When access to information or materials depends on access to equipment, there will be problems for all students who can't get to, or use, the necessary equipment. Similarly, for students to benefit from information in libraries, they need to be able to know how to access it and be able to access it. There are also issues about what volume of information and teaching materials students can make use of. Most students welcome advice about what staff think are the most important or most useful materials for them to look at. Clearly the more information and other materials that can be made available to students in a variety of ways, in a variety of environments, with advice about what to prioritise, the more helpful and accessible for all students.
If information and teaching materials are provided in more than one format, along with advice about what is really important and what is less important, then not many students with impairments will require any additional provision.
"Economics asked ME if there was a certain colour that helped! They were great. They use coloured paper."
Some students would be disabled by reliance on hard text - posters and notice boards to convey information, references to reading materials available only in print, lengthy reading lists, the contents of which would require to be read onto tape or Brailled in order to be accessible, and so on.
"I do read, but because of my short-term memory I can't look at as many words as everyone else so I read slowly with the book reasonably close to me."
Other students would be disabled by the location of resources in libraries, where shelves, library equipment, furniture and services, such as the use of photocopiers, may be inaccessible to students and others who use wheelchairs.
Many students have personal equipment which allows them to access text in an alternative way. Computers with scanners, screen reading software, and speech output, CCTVs, screen magnifying software, computers with Braille input and output are some of the enabling technologies available. However, much personal equipment is not transportable even where students own their own equipment, and students who rely on such equipment need access to it on campus if they are to make use of periods between timetabled classes. For many courses involving the use of computers, enabling technology will also be needed in computing labs. Blind and partially sighted students who need screen reading software to access the Internet benefit from web-page design conforming to Web Site Accessibility Guidelines. Pictorial or diagrammatic images can be more resistant to verbalising, and therefore more problematic for screen reading software to handle.
Since libraries and computing labs are the places on campus where many students access information, appropriate computer workstations with some of the above facilities will be needed. There are various other accessibility features of computers, which could also be incorporated, such as wrist rests, keyguards, large print key labels, and large monitors. The provision of adjustable height workstation tables will ensure access for students who use wheelchairs, for whom more general consideration about access to the library and computing laboratory rooms is also needed.
A great deal of information in Universities is displayed on posters and notice-boards, and given out in handouts and booklets. Students who do not have access to print can find this disabling and excluding. It is helpful for information, especially crucial information, such as exam times or exam results, to be provided in alternative ways to meet individual students' needs. It is worth repeating that most students with most impairments will need no extra provision if departments routinely provide information in more than one way, such as in a handbook and on the department's web-pages, or on notice-boards and electronically.
If all information is provided in simple style and language it is more accessible to all.
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Copyright: The University of Strathclyde 2000
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