodations Letter Follow-Up Email
After receiving accommodation letters, proactively email students: “How are you doing? Is the course content accessible and easy to understand?” Not all students will respond, but the invitation matters.
5. Multimodal Materials Repositories
One geology/geography faculty member provides materials in “basically every modality.” The upfront lift is significant, but it supports all students and eliminates constant retrofitting.
The Call to Action: Create Conversation Spaces
The workshop’s most persistent question came at the end: “How do we keep these conversations going?”
Not just with students who bring accommodation letters. Not just in one-off professional development. But as ongoing dialogue among colleagues about:
- The gap between our written policies and our actual values
- What we really need students to achieve versus what’s tradition
- How to balance flexibility with rigor
- When to involve advisors, counselors, and disability services
- What the pandemic taught us about who accessibility serves (everyone)
Dr. Cawthon emphasized: “There’s gray area with accessibility, and we have a lot of discretion on how we can respond.” That discretion shouldn’t be exercised in isolation.
Where to Start
This week:
- Review your syllabus for honesty: Does it reflect what you’d actually do?
- Check captions on your videos (auto-captions aren’t adequate without review)
- Email students who submitted accommodation letters to check in
- Finish grading with “How are you?” comments on missing work
This semester:
- Have a conversation with a colleague about a real scenario
- Connect with your disability services office to learn what’s working on campus
- Consider one universal design change that would help all students
This year:
- Build a repository of multimodal materials
- Redesign one course element to reduce retrofitting
- Create a faculty learning community around accessibility
The goal isn’t perfection. It’s creating spaces where faculty can think together about the human beings in our classrooms—including the 37% who never disclose—and design learning experiences that work for their beautifully diverse brains and bodies.
Interested in bringing this accessibility workshop to your campus? Download “The Accommodations Conversation: A Faculty-to-Faculty Workshop” kit to guide meaningful faculty conversations and practical action.
