The Higher Education Opportunity Act:

Reducing barriers to educational accessibility by using Universal Desgin for Learning Principles

 

 

 

 

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Universally designing a national standard for providing equal accessibility to higher education

 

 

 

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Long are the days of inaccessible education.

Brief History of

the Higher Education Opportunity Act

In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Higher Education Act (HEA), which allowed higher education more accessible to more students and provided federal dollars to students. Previous to HEA, financial provisions were slim and burdened local systems, especially the family, to pay for the post-secondary education (Madas, J.W, Kowitt, J.S., and Lalor, A.R. 2012). Originally the HEA designed to strengthen the nation with a larger, and, presumably, a stronger workforce by enabling more citizens to earn higher degrees.

Johnson's HEA broke the ground for further advances in educational accessibility , especially at the fedral level (Madas, J.W, Kowitt, J.S., and Lalor, A.R. 2012).

Since 1965, the HEA has been revised numerous times, each time attempting to afford every citizen the benefit to a higher education on every front. In 2008, the HEA, now otherwise known as the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA), advanced possibilities for students with disabilities.

 

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No longer will higher education be denied.
 
Postsecondary Programs
for Students with Intellectual Disabilities
 

According to federal law, higher education programs are not limited to two- and four-year institutions for students with ID. As defined by the HEOA, the programs can be any degreed, non-degreed or certificated, so long as they promote higher educational learning (Gpo.gov 2008 § 760).

 
Programs for students with ID should also:
  • explain the program's structure, requirements, and resources
  • assist students to transition to postsecondary instution promoting successful independent living, including education for "gainful employment" (Gpo.gov 2008 § 76).
  • provide financial assistance
 

Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) Defined

Students are classified as individual who have:

 

 

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Other stipulations within the HEOA

  • Financial
    • College Navigator is a website that makes finding information about colleges and universities easy to navigate. Information includes financial assistance; increase in tutition rates; population demographics; including the number of people registered as having disabilities (Madaus, J.W., Kowitt, J.S., & Lalor, A. R. p. 34, 35).
     
     
  • Accessibility of print materials
    • People who are blind or have poor vision are required under the HEOA to have multiple means of engagement under the implied UDL statutes.
    • Students with disabilities must receive timely and equal access to all instructional materials and methods of instruction; specifically, modifications to digital resources (Edyburn p.35; Rose p.8).
     
  • Implentation of Universal Design for Learning
    • All courses, teaching methods, and course development are to be "consistent" (Madaus, J.D., Kowitt, J.S., & Lalor, A.R.)
     

 

  • Quality Teacher Training
    • Funding provided to train educators on how to use Universal Design practices (Gpo.gov § 760).
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Caution sign with stick figure man stumbling over black line, like a curb.
The Higher Education Opportunity Act is the caution sign for postsecondary institutions, who must eliminate barriers to education for those with learning disabilities.

Practical applications of UDL to align to the HEOA

conditions for students with learning disabilities

  • Start here: Determine course standards and objectives before creating course materials (Ostrowski, C. P., Lock, J. V., Hill, S. L., da Rosa do Santos, L., Altowairiki, N. F., & Johnson, C. p. 6).
  • Looks matter:Color and design formats that are consistent and do not interfere with students with visual disabilities (Rose p.18)
  • Picture Perfect: Provide Alt Tags and Descriptions for all images. Images should be purposeful promoting learning and engagement. They should not be used for aesthetic purposes only (Rose p. 10, 11, 18).
  • Technoloy tools: Videoes and audio resources must have written transcripts. PDFs need to be searchable; otherwise, it needs to follow a graphic accessibility guideline. External links should be accessible (Rose p.18).

Meeting HEOA's expectations:

Using UDL in an online environments

  • Teach: Provide multiple means of instruction: video, audio clips, discussion forums, live broadcasts and text (Ostrowski, C. P., Lock, J. V., Hill, S. L., da Rosa dos Santos, L., Altowairiki, N. F., & Johnson, C. p. 5; & Rose p. 17).
  • Test: Evaluate students in the manner in which they effectively and efficiently learning, becoming an expert learner. Progress monitoring and frequent formative assessment gives a flexible approach to monitor student learning (Meyer, A., Rose. D. H., & Gordon, D. p. 26 & Ostrowski, C. P., Lock, J. V., Hill, S. L., da Rosa dos Santos, L., Altowairiki, N. F., & Heihr, T., p. 8, & Johnson, C. p. 223, 224).
  • Express: Give students choice, giving them multiple means of engagement. This could include choice of options within a learning standard or topic to express learning: choice to work independently or with a peer; or discuss work with fellow classmates (Gravel, J. W. 2018).
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Final thoughts

 

To conclude, assimilating UDL practices and paradigms within a federal law shines a very bright light to the condition of the educational system. The actual sections and revisions and modifications found within HEOA seem obvious.

The question remains, why is it necessary to enact a law upon a right of an individual to achieve a higher education from a postsecondary institution?

Nonetheless, HEOA directives highlight cracks in within our educational systems. Merging the scientifically backed Universal Design for Learning within the law, promises a brighter future when flexible institutions acknowledge the flexibility and variability of learners. Beginning with design of content, to the delivery of information, to the accessible instructional materials, to the guidance for students to become and expert learner, equity will flourish.  

Red sign with wheelchair symbol followed by the word accessible.
In our modern time with the dynamically, ever-changing technology, inaccessible education should be a thing of the past, just like wooden desks and a tiny chalkboard.
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Resources

Edybum, D. (2010). Would you recognize universal design for learning if you saw it? Ten propositions for new directions for the second decade of UDL. Learning Disability Quarterly, 33(1), 33-41. Retrieved from http://jstor.org/stable/25701429

Festa, T.F. (n.d.). Free dictionary and magnifying glass [photo]. Retrieved from www.freeimages.com/photo/dictionary-and-magnifying-glass-1417708Yaroslav, B. (n.d.). IT-knowledge [photo]. Retrieved from www.freeimages.com/photo/it-knowledge-1242286

Gpo.gov. (2008). S. 1904—113th Congress: Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008. Retrieved from www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-110pub1315/pdf/PLAW-110pub1315.pdf

Gravel, J.W. (2018). Going deep: Leveraging universal design for learning to engage all learners in rich disciplinary thinking in ELA. Teachers College Record. 120(3), 1-40. Retrieved from http://tcrecord.org/libraryIDNumber:22092

Gray, S. (n.d.). Free accessibility stock photo [photo]. Retrieved from www.freeimages.com/photo/accessibility-1538227

Heihr, T. (2009). Policy foundations of universal design for learning. In Gordon, J. Gravel, & L. Shifter (Eds.) A policy reader in universal design for learning, 34-45. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.

Johnson, V. (n.d.). Old school [photo]. Retrieved from www.freeimages.com/photo/old-school-1463782

Madas, J.W., Kowitt, J.S., & Lalor, A.R. (2012). The higher education opportunity act: Impact on students with disabilities. Rehabilitation Research, Policy, and Education, 26(1), 33-41. Retreived from https://search.proquest.com/docview/1224454350?accountid=2909

Meyer, A., Rose, D.H., & Gordon, D. (2014). Universal design for learning: Theory and practice. Wakefield, MA: CAST Inc.

Ostrowski, C.P., Lock, J.V., Hill, S.L., da Rosa dos Santos, L., Altowairiki, N.F. & Johnson, C. (2017). A journey through the development of online environments: Putting UDL theory into practice. In P. Vu, S. Fredrickson, & C. Moore (Eds.), Handbook of research on innovative pedagogies and technologies for online learning in higher education (pp. 218-235). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. doi: 10.4018/978-1-5225-1851-8.ch00

Richert, M., Richert, C. (n.d.). Free caution tripping hazard stock photo [photo]. Retrieved from www.freeimages.com/photo/caution-tripping-hazard-1444098

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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