About the Accessibility of Carmen.

OSU is committed to providing students and faculty with a fully accessible course management system that can be accessed with a range of assistive technology and customized to meet the needs of different users. Although adaptable and usable on many levels, the current version of Carmen is not yet fully accessible, and the OSU Web Accessibility Center, TELR, and the Desire2Learn teams are working together to implement updates and repairs that will bring the system into full compliance with the OSU Standards.

Compatibility with Assistive Technology.

Instructors need to be aware that students using assistive technology may have difficulty accessing certain areas of Carmen. In general, users of assistive technology will be able to login to the system, pull up the course home page, and view/navigate through the content, discussion, and email modules. However, some of these tasks may require additional time/effort for the user, depending on the complexity of the layout and the amount of information that must be navigated. Thus, particular care should be given when using "timed" elements in your course, such as online quizzes or placing time limits on how long materials will be available/viewable by students. Other modules have not yet been fully assessed. A more complete analysis of all modules is scheduled to be completed by Autumn 2005.

I Have a Student Who Uses Assistive Technology Signed Up for My Course, What Should I Do?

You are encouraged to place a clear "Disability Statement" on your syllabus to indicate your willingness to provide reasonable accommodations to a student with a disability. (For more on crafting and using Disability Statements on your syllabi, see the "Fast Facts for Faculty: Syllabus Disability Statement" guide.) Students who require accommodations must first be registered with the Office of Disability Services. Once registered, ODS will work with you to create materials in an alternate format and arrange for any additional accommodations, including additional testing time, if required. Keep in mind that by creating your materials in the most accessible way possible, many students will not require additional accommodations and if they do, conversion should be easier and faster.

How Do I Create an Accessible Course?

For some quick tips, see the WAC guide "Designing in Carmen with Accessibility in Mind."

We also recommend the excellent resources provided in the Fast Facts for Faculty series, part of the OSU Partnership Grant.

In addition, the Web Accessibility Center offers a number of resources for faculty and course designers to learn about methods for creating accessible content, including regular workshops, one-to-one consultations, and extensive online tutorials and guides. To discuss your particular course, please contact us at webaccess@osu.edu.

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