University of Waterloo Accessible Teaching Award

The Accessible Teaching Award was established in 2025 to recognize University of Waterloo instructors who make a concerted effort to design and/or deliver accessible teaching.

About the Accessible Teaching Award

Established in 2025 in a collaboration between the Associate Vice-President, Academic (AVPA Office), and the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA), the Accessible Teaching Award celebrates instructors at the University of Waterloo who are committed to making their teaching accessible to all students. This includes thoughtful course design and delivery that reduces barriers and supports diverse learning needs.

What is accessible teaching?

Accessible teaching means being intentional about reducing barriers so that all students can participate and engage in their education. Accessibility is about more than just meeting legal requirements. It is a fundamental component of effective teaching.

Accessible teaching benefits many types of learners regardless of whether they have a diagnosed disability or whether they self-identify. For example, providing assessment descriptions and instructions at the start of the term lets students know what to expect so that they can plan their time accordingly. All students can benefit from having information ahead of time.

Learn more about Accessible Teaching practices and available resources by visiting Waterloo's Accessible Teaching Website

The deadline to submit your Accessible Teaching Award Nominations is June 30, 2026.

Accessible Teaching Award Nomination Process

Accessible Teaching Award Eligibility and Criteria

Any instructor who teaches or designs a course for undergraduate students at the University of Waterloo;
The instructor must demonstrate a commitment to striving for accessibility in their teaching, which includes but is not limited to providing students with:
- Clear instructions and course organization.
- Advance notice of changes or disruptions to the course
- Course materials available in multiple formats (e.g., captions, PDFs).
- Easy-to-navigate LEARN pages.
- Multiple ways to contact instructors or TAs.
- Timely responses to accommodation requests.
There is no minimum requirement with respect to years of teaching.
The deadline to submit your nomination letter for the Accessible Teaching Award is June 30, 2026.

Note: Accessible teachingdoes not merely constitute an instructor's record of providing student accommodations or being supportive, approachable and encouraging toward students. While these are all very good qualities for an instructor to have, an instructor who is nominated for the Accessible Teaching Award must demonstrate their efforts undertaken to design and/or deliver a course accessibility.

The chart below lists the considered criteria for nominations put forward for the Accessible Teaching Award, with specific examples of course features.

Award criteria	Course features
1. Learners receive information in advance, whenever possible	a) Course outlines identify the formats and technologies that will be used for instruction, learning activities, and assessments b) Learners receive advance notice about course-related changes or disruptions (e.g., cancelled classes or office hours)
2. Course is well-organized and user-friendly	a) Course components (e.g., readings, lecture slides, assignments) are made to be navigated in a clear and consistent way b) Clear and consistent instructions and processes are provided for submitting assessments c) Definitions of idioms, jargon, abbreviations, and acronyms are provided the first time they are used d) LEARN settings that reduce the chance of making an error when submitting an assessment, and that allow students to fix a submission error are present e) Course materials are housed in LEARN
3. Course-related information is communicated to learners clearly	a) Learners are offered a variety of ways to contact instructors and Teaching Assistants (e.g., in person or virtual meetings) b) Responses to requests for accommodations are addressed in a timely way
4. Course materials (e.g., textbooks) are accessible	a) Course content (e.g., lecture slides, PDFs) is provided in an accessible format or available in multiple formats (e.g., closed captioning for videos, hard copy and electronic version)
5. Assessments (e.g., tests, assignments) and learning activities (e.g., group work) and feedback are accessible	a) Assessments are accessible or available to learners in an accessible format b) Feedback on assessments is provided in an accessible format
6. Educational technologies used are accessible	a) Learners are given time to familiarize themselves with, and practice education technologies

Who Can Submit a Nomination?

Any undergraduate student at the University of Waterloo.
Students can submit a nomination based primarily on the design of a course, the delivery of a course, or some combination of design and delivery (including multiple instructors where relevant).
Bottom line:either nominating the course design, or its delivery, will result in recognizing either the instructor who delivered the course, the instructor who designed the course, or both—depending on the circumstances.

What Should Your Nomination Include?

Your nomination form should describe how your learning experience (i.e., could include an aspect of your course or instructional style) was made accessible either for you or for other learners in your class. You may write 1–3 paragraphs or use bullet points to describe your learning experience.

How to Submit a Nomination

Fill out the Accessible Teaching Award nomination form.
Have questions or need an alternate format? Contact Alisa Sivak

What Happens Once You've Submitted a Nomination?

Short-listed nominees will be invited to submit a brief summary (no more than 1 page) detailing their approach to accessible teaching, including their thought process, proactive measures taken, opportunities when they have learned from their students, and ways in which they have supported their colleagues to incorporate accessible teaching methods.