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Universal Instructional Design: A New Framework for Accommodating Students in Social
Work Courses
Elizabeth Lightfoot & Priscilla Gibson
School of Social Work, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN 55108, USA
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Routledge in Journal of Social Work
Education in March, 2013, available online: https://dx.doi.org/10.5175/JSWE.2005.200303129
It is deposited under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-
NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons. org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits
non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original
work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.
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ABSTRACT
This article provides an analysis of the current method of accommodating students with
disabilities in social work education and presents a new framework for providing universal
access to all students in social work education: Universal Instructional Design (UID). UID goes
beyond adapting already developed social work curricula to fit the needs of an individual student
with a disability, to building in accommodations in the front-end of curriculum design that
promote a more inclusive environment for all students. The 4 components of UID are discussed,
along with the challenges to its implementation.
Introduction
Universities have been struggling with effectively accommodating students with
disabilities in the classroom since the passage of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and more
recently, the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). These laws require universities to
make reasonable accommodations to qualified students with disabilities. While many universities
are complying with these laws (Nelson, Dodd, & Smith, 1990), there is still much confusion
about making effective and appropriate accommodations. There are debates about who shoulders
the costs of accommodations (Selingo, 1998), what should qualify as a disability (Wolinsky &
Whelan, 1999), and whether accommodations are fair to students without disabilities (Williams
& Ceci, 1999). Along with this confusion there are numerous studies documenting the
difficulties students with disabilities still face in higher education (Paul, 2000; Wagner,
D'Amico, Marder, Newman, & Blackorby, 1992) and social work education in particular
(Reeser, 1992). Proactively promoting equal access to all students in courses and field
placements, including students with disabilities, fits with the values of the profession.
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There have been numerous recommendations for making accommodations for students
with disabilities in social work education (Alperin, 1988; Bricout, 2001; Cole & Cain, 1996;
Cole, Christ, & Light, 1995; Pardeck, 1999; Pardeck, 2002). While ensuring accommodations is
legally and ethically necessary, altering existing curriculum and educational practices ex post
facto for students with disabilities may not be the best approach. This article discusses the
limitations of the current method of accommodating students with disabilities and presents a new
framework--Universal Instructional Design (UID)--for accommodating all students.
Current Means of Accommodating Students
The ADA requires colleges and universities to make reasonable accommodations for
students with disabilities so they can have an equal opportunity to receive an education. The
ADA defines a disability as (a) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or
more major life activities, (b) a record of such impairments, or (c) being regarded as having such
an impairment (42 U.S.C. § 12101 [2]). A "reasonable accommodation" is a modification of a
course, field placement, or other educational activity to allow equal participation and equal
access to education. Reasonable accommodations in classrooms can include note taking, flexible
testing, interpreters, texts on tape, or tutoring. Accommodations at field placements can include
flexible hours, adaptive equipment, or other job accommodations. This breakthrough for social
work students with disabilities allows them equal access to courses, field placements, and other
educational activities, but there are several disadvantages to using reasonable accommodations as
the only means of ensuring equal participation.
First, a social work program is only required to provide an accommodation to a student
with a known disability. Unlike the elementary and secondary educational levels that operate
under the requirement to actively identify students with disabilities (Silver, Bourke, & Strehorn,
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1998), at the university level students are responsible for self-identification and self-disclosure
(Johnson & Fox, 2003). Thus, in order for a student with a disability to receive an
accommodation, a student has to both disclose that he or she has a disability and become
certified in some manner as having a disability. This requires students who think that they might
have a disability to prove they have a disability, usually by getting documentation from a
physician or other professional. In addition, students may have a continuing obligation to verify
eligibility.
While for some this might not be a barrier, for others this can be a substantial burden in
several ways. For instance, students must be aware that such accommodations are available and
know the proper procedures for obtaining disability certification. While many universities have
prominent disability centers and instructors make this information easily available, universities
and instructors are not required under the ADA to provide outreach to students with potential
disabilities. Further, the certification process can be a substantial burden, as testing for some
disabilities can be prohibitively expensive, particularly learning disabilities. Documentation or
certification of a disability is significant because, absent such proof, instructors at many
universities are advised not to offer accommodations.
Second, while making disability a special category can legitimize the accommodation
needs of students with disabilities, it also requires students and faculty members to focus on the
student's disability, instead of his or her ability. This can put the focus on a student's deficiency,
as opposed to on the university's inaccessibility. An emphasis solely on a student's limitations
without a corresponding emphasis on societal barriers is the type of discrimination that adherents
of the social model of disability decry (Oliver, 1990).
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A related concern is the very nature of selfidentification or self-disclosure. Because trust
plays an important role in self-disclosure for students with disabilities (Bricout, 2001) the
necessity of informing instructors while in the beginning process of building an educational
relationship might impose a barrier. Thus, by purely following the anti-discrimination approach
to accommodating students with disabilities the university and instructors may be inadvertently
stigmatizing the very students they are trying to accommodate (Johnson & Fox, 2003).
Third, the requirement of designing accommodations to fit the individualized needs of a
student often results in accommodations being added onto an already developed curriculum,
rather than building the accommodations into their initial design. This results in increased work
for both the student and faculty, who must constantly negotiate add-ons to the curriculum, and
the resulting accommodations may not result in equal learning opportunities for students with or
without documented disabilities.
Finally, when appropriate accommodations are added on to the curriculum, students who
do not have a documented disability are not entitled to these accommodations. Thus, an
accommodation, such as extra time for a test or the provision of class notes, might also benefit an
English Language Learner (ELL), a nontraditional student, or a student with a different learning
style. As these students would not have access to this accommodation, it can lead to a perception
that accommodations for people with documented disabilities are not fair to students with other
needs.
While accommodations should always be available for students with documented
disabilities, the current model of adding on accommodations to the curriculum for those who are
certified as having a disability is not sufficient. UID, a model that builds in as many
accommodations in the initial design of the curriculum, is an appropriate additional model for