Brief Summary of the Student Survey on Course Accessibility

Principal Investigator: Christine Zaza, PhD, Online Learning Consultant, Centre for Extended Learning

Introduction

This study explored students’ perspectives on the importance of the accessibility practices that are included in the Postsecondary Course Accessibility Guide. The survey was divided into five sections:  1) Course Outline; 2) Course Organization and Navigation, 3) Course Materials; 4) Communication Barriers; and 5) Physical Learning Space Barriers.

Participants were asked to rate the importance of each accessibility practice on a 5-point scale (1= Not at All Important to 5= Extremely Important). A total of 1,758 University of Waterloo undergraduate and graduate students with and without disabilities participated in this study from June 24 to December 3, 2024. All Faculties are represented in these findings.

Highlights

• All 38 accessibility practices on the survey had a mean rating of 3.0 or higher on the 5-point scale
• 16 of the 38 accessibility practises had a rating of 4.0 or higher on the 5-point scale
• 34 of the 38 accessibility practices were rated as either Very Important or Extremely Important by at least 50% of the participants
• The 9 accessibility practices related to course organization and navigation were rated as either Very Important or Extremely Important by 75% - 91% of the participants
• Written comments indicate that course accessibility impacts students’ selection of courses and their decision to drop courses. Further, students report that course accessibility impacts learning, motivation, student success, sense of belonging, sense of safety, and well-being.

Group comparisons

• 21/38 accessibility practices were rated significantly higher in importance by participants who identified as having a disability than by those who did not identify as having a disability (p <.05).
• 24/38 accessibility practices were rated significantly higher in importance by participants who identified neurodivergent than by those who did not identify as neurodivergent (p <. 05).
• 11/38 accessibility practices were rated significantly higher in importance by undergraduate participants than by graduate participants (p <.05).

What do students value the most?

• Course outlines that identify the formats and technologies that will be used for instruction, learning activities, and assessments, and are consistently formatted across all courses
• Well-organized courses that clearly and consistently identify all course elements (e.g., readings, lecture slides, assignments, etc.)
• Clear and consistent assessment submission instructions and processes and assessment submission settings that reduce the chance of making a submission error and that allow students to fix a submission error
• Course materials provided in more than one format (e.g., recorded lectures, closed captions on videos)
• Definitions of idioms, jargon, abbreviations, and acronyms the first time they are used
• Having advance notice about course-related changes or disruptions (e.g., cancelled class or office hours)
• Having a variety of ways to contact instructors and TAs (e.g., in person meeting, virtual meeting, etc.)
• Having a timely explanation when an accommodation request is denied
• Support and understanding for academic accommodations

Conclusions

• Course accessibility is important to students regardless of their disability status.
• Several course accessibility practices are essential for some, and beneficial for all.
• Accessibility barriers are not merely an inconvenience – they significantly impact learning, student success, and well-being​.

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the University of Waterloo’s Teaching Innovation Incubator.