Chair/Lead:

Members:

The Problem

Although done on an ad hoc basis, the college lacks a coordinated support service for faculty to craft more inclusive and equitable course content. Additionally many faculty lack an awareness of accessibility issues and the resources available to them to resolve the problems.

Actions Taken

In the summer of 2019, LITS Instruction Team staff received a To Include is To Excel grant to lead small groups of faculty in two-day “sprints,” with the goal of enhancing teaching by crafting more inclusive and equitable course content. Faculty participants worked on one of four “Sprint” areas: 1) Incorporating Rølvaag Library Primary Sources into Courses; 2) Creating Content to Flip Instruction; 3) Accessifying Course Materials; and 4) Providing Students Affordable Course Content. The Sprint model proved to be a promising strategy for reinforcing working relationships between faculty members and LITS Instruction staff, providing immediate practical results, and enhancing faculty skills and knowledge around building inclusive course content.

Accomplishments so Far

Although plans to follow up with participating faculty and to have these faculty present to their peers at CILA sessions were canceled due to the pandemic, feedback has been very positive, enough so to trigger the development of an on-going service to audit course materials.