Accommodations and universal design: Supporting access to assessments in higher education

Because of recent legislative mandates, students with disabilities have unprecedented opportunities to attend institutions of higher education. Access to instruction and assessment is provided through the use of reasonable accommodations. However, such accommodations are legally and procedurally complex. This article addresses the legal and procedural evidence required to receive testing accommodations. In addition, we discuss procedures for supporting student needs by applying the principles of universal design to assessments. By changing assessment practices to include support structures for all students, access to higher education can be promoted. Postsecondary education in the United States has a long and varied history in terms of access for diverse populations. Beginning with the early colleges and uni-versities, admission to institutions of higher education has been restricted to students with specific characteris-tics. Although early colleges and universities allowed stu-dents from varied social classes, only men were permit-ted to study (Brubacher & Rudy, 1997). However, rais