Accessibility and equal treatment of people with disabilities
The Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt declares in its charter that it is committed to the equal treatment of all persons teaching, learning and studying at the university. What this means for lecturers is that teaching material and methods must be organised in a way that is accessible so that students with a range of various disabilities or chronic illnesses can attend courses, contribute and obtain a positive result.
For its part, the library endeavours to offer its services in such a way that they can be used by as many people as possible in an accessible way, thereby satisfying the requirements for accessible studying and research. The Accessibility Services are part of these efforts.
The Accessibility Services department has many years’ experience on the way in which different media are used by people with various impairments, what can and cannot be considered accessible and what needs to be taken into consideration when it comes to accessible teaching methods.
We are happy to share this knowledge with lecturers and to provide advice about how to design teaching material in a way that is as accessible as possible and to share our thoughts on teaching methods that focus on the equal treatment of people with disabilities and chronic illnesses.
Of course, general university staff are also welcome to contact Accessibility Services if they have any questions about accessibility.
In cooperation with the Integrated Study service centre, courses are regularly offered and information material is published within the framework of internal continuing education.
A consortium dedicated to the equal treatment of disabled people and people with chronic illnesses in Austria’s universities and colleges.
People with disabilities and the charter of the Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt
In its Charter (Part E/II Section 1) , the Alpen-Adria-Universität Klagenfurt declares that it is committed to the equal treatment of disabled and chronically ill persons and to the creation of conditions that guarantee their full participation in the fields of study, teaching and research.
It also contains Guidelines for the design of courses:
All lecturers take the requirements of students with disabilities and chronic illnesses into consideration when designing their courses, taking into account the constraints of the contents of the courses, as well as when adapting examination conditions, according to the stipulation of Section 59, Paragraph 1 Clause 12 of the Universities Act. When visualising contents on overhead slides or computer presentations used in courses, these are to be made accessible to blind and visually-impaired persons in digital form.
The working group Belu – Accessible E-Learning in Austrian Universities – was established by Uniability, a consortium dedicated to the equal treatment of disabled people and people with chronic illnesses in Austria’s universities and colleges, in order to improve the study conditions of students with disabilities and chronic illnesses.